According to the most recent Protection Analysis Update, the population of Honduras faces five core protection risks.

The first is extortion, which has historically manifested itself as one of the main threats to the population, with a disproportionate impact on merchants and transporters. This includes extortion as a source of financing for criminal structures, and as a way of social and territorial control of communities.

The second is gender-based violence, with Honduras registering as the country with the highest rate of femicides in the region. In 2021 alone, 342 violent deaths of women were reported. Alarming levels of sexual violence correlate to a high rate of teenage pregnancies and childbearing. The risks for women, adolescent girls and girls in the country are closely related to the humanitarian context, and to the social manifestations of urban violence, forced displacement and the barriers faced by survivors of gender-based violence in accessing justice and support.

The third, forced recruitment, disproportionately affects children and adolescents. However, it also impacts transportation workers, merchants, and people with disabilities, who are under greater pressure to comply with the demands of gangs, mainly related to the transportation or sale of drugs. Women and girls also face particular risks as they are considered sexual or marital targets and are used as informants in exchange for protection within the community.

The fourth, dispossession, misappropriation and destruction of housing, lands and properties, primarily affects those who are also victims of extortion, or people living in strategic locations that serve the interests of gangs. This risk is particularly aggravated by the high level of legal insecurity of tenure that limits the possibility of protecting property.

The fifth, restrictions on freedom and mobility due to the dynamics of social and territorial control by criminal structures, materialized in the imposition of so-called "invisible borders” and "curfews", which place restrictions on daily activities and customs. Those living in areas controlled by armed groups are restricted in their access to health and education services, work and, in general, the use of public spaces for protection and participation. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to reprisals, including demands to be informants. The population with disabilities also faces additional risks, for example in the case of deaf people, which is explained by the fact that sign language is interpreted as "gang language" in some areas.