[14] The name Coccinelle was chosen as an homage to French actress, singer, and transgender activist Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy,[15] who had visited Ecuador in the 1970s and performed at the Nueve de Octubre theater in Guayaquil.

Finally, it was decided that the best strategy was to file a claim of unconstitutionality against article 516 with the Constitutional Court, for which they needed to collect 1,000 signatures expressing support.

[22] Coccinelle gained prominence during the collection process and, on 27 August of the same year, made history when it organized a march of transgender women, gay men, and human rights defenders that took to the streets in Quito and ended at the Plaza de la Independencia, where they joined the groups that were demanding to know the whereabouts of missing persons.

[20][24][25] After the demonstration, Coccinnelle continued to lead the process of collecting signatures and its members began to gather every Wednesday at the Plaza de la Independencia to demand their rights and ask for support.

[8] On 24 September 1997, representatives of the LGBT organizations that were participating in the campaign for decriminalization filed a claim with the Constitutional Court against Article 516 of the Criminal Code.

[28] The conflicts that led to Coccinnelle's dissolution began in 1998, when Dutch cooperation organization Hivos gave funds to the association to carry out sex education workshops, help members of the community in need, and rent an office, which was located in a house in San Blas Square (Quito).

[16][30] On the occasion of the book being published, several Coccinelle survivors met up again, and Pelayo began to contemplate the idea of filing a lawsuit against the State for the abuse perpetrated by the police against them and the LGBT+ populations in general during those years.

[35] Through the foundation, they filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian State for crimes against humanity on May 17 of that same year, within the context of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

[39] Additionally, Nueva Coccinelle launched a campaign to find more LGBT+ survivors of police repression in the late 20th century in order to recover their stories.