The Cuban government, which previously criminalized and persecuted SGM’s, has taken strides in recent years. LGBT Cubans were regularly sent to labor camps in the 1970s, and now the country’s constitution protects against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (ILGA World Report, 2019). Much of this progress can be accredited to Mariela Castro, the leader of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education. This organization promotes the rights of SGMs in Cuba and abroad, spreading helpful information and winning legislative victories. This organization supported the 2008 proposal that passed, allowing transgender citizens to receive free gender-reassignment surgery (Rohrlich, 2014). However, cultural stigma against homosexuality is still present, especially amongst Cuba’s more religious communities (Rohrlich, 2014). The government does not make room for community leaders to advocate for SGMs—the state-run movement is the only permissible one (Rohrlich, 2014). Today, Cuba still does not recognize same-sex marriages or give legal protections to same-sex couples, but the country stands out in Latin America for its protections for SGMs (ILGA World Report, 2019).
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Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
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Civil Unions
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Joint Adoption
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Second Parent Adoption
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Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
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Broad Protections
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Criminalization of Violence
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Ban of Conversion Therapy
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Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
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Gender
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Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
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(2018). Cuba decides to Scrap Same-Sex Marriage Law in New Constitution Despite Majority Support. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/19/cuba-decides-scrap-same-sex-marriage-law-new-constitution-despite/
Browne, Evie. (2018). Lesbian and bisexual women in Cuba: family, rights, and policy. Gender and Development, 26(1), 71-87. DOI:10.1080/13552074.2018.1429090
Kirk, Emily J. (2011) Setting the Agenda for Cuban Sexuality: The Role of Cuba’s Cenesex. Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 36(72), 143-163. DOI:10.1080/08263663.2011.10817018
Rohrlich, Justin. (2014). Cuba Wants You To Think It’s a Gay Paradise. It’s Not. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/03/cuba-wants-you-to-think-its-a-gay-paradise-its-not/
Sanders, Tanya. (2010). Black Lesbians and Racial Identity in Contemporary Cuba.Black Women, Gender, and Families, 4(1), 9-36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/blacwomegendfami.4.1.0009
World Bank. (2018). Cuba. Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=CU