Colombia, South America

With an area more than twice that of France Colomba has the second largest population in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico and Spain. In recent years, the country has continued to be plagued by the effects of the drug trade, guerrilla insurgencies like FARC and paramilitary groups. During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, who was elected on the promise of applying military pressure on the FARC and other outlawed groups, security indicators have improved.

LGBT rights in Colombia have progressed since consensual homosexual activity was decriminalized in 1980 with amendments to the Criminal Code. 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 for registered heterosexual couples. Law reforms in the 1990s equalized the age of consent in Colombia at 14 for both homosexual and heterosexual sex. Colombia and Uruguay are the only two countries in Latin America that grant same sex couples a nation-wide legal mechanism to register and protect the rights of their civil unions.

 

News & Reports:

 

Displaced and Queer: These Venezuelans find community despite the obstacles

For more than a year, Venezuelans have been making the dangerous trek to the United States through the Darién Gap, in unprecedented numbers. However, the United States was not the first destination for Venezuelans fleeing their country’s instability. Due to the ongoing socio-political crisis (including hyperinflation, censorship and violence) in Venezuela, nearly 7 million people… Read more »

Gay Kiss-A-Thon Held To Rally Support For LGBTQIA+ Couples In Colombia

In a show of inspiring solidarity, a community in Bogotá, Columbia came together on Sunday, August 7 to hold a kiss-a-thon in support of a gay couple who were set upon by a group after kissing publicly, reports BBC News. Colombians Came TogetherOn Friday, August 5, a video circulated on social media showing a queer… Read more »

Claudia López, First Woman Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, Marries Girlfriend

Claudia López, the first woman and LGBTQ person elected mayor of the Colombian capital of Bogotá, married Angélica Lozano Correa, her girlfriend of three years, on Monday. Tweeted Lopez: “Heading to the happiest moment of my life! I love you my divine Angelica! Thank you for existing and for always loving me. I promise to… Read more »

Which is the world’s most LGBT-friendly city?

Even when cities seem progressive on the surface, the lived experience of members of the LGBT community can tell a dramatically different story Amid a mass of colour and pounding Latin rhythms, revellers at this year’s Bogotá Pride march waved banners stating “not one step back”. They were among tens of thousands who took to… Read more »

Colombia’s LGBT community may not be benefiting fully from reparations system

When Aura Hinestroza talks about her life, she divides it in two chapters: “The Aura who was happy, and the Aura who came after,” Hinestroza said. Eighteen years ago, Hinestroza was working as a journalist in Chocó, a western region in Colombia. She got a tip about the FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of… Read more »

Colombia gets first ‘polyamorous family’ as three men legally established as unit

Three gay men say they have gained legal recognition as the first “polyamorous family” in Colombia, where same-sex marriages were legalised last year. “We wanted to validate our household… and our rights, because we had no solid legal basis establishing us as a family,” said one of the men, actor Victor Hugo Prada, in a… Read more »

Colombian Opposition to Peace Deal Feeds Off Gay Rights Backlash

For the president’s many opponents, it was never just about derailing the peace deal. As Colombia debated how to end 52 years of war with the nation’s largest rebel group, there was the soccer player from the beloved national team who condemned the agreement, singled out President Juan Manuel Santos and accused him of practices… Read more »

Colombia High Court Paves Way for Gay Marriage Rights

Colombia’s highest court is paving the way for same-sex couples to marry in the conservative Roman Catholic nation. Gay couples in Colombia were already allowed to form civil unions, with many benefits of marriage including inheritance, pensions and health benefits. But the symbolically important right to wed was something that so far has been denied.… Read more »

Highest court in Colombia legalises equal marriage

The highest court in Colombia has paved the way for same-sex marriage by ruling in favour of equality. The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have an equal right to marry. Earlier this month the court rejected an opinion which would have stopped public notaries from registering gay couples as married. The court… Read more »

Colombia: the next battleground in the global fight for marriage equality

As the country’s top court prepares to rule on same-sex marriage, a man whose lawsuit has been hanging in the balance for two years hopes the landmark US supreme court decision ripples down to Latin America The US supreme court’s landmark decision last month legalizing gay marriage across the United States was the best news… Read more »

For Colombia’s Gay Couples, The Struggle For Same-Sex Marriage, Adoption Rights Continues

Bogata (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled that Veronica Botero could adopt her lesbian partner’s two children, the couple were ecstatic because their six-year legal battle seemed to be over. The ruling, handed down in 2014, was the first of its kind in the socially conservative Andean nation. But more than seven… Read more »

Colombia refuses to equalise adoption laws for same-sex couples

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled to keep the current limits on same-sex adoption. The court said yesterday that same-sex couples could only adopt a child if it was the offspring of one of the partners. Campaigners have reacted with dismay at the ruling. Senator Armando Benedetti, a supporter of LGBT rights, called the judges “cowards”.… 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 »

