Torremolinos defends ‘something as simple as equality’

Inclusion

A manifesto was read on Wednesday to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia at an event attended by several LGBT+ associations and groups

Tony Bryant

Several associations and groups in Torremolinos marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on Wednesday with the reading of a manifesto drafted jointly and by consensus among all participating organisations.

The manifesto was read by Mila Moreno, founder of the Reynas Torremolinos events company, who pointed out the need and the responsibility to raise awareness to this type of phobia, which she said “exists in visible attacks, insults and explicit violence”. She went on to say that homophobia also lives in “silence, in mockery disguised as normality, and in the everyday fear many people feel about expressing themselves freely depending on where they are”.

“This town was a refuge for many people when elsewhere there was only silence, persecution and fear. And that must be preserved. We will continue defending something as simple and as revolutionary as being able to live in peace. Because equality is not just a pretty word to put on a banner. It is something demonstrated through actions,” Moreno said.

Among the associations and groups that collaborated in the event were Colega Torremolinos, Apoyo Positivo, Federación Andalucía Diversidad LGTB, Asociación de Comerciantes Gays de Torremolinos (ACOGAT), Coro LGTBI de Torremolinos and Diversport Torremolinos.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has been celebrated on 17 May since 2004, with the aim of raising awareness and highlighting violations of the rights of LGBT+ people and encouraging their defence globally. The choice of this date coincides with the decision made in 1990 by the World Health Organization to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.