Chile, South America

Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations. Although homosexuality was legalized in 1998 in Chile, several court rulings within the last decade demonstrate discriminatory policy. In Chile the current law against sodomy states that the age of consent for homosexuals is set at 18, whereas the age of consent for heterosexual sex is lower at 12.

Activists believe that conservative attitudes are changing, finding greater public tolerance as Chile's Congress debates striking "offenses to morals and good customs" clauses "that police have used to harass gays, even for behavior such as holding hands in public". The gay scene is small compared with the West or even neighbors like Argentina and Brazil, although 2007 marked the 17th annual Gay Pride Parade in Santiago. See gay rights in Chile.

 

News & Reports:

 

Chile transgender rights law takes effect

Santiago, Chile — Friday was historic moment for transgender rights in Chile because the country’s Gender Identity Law came into force. Trans people who are at least 18 and single can now change their name and legal gender with a simple procedure in the country’s Civil Registry. Teenagers who are between 14-18 can do so… Read more »

Chile set to pass equal marriage bill

Incoming president of the Senate said ‘there is no doubt’ they will pass a stagnated equal marriage bill this year The new president of Chile’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, has promised to pass an equal marriage bill this legislative year. ‘Chile is in full cultural change, [and] demands wider freedoms and rights’ Jaime… Read more »

Chilean President Signs Transgender Rights Law

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera on Wednesday signed into law a bill that allows transgender individuals over 14 to legally change their name and gender identity without surgery or a court order. The legislation, which received final approval by lawmakers in September, will take effect next year. “We signed the Gender Identity Law because we strongly… Read more »

An incredible court ruling just ordered 16 countries to make same-sex marriage legal

A landmark court ruling has ordered 16 new countries to make same-sex marriage legal. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights reached a decision today on a marriage equality petition submitted two years ago by Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis. 20 countries agreed to follow the court’s rulings when they signed the American Convention on… Read more »

100,000 March For Marriage Equality, Transgender Rights In Chile

Tens of thousands of activists on Saturday joined a protest in Santiago, Chile to demand passage of laws that would extend marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples and protect transgender people. According to organizer the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh), 100,000 people attended the protest. Demonstrators marched from Plaza Italia to Plaza… Read more »

Chile’s president introduces same-sex marriage bill

Will Chile become the fifth South American country to pass marriage equality? Chile’s president Michelle Bachelet will formally introduce a bill to allow same-sex couples to get married. The measure will be introduced on 28 August. Chilean LGBTI advocacy group the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, has said the marriage and an adoption bill… Read more »

Chile’s Michelle Bachelet Promises Gay Marriage Bill In 2017

Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet promised on Wednesday that her government would introduce a bill giving gay and lesbian couples access to marriage in the first half of 2017. “My government has committed to submit to Congress a bill on marriage equality during the first half of 2017,” Bachelet said during a United Nations General Assembly… Read more »

Gay Couples Celebrate Chile’s Civil Union Law

Still, others vow to keep up the fight for marriage equality. Santiago, Chile (AP) — Dozens of same-sex couples in Chile began celebrating civil unions on Thursday, taking advantage of a new law that gay advocates say is a clear sign of change in a country long regarded as one of Latin America’s most socially… Read more »

Conservative Chile Moves to Legalize Abortion and Same-Sex Civil Unions

The socialist government of President Michelle Bachelet in Chile achieved in four days what many once thought would take years — the approval of a civil union law for same-sex couples and a government plan that would decriminalize abortion. On January 28, Chile’s Congress passed a civil union law for same-sex couples and Bachelet has… Read more »

Chile’s Same-Sex Civil Unions Bill Gets Final Approval By Lawmakers

Santiago, Chile (AP) — Chilean lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill that recognizes civil unions between same-sex couples. The legislation now goes to President Michelle Bachelet, who is expected to sign it. Government spokesman Alvaro Elizalde welcomed the bill’s passage as “a breakthrough that we are proud of as a government.” The… Read more »

Chile: Gay Marriage Bill Introduced

A bill which seeks to make Chile the fourth South American nation after Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina to allow gay couples to marry was formally introduced on Wednesday. The measure is backed by a coalition of lawmakers and the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh), the nation’s leading LGBT rights advocate. “In terms of… Read more »

Gay Marriage Bill To Be Introduced In Chile

A coalition of lawmakers are expected to introduce a bill this week which seeks to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples in Chile. The lawmakers said that they would introduce the bill on Wednesday, December 10. The bill seeks to alter the definition of marriage in Chile’s Civil Marriage Act from “between a man… Read more »

Thousands Demonstrate For Marriage Equality In Chile

Several thousand people marched through the streets of Santiago, Chile on Saturday to demand marriage equality. Demonstrators marched from the Plaza Italia to the presidential palace at La Moneda. Luis Larrain, president of the Equal Foundation, told Reuters “[w]e are here to demand respect for our identity, for our rights, for our families and for… Read more »

