Transfemicides in Ecuador | Transgender Killings, Violence & Runa Sipiy Data

International Press Briefing · Runa Sipiy Observatory

Transfemicides in Ecuador

Tracking lethal anti-trans violence, impunity and institutional failure since 2013.

The Runa Sipiy Observatory of Asociación Silueta X documents violent deaths of transgender people across Ecuador through community reporting, source verification, digital monitoring and case follow-up.

For journalists and documentary teams: verified context, case background, historical patterns and interview requests are handled directly by Silueta X.
Public presentation of a Runa Sipiy report by Asociación Silueta X in Ecuador
Runa Sipiy has monitored lethal anti-LGBTQ+ violence in Ecuador continuously since 2013.

This is not a story about isolated crimes.

Runa Sipiy’s monitoring shows how anti-trans violence intersects with organized crime, labor exclusion, family rejection, weak protection mechanisms and persistent impunity. The press story is not only who was killed, but why the same conditions keep reproducing risk.

Recent pattern indicators

The pattern is disproportionately trans

To preserve the underlying case database, this public briefing displays selected percentages rather than the full case count.

85.7%

Trans women

Share of documented LGBTQ+ murder victims in the first reported period of 2026 who were trans women.

70%

Transfemicides

Approximate share of the 2025 lethal-violence dataset represented by transfemicides.

90%+

Impunity

Runa Sipiy has warned that impunity remains extremely high in the recent trans-violence context.

65%

Organized-crime pattern

A recent Runa Sipiy analysis found that a majority of transfemicides showed modalities linked to organized criminal violence.

Why “transfemicide” matters

The word changes the frame of the story

A transfemicide lens asks whether gender identity, misogyny, social exclusion, sex-work exposure, extortion, organized crime and ineffective protection are part of the lethal chain.

It does not mean every killing has already been judicially classified as a hate crime. It means the investigation should not erase gender identity or ignore structural risk.

Questions reporters should ask

Was the victim’s gender identity correctly recorded?
Were prior threats, extortion or disappearances investigated?
Did police and prosecutors use a gender-sensitive protocol?
Was the victim misgendered after death?

Stories that changed the public conversation

Names behind the pattern

Runa Sipiy preserves public memory without reducing victims to graphic details.

Karla

From one killing to #NoMoreTransHate

Her killing became a major organizing point for Silueta X and helped drive a national anti-trans-violence campaign.

View public memory

La China

A case documented through digital forensics

Her case illustrates how Runa Sipiy combines community alerts, geolocation, digital monitoring and verification to preserve a traceable record.

Read English case note

Becky G

Extortion, precarity and trans vulnerability

The case highlighted the intersection between gender identity, sex work, extortion and lethal violence in Guayaquil.

Read English case note

What Runa Sipiy can provide

For reporting, documentaries and international investigations

Verified background

Context on documented cases, chronology and institutional response.

Historical pattern analysis

Longitudinal context from the Observatory’s monitoring since 2013.

Interview access

On-record or background conversations subject to availability and security considerations.

English-language sources

Silueta X News provides English reporting, alerts and official summaries for international audiences.

Press & research contact

Atty. Diane Rodríguez

Director, Runa Sipiy Observatory · Executive Director, Asociación Silueta X

For international media, identify yourself, your outlet or institution, country, deadline and the subject you are investigating. Sensitive case information is shared only when appropriate.

Security protocol: WhatsApp is for text messages and voice notes during office hours only. No calls. Please identify yourself before requesting sensitive information.

Reporting on Ecuador?

Do not let a transgender victim become a footnote in a crime story.

Request verified context from the organization that has tracked the pattern since 2013.

Transfemicides in Ecuador · Runa Sipiy Observatory · Asociación Silueta X. International media and research briefing.

Percentages shown here summarize selected public Runa Sipiy findings and may change as cases are verified or judicial information develops. Classification by the Observatory does not substitute for a criminal court determination.

Updated: August 2026.