April 17th 2026. San Critobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
Text by Dre. Rubén Solís / Rub
Translator from the Spanish version to English: Francisco Escoto
As part of the activities developed within the frame of TRASDEJ project and as one of the main joint agreements from the First Gathering of Mayan Sexual Dissidence Territorial defenders, a First draft of the Self-care practices Protocol was achieved after collaborative efforts. This document was crafted with a profile like ours in mind. Keeping in mind that what is shared here is a first peer-drafted tool, meaning a Self-care practices Protocol for the Mayan, Indigenous people, and Afro-descendant sexual dissidences which are part of processes on defence of the Territory and human rights elaborated by the same profile it is intended for.
Throughout the crafting process, three spheres of knowledge were highlighted: Individualized Self-care, Collective Self-care, and Community Self-care. It was around these pillars that we began weaving ideas and thinking-feeling these protocols. Many of the self-cares expressed here were already applied by the participants on a quotidian basis, either individually or collectively; However, when mirrored with other dissidences we realised that not all dissidents have a similar social context, and that some self-cares which might work for some profile might not be of use or help to others.
The main agreements reached collectively regarding this transcendental topic for us all as sexual dissidents, meaning a Self-care guidance for a collective currently facing increasing and diverse ways of violence, either as historical, systematic, neoliberal, and hetero-CIS-patriarchal/Machismo are shared below.
Individual Self-cares
- Labor dignity and rights.
- Prioritization of recreation spaces.
- Well-resting.
- Psycho-sexual protection (Prevention of drugs/substances induced risks).
- Having a friend/confident to share any situation details and help with making sensible decisions.
- Self-pleasure explorations.
- Preventive and opportune Sexual health services.
- Peace of mind (sense of safety, relief from worry, and emotional calm).
- Prioritization of emotional stability facing overstimulation.
- A healthy and nutritious diet.
- Self-prioritization and setting boundaries.
- Digital self-care (for protection of our identities and don’t over expose ourselves on social media).
- Reflecting on the origin of drugs/substances and their impacts on ourselves and our communities.
- Procuring spaces, moments, and times for spirituality (allowing us to be divine).
Collective Self-cares
- Integration of knowledge for the collective benefit.
- Collective support over topics such as health, diet, psychological and sexual wellbeing.
- Labor rights and dignity.
- Identifying priorities as a collective group.
- Prioritizing our non-work relationships from within our own network/community. Promoting dynamics and ludic interactions.
- Mapping out our own dissidence and creating together our own narrative and links (informal network).
- Empathy and understanding with the processes, stages and times of our peers/comrades free of judgement, denial or exclusion; an openness to decide freely to leave or to return.
- Develop civic spaces to enable social practices; practicing sports, arts and romance.
- Non-monetary exchange / Barter of goods and/or services (trueque).
- Foster spaces to practice solidarity economy as a collective.
- Mutual support networks.
- Conflict resolution spaces.
- Shield our collective.
Community Self-cares
- Foster spaces for community coexistence.
- Depatriarchalize the communal spaces.
- Diversity of profiles in decision-making spaces.
- A new critical approach to patriarchalized folks and traditions.
- Coherence in representativity.
- Alliances, and demanding valid local mechanisms for the free exercise of citizenship.
- The creation of a community agreement act.
- Active monitoring of the community members’ location.
- A community police(Community sentinels – safety).
- Internal regulations:
- Acts to make visible violence against women (gender-based violence).
- Alcohol consumption (responsibly).
- Natural protected areas.
- Conservation of water (protection).
- Freedom of belief.
- Substances and drug use (responsibly).
Community oversights
In certain communitarian contexts there exists a lack of care, supervision, accompaniment, a lack of listening, and a lack of protocols to safeguard the protection of the diversity of thinking, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
For more information about the First Gathering of Mayan sexual dissidence Territorial defenders, you can find the full report in the following website:
