Ecuador, South America

Ecuador is a paradise for scientists and tourists alike. Within just a 300 Km radius one can access almost as many ecosystems as all those found across the United States. Ecuador and Peru reached a tentative peace agreement in October 1998, which ended their prolonged border war. Ecuador's Galápagos Islands are well known as a region of distinct fauna, famous as the place of birth of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Homosexuality has been legal in Ecuador since a 1997. The age of consent in Ecuador is 14 regardless of gender or sexual orientation. A fairly large gay scene has developed in Quito and Guayaquil. But Ecuador still has a conservative and macho culture, and homosexuality continues to be viewed negatively. Nevertheless, in 2008, a revised constitution included recognition of same-sex couples. See gay rights in Ecuador.

 

 

First Same-Sex Couple Marries In Ecuador

Roughly a month after Ecuador’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, ruled that gay and lesbian couples could marry, a lesbian couple on Thursday became the first same-sex couple to tie the knot in the South American nation of 16 million. According to the AP, Michelle Avilés and Alexandra Chávez married at the civil registry office… Read more »

Ecuador’s highest court legalizes same-sex marriage

(CNN) – Ecuador’s highest court has ruled to recognize same-sex marriage, marking a watershed moment for LGBTQ rights in the Catholic-majority country. Judges on Quito’s constitutional court ruled five-to-four on Wednesday to overhaul the country’s laws, arguing that its current marriage legislation was discriminatory and unconstitutional, and that same-sex couples should be allowed equal rights.… Read more »

Ecuador’s Highest Court Orders Lawmakers To Allow Gay Couples To Marry

Ecuador’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, on Wednesday instructed lawmakers to approve legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The 5-4 ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle waged by several couples who wish to marry. Ecuador has recognized gay couples with civil unions for a decade. But plaintiffs Efrain Soria and Xavier Benalcazar,… Read more »

Amazon Tribe Wins Lawsuit, Blocks Big Oil’s Bid To Destroy Millions Of Acres Of Rainforest

In a landmark victory, the Waorani people of Pastaza, an indigenous tribe from the Ecuadorian Amazon, successfully protected half a million acres of their ancestral territory in the Amazon rainforest from being mined for oil drilling by Big Oil companies. A three-judge panel of the Pastaza Provincial Court indefinitely suspended the auctioning of Waorani lands… 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 »

Watch: Gay cruise the Galapagos Islands with Nomadic Boys

Cute couple Stef and Seb invite you to paradise The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean. They’re found about 1,000km (600 miles) from Ecuador’s coast. This is the place that captivated Charles Darwin, when he first set foot here in 1835 and inspired his theory of evolution. We’ve always… Read more »

Ecuador transgender people vote for first time according to chosen gender

Ecuadorean transgender people on Sunday voted for the first time according to their chosen gender, in what activists say are signs of progress in the socially conservative and Catholic Andean nation. In Ecuador, men and women wait in separate lines to cast their ballots, which for years created uncomfortable moments for transgender voters who had… Read more »

Ecuador just approved same-sex civil unions

The Ecuadorian National Assembly has passed an amendment to its Civil Code which will legalise same-sex civil unions. The South American country passed the broad reforms, which also included raising the age of legal marriage to 18 and specifying criteria for marriage and divorce. Civil unions in Ecuador will be open to those of any… Read more »

Ecuador’s Rafael Correa Says Gays In Civil Unions Can Record Their Status On ID Cards

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Saturday that gay couples in a civil union can include their status on national ID cards. Under the Ecuador Constitution ratified in 2008, gay couples are recognized with civil unions, granting them all of the rights of marriage except for joint adoption. The document also reserves marriage for heterosexual couples.… Read more »

Transgender woman sues Ecuador for refusing to recognize her new gender

Transgender activist Diane Rodriguez is taking the Ecuadorian Government to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for refusing to allow her to change her gender on her identity papers without undergoing surgery The first transgender woman in Ecuador to legally change her name will now take her court battle to have her identity documents also… Read more »

Ecuador: ‘Gay cure clinics’ use rape and torture as corrective measures

Unregulated gay conversion therapy clinics found in Ecuador have been using both rape and torture as corrective measures against patients, a recent investigation has reported. According to the Sunday Times, gay people and other “socially undesirable” patients are abused in the country’s secret clinics as a means of “spiritual correction.” The government has reported “therapies”… Read more »

Gay couple fights back after Ecuador refuses marriage application

Rather than accepting the government’s legal reasoning for rejecting their marriage application, one gay couple in Ecuador is challenging both the Constitution and the Civil Code on their road to marriage equality A rejection from the government will not stop this gay Ecuadorian couple from obtaining a marriage certificate. Santiago Vinces, 23, and Fernando Saltos,… Read more »

USAID launches partnership to promote LGBT rights

The U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday unveiled a public-private partnership designed to promote LGBT rights around the world. USAID will work with the Swedish International Development Corporation Agency, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute, the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law and Olivia Companies on… Read more »

Ecuador: Former presidential candidate fined for saying ‘gays are immoral’

A former presidential candidate in Ecuador has been fined around £2,014 for making homophobic comments. Nelson Zavala polled just 1.23% of the vote in February’s elections in the country. He came last out of eight candidates and President Rafael Correa was re-elected for a third term with nearly 60% of the vote. A court heard… Read more »

Ecuador’s Correa Claims Re-Election Victory

Quito – Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa claimed a re-election victory on Sunday that would allow him to strengthen state control over the OPEC nation’s economy and gives a timely boost to Latin America’s alliance of socialist leaders. Correa won 61 percent of the vote compared with 21 percent for former banker Guillermo Lasso, the strongest… Read more »

LGBTI groups and Jose Delgado reach four agreements’ after conflict

Jose Delgado, a journalist and program director “in flesh” must attend academic workshops that will address issues of sexual diversity. One of the agreements reached yesterday with the LGBTI groups of Guayaquil. The Centre City LGBTI, represented in the mediation process by Carlos Alvarez legal and Gonzalo Abarca, will be responsible for issuing these courses.… Read more »

Ecuador’s new lesbian health minister to close ‘gay cure clinics’

The appointment of a lesbian politician as Ecuador’s new health minister has caused a stir this week, as she announced a campaign to shut down religious ‘lesbian cure’ clinics. Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, announced the appointment of Carina Vance Mafla, who is openly gay, as the newest member of his cabinet. The American-born activist hit… Read more »

Underage Gays and Trans Sell Sex in the Streets of Guayaquil

Guayaquil – A group of underage kids, looking like a childish, are the new “owners” of some streets in downtown Guayaquil, such as May Day, in which prostitutes. In the evenings and early mornings, the place is full of “clients” which are usually adult men looking to satisfy their sexual whims. Predator prey on the… Read more »

Ecuador News & Reports

1 Evangelicals attack Ecuador’s protection of sexual minorities 3/08 2 President Correa falls into political trap 4/08 3 Ecuador: Kidnapping, torture, confinement at ex-gay therapy centers 5/08 4 Catholic Church Blasts Ecuador’s New Gay-Positive Constitution 7/08 5 President Rafael Correa vows to fight homophobia in wake of NYC murder 12/08 6 Baxter Labs Accused of… