Venezuela

In Venezuela, same-sex marriage was banned constitutionally in 1999 and same-sex couples are not provided the same protections that opposite-sex couples have under Venezuelan law. However, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has been outspoken about his support of same-sex marriage and there have reportedly been discussions in the Constituent Assembly about the legalizing same-sex marriage. Herman Escarrá, a member of the Assembly, reported that there was majority support in the Assembly for this decision but discussions on the new constitution have been delayed since 2018.

In 2016, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that children may be registered with the surnames of both their parents, regardless of the gender of their parents or if the parents are not the child’s biological parents. The constitution also provides equal protections to children born into same-sex families as it does children born into opposite-sex families. Despite these rulings, same-sex couples are still unable to legally adopt children. Unfortunately, even where the constitution does protect same-sex couples, the legal system in Venezuela lacks the resources to enforce the laws and implement changes to promote equality. Additional anti-discrimination laws have been proposed to the National Assemblybut have never been considered by the group. Transgender citizens have been able to request an identity card that properly portrays their gender identity since 2016, but they remain unable to change their name and gender on official government documents. Police harassment and workplace discrimination are serious problems in Venezuela, although the country is described to have a vibrant LGBTQ+ community. The government has recently began participating in pride events and the International Day Against Homophobia has been recognized beginning in 2000. The increasingly tolerant nation did experience an exodus of LGBTQ+ people following their economic crisis in 2016-2019. The economic crisis disproportionally effected the country’s most vulnerable populations, including LGBTQ+ groups. Funding for advocacy organizations was cut, resourced were sparse, and same-sex couples were not given the same allotment of food because they were not legally recognized as “families”. A deficiency in medical supplies was dangerous for people living with HIV (120,000 people were living with HIV in Venezuela in 2016 according to the United Nations).

Despite these disheartening realities, Venezuelan society is typically more open-minded than its government. In the bigger cities (Caracas, Valencia, Miranda) gay bars are prevalent and people tend to be more accepting. Several activists groups are fighting to end the stigma around being LGBTQ+ in Venezuela. Contranatura and A.C. Divas de Venezuela are working for equal human rights for people of all genders and sexual identities. Red LGBTI Venezuela acts as a news source for all things LGBTQ+ and works to educate and advocate. There is still little research done in Venezuela because of this unstable climate for LGBTQ+ populations and a government that isn’t particularly conducive to advancing LGBTQ+ policies.

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Hernández, W. (2005). Subcultura, Identidad y Representación: Armando Rojas Guardia y el Surgimiento de la Literatura Gay en Venezuela.Chasqui,34(2), 17-32. doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29741969?casa_token=jtaWQu39d3sAAAAA%3AXnTlXUf4cwQQhFiLIZ9z5xVpzdv9QjqYY7FlPSg1O-UfUL-G5fSzRXtXAxPhpQ-o3pLj4RKGperkUE2TnTb8p8BU0J0vaD8yzTuH8iiJFkWenZqzEw&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Malta, M., Cardoso, R., Montenegro, L.et al.Sexual and gender minorities rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: a multi-country evaluation. BMC Int Health Hum Rights19, 31 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-019-0217-3

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