Discover Puerto Rico Combats Violence with LGBTQ+ Campaign
Discover Puerto Rico, a destination management service, has launched its “Live Out” campaign in an attempt to combat LGBTQ+ violence on the island. The campaign focuses on transgender, nonbinary, and non-gender-conforming people on the heels of startling stats that show transgender murders are on the rise.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been 46 transgender murders in the U.S. this year. Six transgendered people lost their lives in Puerto Rico in 2020, which influenced Governor Pedro Pierluisi’s decision to declare a state of emergency and to establish a new task force based on gender-related violence on the island.
Discover Puerto Rico’s queer-friendly campaign, created to welcome travelers who identify as LGBTQ+, is a concerted effort to counteract how Puerto Rico is perceived by people outside of the U.S. territory.
“We want to welcome all of our visitors to our destination so that they can feel safe, and they can enjoy all that Puerto Rico has to offer our visitors,” said José E. Arana Rodriquez, marketing and special events manager, Discover Puerto Rico.
The LGBTQ+ Travel section of the website touts the island as “the most LGBTQ-friendly islands in the Caribbean” and that it’s the perfect place to “let your rainbow flag fly high and proud.” It provides LGBTQ+ travelers with local tips, travel guides, queer-friendly accommodations, and insight from the local community, such as a Q&A with transgender chef, Paxx Caraballo Moll.
Visit Discover Puerto Rico for more information on how to play your LGBTQ+-friendly getaway.