Judges allow first same-sex marriages in Colombia

Two civil court judges have begun marrying same-sex couples in Colombia after two couples sought to get married after a Constitutional Court deadline for the Congress to act had passed Colombia had its first same-sex marriages last week after two civil court judges decided that the passing of a Constitutional Court deadline meant that they… Read more »

Colombia’s first same-sex marriage to take place 24 July

A Bogota judge has said the gay couple should easily receive their marriage license using the same laws used for heterosexual partnerships Colombia’s first gay marriage is set to take place 24 July 2013. A Colombian judge has approved what is considered to be the nation’s first same-sex wedding. Carmen Lucía Rodríguez Díaz, a judge… Read more »

Gay Marriage Goes to Court in Colombia

Letter From Bogota: It’s getting better in Latin America. In recent years, advocacy campaigns on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have paved the way for legislation and judicial decisions that limit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. At the core of the fight is the question of rights for same-sex… Read more »

Armed Conflict, Homonegativity And Forced Internal Displacement: Implications For HIV Among Colombian Gay, Bisexual And Transgendered Individuals.

Abstract Colombia has endured six decades of civil unrest, population displacement and violence. We examined the relationships between contextual conditions, displacement and HIV among gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 19 key informants provided information about internal displacement of sexual minorities. Life-history interviews were conducted with 42 participants aged 18… Read more »

Colombia Senate Shuts Down Debate On Gay Marriage After Altercation

Debate on a gay marriage bill in the Colombia Senate has been tabled after supporters were assaulted on Thursday. Colombia Senate President Roy Barreras on Friday postponed next week’s debate over the incident. “I have decided to suspend the discussion of this debate until we meet with the leaders of this community LGBTI and define… Read more »

Popular perceptions of circumcision among Colombian men who have sex with men.

Abstract Male circumcision has received increased attention for its potential to reduce sexual transmission of HIV. Research on the acceptability of circumcision as a means of HIV prevention among men who have sex with men is limited. Men who have sex with men in Bogotá, Colombia, either participated in a focus group in which they… Read more »

Colombia grants gay couples right to express affection publicly

Ruling comes after two gay men were escorted out of a Cali mall for kissing in public Colombia’s constitutional court has ruled the government cannot restrict gay couples’ right to express affection in public. The ruling comes after two men were forced to leave a Cali mall when a security guard found them kissing in… Read more »

Colombia: Partner of gay Catholic priest wins pension rights

The gay partner of a deceased Catholic priest has been told he is allowed to have his lover’s pension, despite the cleric’s vow of chastity. The Constitutional Court of Colombia found in favor of the partner, who lived with the priest for 28 years before his death in 2009, in  landmark ruling, unprecedented in the… Read more »

Mayor creates gay branch for Bogota, Colombia

Mayor Gustavo Petro’s LGBTI Affairs Branch will address reports of homophobia in capital city Gustavo Petro, the mayor of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, has launched the LGBTI Affairs Branch to address local problems of discrimination based on sexual-orientation. The group will also build an education and events venue to further raise awareness of other lesbian, gay,… Read more »

Colombia: Gay priests ‘hired hitmen after AIDS diagnosis’

A pair of Catholic priests in Colombia reportedly hired hitmen to kill them after one was diagnosed with AIDS. The Daily Mail reports the case of Rafael Reatiga, 35, and Richard Piffano, 37, Roman Catholic priests in Bogota. When the men were discovered shot dead last year, they were thought to have been the victims… Read more »

Off2Colombia Releases Video of Bogotá Gay Pride…

… and Claims Bogotá Could be the Next Gay Capital of the World (PRWEB) – Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, is quickly getting rediscovered as one of the most vibrant, culturally rich capital cities in South America. What is less talked about, however, is its rapidly emerging Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, which is strongly… Read more »

Gay Columbia News & Reports 2011

Gay Columbia web sites: Quia Gay Colombia Poor Bu Hhappy Miss Colombia Gay Medellin August 19, 2005 Comment from Lonely Planet Thorn Tree LGBT web site: Bogota is a big gay town. There are many clubs, bars, bathhouses. Most of the action is located in the Chapinero district (some people refer to it as Chapigay).… Read more »

Gay Colombia News & Reports 2001-10

Gay Columbia web sites: Quia Gay Colombia Poor Bu Hhappy Miss Colombia Gay Medellin Most of the LGBT clubs and bars in Bogotá are in the Chapinero area, including the only LGBT Community Center in the country, which opened in September 2006, and is sponsored by the Office of the Mayor of Bogotá. Best clubs:… Read more »