LGBTQ rights in Honduras | |
---|---|
Status | Legal since 1899 |
Gender identity | No |
Military | No |
Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation and gender identity protections (see below) |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | None |
Restrictions | Same-sex marriage and de facto unions prohibited by Constitution |
Adoption | Prohibited by Constitution |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Honduras face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Honduras. [1]
Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Same-sex marriages, de facto unions and adoption by same-sex couples have been constitutionally banned since 2005.
Similarly to neighbouring El Salvador, LGBT people face high rates of violence and homicide. 264 LGBT people, of whom approximately half were gay men, were murdered in the country between 2009 and 2017. [2]
Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1899, provided that it involves the consent of individuals 15 years of age or more, the same as for heterosexual sex. [1] [3]
Same-sex unions are not legally recognized in Honduras. In 2005, the Constitution was amended to expressly ban marriage and de facto unions between people of the same sex. [4] The constitutional amendment also refuses to recognize same-sex marriages or unions that occurred legally in other countries (Article 112). It also prohibits same-sex couples from adopting (Article 116). [5] [6]
Before the November 2017 elections, three candidates for the Francisco Morazán Department from the National Party and the Christian Democratic Party announced their support for same-sex marriage, adding that they would be open to introducing a same-sex marriage bill to the National Congress. [7] None of the three candidates won a seat in the National Congress. [8]
On 12 October 2018, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández told reporters at a press conference: "Personally as a Christian, I am against marriage of persons of the same sex; obviously, it is the judiciary that, according to Honduran law, has to rule on it. [Regardless of sexual preferences] people should be treated with dignity, no matter what their inclination. People should be treated with dignity and this issue is very important." [9]
In May 2022, the deputy of the Libertad y Refundación (Libre) Party, Manuel Rodríguez, presented a bill to the National Congress for same-sex marriage. However, the president of the Tegucigalpa Pastors' Association, Gerardo Irías, described the approval of the name change to LGBTI and the bill's claim for gays to get married as an "aberration in God's eyes". The pastor recommended the President of the Republic Xiomara Castro to stop such immoral laws and not to joke with God. Even if religious beliefs are an obstacle to this project, Rodríguez managed to bring the bill to the congress and it is still under discussion since May 24, 2022. [10]
On 9 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an advisory opinion that parties to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples "accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage". [11]
In May 2018, relying on the IACHR advisory opinion, Honduran LGBT activists filed a suit with the Supreme Court to legalise same-sex marriage in Honduras. [12] A second case was filed shortly thereafter but was dismissed due to technical errors in November 2018. [13] In February 2019, it was reported that the Supreme Court was expected to rule on the case within "the next few days," but was later announced in May 2019 that they were "expected to rule later this year" on both same-sex marriage and adoption. [14] [15]
In 2013, the National Congress adopted several amendments to the Penal Code, through Decree No. 23-2013 (Spanish : Decreto No. 23-2013), [16] including the following:
In March 2017, the newly enacted Penal Code came into effect. [18] [19] It was reported that several LGBT rights groups had been received in Congress to dispel doubts of the wording of some articles, and to ensure that Articles 321 and 321-A remain in force. [20] The anti-discrimination articles were ultimately kept. [21]
The Constitution stipulates that citizens have the right to establish and associate with political parties and interest groups, though initial efforts to register an LGBT rights group in the 1980s were met with government opposition or extended delays. The first LGBT rights organizations arose in the 1980s anyway, often in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Such organizations had no legal standing at the time and were essentially ignored by the Government, except for police harassment.
In 2004, the Honduran Government extended formal recognition to three LGBTQ rights interest groups, despite organized protests from the Catholic Church, Pentecostals, and conservative legislators. [5]
The two major political parties have not expressed much support for expanding LGBTQ rights, and have mostly ignored the topic. Only a handful of dissident members within the leftist Democratic Unification Party have expressed some interest in working with the LGBT community. [5]
In Honduras, there is a social environment of historical discrimination against LGBT persons motivated by prejudice and machismo. The 2001 Law on Police and Social Affairs (Spanish : Ley de Policía y Convivencial Social) gives the police permission to raid city streets, entrap sex workers as part of "sanitation control" and arrest anyone who "goes against modesty, proper conduct and public morals." LGBT rights organizations have documented numerous instances in which police have used the law as a pretext for harassing and detaining transgender women. [5] [22]
A transgender woman ran in the 2017 elections as a candidate for the Innovation and Unity Party. [23] Her run was ultimately unsuccessful. [24] She received 11,112 votes, placing 136th. The National Congress has 128 seats.
About 400 people marched in a pride parade in July 2017 in the city of San Pedro Sula, considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world. [25]
In December 2014, LGBT rights group Red Lésbica Cattrachas reported that from 2009 to 2014, 174 violent deaths of LGBT persons were registered in the country (90 gays, 15 lesbians, and 69 transgender people), primarily in the departments of Cortés and Francisco Morazán. [26]
In previous years, it was reported that possibly as many as 200 Hondurans might have been killed because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity between 1993–2003. [5]
International human rights organizations have stated that the military Government has targeted LGBT people for harassment, abuse and murder. [5]
In June 2013, a transsexual woman was given asylum in Spain after a police officer had tried to assassinate her in Honduras. [27]
Walter Tróchez, a Honduran political activist and LGBT rights leader, was allegedly assassinated on 13 December 2009, by members of the anti-Zelaya regime for organizing dissent against the new Government. [28]
Another visible LGBT Honduran activist and Zelayista, Erick Martínez Ávila, was murdered on 7 May 2012 on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa.
The socially conservative influence of the Catholic Church and evangelical Protestants has made it difficult for any comprehensive public program to be implemented. Female prostitutes and men who have sex with men are seen as the highest risk groups. The Government does offer medical care to all citizens and has been increasingly working with non-governmental organizations to raise awareness.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, conducted between 9 November and 19 December 2013, 13% of respondents supported same-sex marriage, 83% were opposed. [29] [30]
The 2017 AmericasBarometer showed that 19% of Hondurans supported same-sex marriage. [31]
A 2018 CID Gallup poll found that 75% of Hondurans opposed same-sex marriage, 17% were in support, and the rest didn't know or refused to answer. [12]
Same-sex sexual activity legal | (Since 1899) |
Equal age of consent (15) | |
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only | (Since 2013) |
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | (Since 2013) |
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | (Since 2013) |
Hate crimes laws include sexual orientation and gender identity | (Since 2013) |
Same-sex marriages | (Constitutional ban since 2005) |
Recognition of same-sex couples | (Constitutional ban on de facto unions since 2005) |
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | (Constitutional ban since 2005) |
Joint adoption by same-sex couples | (Constitutional ban since 2005) |
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military | |
Right to change legal gender | |
Access to IVF for lesbians | |
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | |
MSMs allowed to donate blood | [32] |
General:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Ecuador have evolved significantly in the past decades. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Ecuador and same-sex couples can enter into civil unions and same-sex marriages.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Venezuela face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Venezuela, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Also, same-sex marriage and de facto unions are constitutionally banned since 1999.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Chile have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now quite progressive.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Costa Rica have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual relations have been legal since 1971. In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made mandatory the approbation of same-sex marriage, adoption for same-sex couples and the removal of people's sex from all Costa Rican ID cards issued since October 2018. The Costa Rican Government announced that it would apply the rulings in the following months. In August 2018, the Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against the country's same-sex marriage ban, and gave the Legislative Assembly 18 months to reform the law accordingly, otherwise the ban would be abolished automatically. Same-sex marriage became legal on 26 May 2020.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Mexico expanded in the 21st century, keeping with worldwide legal trends. The intellectual influence of the French Revolution and the brief French occupation of Mexico (1862–67) resulted in the adoption of the Napoleonic Code, which decriminalized same-sex sexual acts in 1871. Laws against public immorality or indecency, however, have been used to prosecute persons who engage in them.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Argentina rank among the highest in the world. Upon legalising same-sex marriage on 15 July 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America, the second in the Americas, and the tenth in the world to do so. Following Argentina's transition to a democracy in 1983, its laws have become more inclusive and accepting of LGBT people, as has public opinion.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Uruguay rank among the highest in the world. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal with an equal age of consent since 1934. Anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people have been in place since 2004. Civil unions for same-sex couples have been allowed since 2008 and same-sex marriages since 2013, in accordance with the nation's same-sex marriage law passed in early 2013. Additionally, same-sex couples have been allowed to jointly adopt since 2009 and gays, lesbians and bisexuals are allowed to serve openly in the military. Finally, in 2018, a new law guaranteed the human rights of the trans population.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Angola have seen improvements in the early 21st century. In November 2020, the National Assembly approved a new penal code, which legalised consenting same-sex sexual activity. Additionally, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned, making Angola one of the few African countries to have such protections for LGBTQ people.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Colombia have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now quite progressive. Consensual same-sex sexual activity in Colombia was decriminalized in 1981. Between February 2007 and April 2008, three rulings of the Constitutional Court granted registered same-sex couples the same pension, social security and property rights as registered heterosexual couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Nicaragua face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Nicaragua. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned in certain areas, including in employment and access to health services.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Panama face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Panama, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal benefits and protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, non-binary and otherwise queer, non-cisgender, non-heterosexual citizens of El Salvador face considerable legal and social challenges not experienced by fellow heterosexual, cisgender Salvadorans. While same-sex sexual activity between all genders is legal in the country, same-sex marriage is not recognized; thus, same-sex couples—and households headed by same-sex couples—are not eligible for the same legal benefits provided to heterosexual married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Peru face some legal challenges not experienced by other residents. Same-sex sexual activity among consenting adults is legal. However, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are complex and diverse in the Americas, and acceptance of LGBTQ persons varies widely.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Dominican Republic do not possess the same legal protections as non-LGBTQ residents, and face social challenges that are not experienced by other people. While the Dominican Criminal Code does not expressly prohibit same-sex sexual relations or cross-dressing, it also does not address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does it recognize same-sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples, as same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned in the country.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Bolivia have expanded significantly in the 21st century. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity and same-sex civil unions are legal in Bolivia. The Bolivian Constitution bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2016, Bolivia passed a comprehensive gender identity law, seen as one of the most progressive laws relating to transgender people in the world.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Guatemala face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Guatemala.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Paraguay face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Paraguay, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Paraguay remains one of the few conservative countries in South America regarding LGBT rights.
Same-sex unions are currently not recognized in Honduras. Since 2005, the Constitution of Honduras has explicitly banned same-sex marriage. In January 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to this ban, but a request for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to review whether the ban violates the American Convention on Human Rights is pending. A same-sex marriage bill was introduced to Congress in May 2022.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tamaulipas since 19 November 2022. On 26 October 2022, the Congress of Tamaulipas passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 23–12 vote. It was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day. Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.