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Latin American LGBT rights expand but face pushback

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Although equality laws are advancing in the region, progress is limited and violence still widespread

Laws on same-sex rights and LGBT discrimination have been widely adopted in South America, though less so elsewhere

Source: Organization of American States; Amnesty International; Grupo Gay de Bahia; Oxford Analytica

Outlook

In January 2018 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognised same-sex marriage as a right under the American Convention on Human Rights, but many member states have yet to act on the ruling.

Education on gender equality has faced pushback in countries including Peru and Paraguay, and anti-LGBT violence remains high; the Organization of American States (OAS) reported 594 killings between January 2013-March 2014, and Amnesty International points to 300 in Honduras (2010-18).

The latest OAS report notes concern over “the advance of anti-LGBT rights sectors in the region, including at the heart of state power”, which will widely be seen as a dig at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Impacts

  • Same-sex relations remain illegal and potentially imprisonable in much of the English-speaking Caribbean.
  • There were 141 LGBT killings in Brazil in the first five months of this year, suggesting numbers may again rise.
  • A new Brazilian Supreme Court ruling equating LGBT discrimination with racism may set it at odds with the executive.

See also