Sailor comes out in first for Chile’s armed forces

A sailor in Chile has become the first serving member of the country’s armed forces to come out as gay. Mauricio Ruiz, 24, told a televised news conference his decision had “not been easy”, but he wanted to help fight homophobic discrimination. Mr Ruiz said gay people had “no reason to hide”. “We can do… Read more »

Chile: Hate messages spray-painted on the outside walls of LGBT-rights organization MOVILH

This past weekend several of Chile’s leading LGBT-rights organizations held a “unity” march in observation of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia which, by some estimates, drew as many as 50,000 people. The country recently elected president Michelle Bachelet on a platform that includes debating marriage equality although she has since put it on… Read more »

Gay Chilean Man Dies Of Injuries Suffered In Homophobic Attack

Wladimir Sepulveda, a 21-year-old Chilean man, has died of injuries suffered in a brutal homophobic attack last October. He has been in a coma since, El Pais reports: SepulvedaAccording to the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh) – the country’s largest gay collective – Sepúlveda was beaten by at least four suspects as he was… Read more »

Chile expected to legalize gay marriage

New president Michelle Bachelet campaigned on promises of equal marriage, trans rights, and improvements in anti-discrimination and hate crime law Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s new president, is expected to fight for the legalization of gay marriage. Chile’s new president is expected to fight for same-sex marriage. Michelle Bachelet, who officially took office yesterday (11 March), is… Read more »

Senate takes first step toward gay civil unions

After more than two years of deliberation, Congress moves forward on Life Partner Agreement, but conservatives promise to oppose gay marriage. In its first session of 2014, Congress took a significant step for gay rights when the Senate approved legislation on same-sex civil union, as emotional supporters cheered and evangelical opponents held up banners with… Read more »

Gay-rights community fights to advance cause in Latin America and Caribbean

United Nations – Two years ago, a gay couple and their friend vacationing in St. Lucia were tied up, beaten, threatened with knives and guns, and told that they would be killed if they tried to escape. The men later freed themselves, climbed out a window and hiked down the mountain to a friend’s house.… Read more »

Chile’s civil union campaign shows benefits for straight and gay couples

Highlighting the health and financial problems gay and straight families encounter, the country’s leading LGBTI rights group Movilh has launched a new YouTube campaign to make civil unions a reality Chile’s leading sexual rights group has launched a new campaign to encourage the government to legalize civil unions. As a presidential run-off vote approaches on… Read more »

Chilean court convicts 4 in murder of gay man that prompted Chile to adopt hate crime law

Santigao, Chile – Four Chilean men were convicted of first-degree murder Thursday for beating a gay man to death and carving swastikas into his body. Daniel Zamudio’s slaying set off a national debate about hate crimes in Chile that led Congress to pass an anti-discrimination law. As the judge read the guilty verdict, Zamudio’s mother… Read more »

Trial of gay Chilean’s alleged killers begins

The trial of four men who are accused of beating a gay man to death in the Chilean capital last year began on Monday. Prosecutors contend Patricio Ahumada Garay and three other self-described neo-Nazis — Raúl López Fuentes, Alejandro Angulo Tapia and Fabián Mora Mora — attacked Daniel Zamudio in a Santiago park on March… Read more »

50,000 Chileans march in the streets for gay rights

Thousands of people took to the streets of Chile’s capital Santiago over the weekend to campaign for same-sex civil unions and gender identity laws Tens of thousands of Chileans marched over the weekend in support of LGBT rights. The demonstration intended to raise awareness of President Piñera’s proposed bill that would allow same-sex couples to… Read more »

Thousands join Chile gay pride parade

Santiago, Chile (AP) — Thousands are parading in Chile’s capital at a pride fest that has turned into the country’s largest gay rights event. Organizers say more than 50,000 people joined in the ‘‘Open Mind Fest.’’ Revelers flooded several streets of Santiago waving rainbow flags and strutting in costumes as people of all ages turned… Read more »

Jaime Parada becomes Chile’s first openly gay councilman

For the first time in the country’s history, Chilean voters elect an openly gay councilman, and in the same municipal elections re-elect a trans council member for a third term Jaime Parada has made history by becoming the first openly gay man elected to Chilean municipal government. Parada was elected as councilman to Providencia, a… Read more »

Sexual Diversity March Breaks Attendance Record In Chile

Up to an estimated 20,000 people marched in a parade demanding equal rights for LGBT people held Saturday in Chile’s capital of Santiago, breaking an attendance record for the annual event. The 14th iteration of Chile’s Marcha por la Diversidad Sexual (Sexual Diversity March) stepped off from Plaza Italia, the huge roundabout located in the… Read more »

Lawsuit Seeking Gay Marriage Filed Against Chile

Chile’s leading gay rights advocate has filed a lawsuit seeking marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in Chile. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) presented what it describes as the first-of-its-kind case to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Monday, The Santiago Times reported. The group claims that denying gay people… Read more »

Chilean Paradoxes: LGBT rights in Latin America

Para leer este artículo en español, mira: Paradojas Chilenas: Derechos LGBT en América Latina Over the past few years, there have been important milestones advancing LGBT human rights in Latin America. Recognition of civil unions in Brazil and Uruguay, same-sex marriage in Mexico City and Argentina, laws protecting gender identity in Chile and Bolivia, and… Read more »

More homophobic attacks in Chile despite new hate crime law

A 16 year old girl has been stabbed by her girlfriend’s relatives and a gay man has had his teeth knocked out in homophobic attacks only days after Chile signed new hate crimes legislation into law A 16 year old lesbian has been stabbed in the Chilean city of Santa Juana by two of her… Read more »

Chile’s president signs hate crime legislation into law

Chile’s president Sebastian Pinera signed anti-discrimination legislation into law today. The move comes after the Neo-Nazi killing of a gay man, Daniel Zamudio, in March. Mr Zamudio’s killing shocked Chile and sparked a national debate on hate crime. He suffered severe head injuries and his body was found in a city park with cigarette burns… Read more »

Comment: Reflections on Lima Pride

I have always believed people have a right to be whoever/whatever they want to be as long as they’re not hurting anyone. I have nothing against people that have different beliefs, opinions, mentalities, etc. as long as they also respect others. But sometiemes people want to impose their own believes in others and they also… Read more »

Santiago: Twelfth annual pride parade attracts 80,000 and British ambassador

On Saturday, Santiago’s twelfth annual pride parade took place with over 80,000 people demanding further advancement of LGBT rights in Chile. Marcha por la Igualidad, or March for Equality, took place on a sunny winter day in Santiago, with attendees demanding equality before the law. The march was also attended by prominent politicians as well… Read more »

Internationally hate crimes against LGBT community members become more frequent and cruel

Internationally hate crimes against LGBT community members become more frequent and cruel: it’s a spiral of blood and horror are crimes that show a network that links Santiago de Chile in the vicinity of Puebla. The modus operandi is the same: a group of youths caught the victim and subjected to a lengthy session of… Read more »

Chile passes hate crime bill in the wake of gay man’s killing

In the wake of a national outcry over the homophobic killing of a young man, the Chilean Congress has approved an anti-discrimination bill that outlaws discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, gender, and/or sexual orientation. The bill had languished in Congress for over seven years, but was finally fast-tracked to approval by the President,… Read more »

Chile votes in law to protect gay bash victims

The gay-bashing of 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio sparked a national outcry and a global call for hate-crime legislation Chilean congress passed a hate-crimes law Wednesday night, an act of legislation pending since 2005. The law passed with a vote 25-3, and allows people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits for crimes committed against them based on their sexual… Read more »

Gay-Inclusive Anti-Discrimination Bill Approved In Chile After Death Of Daniel Zamudio

Lawmakers in Chile have responded to the murder of Daniel Zamudio by passing a gay-inclusive anti-discrimination law. Zamudio died March 27 from injuries he received during an attack in a park in Santiago on March 3. Police have arrested 4 suspects who have been charged with beating Zamudio for an hour, burning him with cigarettes… Read more »

Gay Chilean man dies in hospital after neo-Nazi attact

Daniel Zamudio, a gay 24-year-old Chilean man who was left brain-dead following an attack in Santiago by four alleged members of a neo-Nazi gang, died yesterday in hospital after three weeks in a medically-induced coma. Zamudio was violently beaten in a park in the Chilean capital early in March. Four of his attackers have been… Read more »

Chilean Leaders Condemn Brutal Homophobic Attack

A vicious anti-gay attack on a Chilean man, in which a swastika was drawn on the victim’s chest, has received strong criticism from political leaders in the country. Daniel Zamudio, 24 (pictured), has been in a medically induced coma while undergoing treatment for severe head trauma and a broken right leg after a vicious attack… Read more »

Chilean leaders condemn brutal beating of gay man amid calls for hate crime legislation

Santiago, Chile – A brutal attack on a gay Chilean man drew strong condemnation from political leaders and entertainer Ricky Martin on Tuesday. Doctors in Santiago said 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio had been put in an induced coma while being treated for severe head trauma and a broken right leg suffered in Saturday’s beating. A swastika… Read more »

Chile to Meet International Obligations on Sexual Diversity

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released this week its report. There, the commission said that after three years Chile received its Universal Periodic Review, that Chile has only “partially complied with contradictions and” two of its four commitments on sexual diversity rights. After the Minister of Justice, Theodore Bank, presented on Monday in… Read more »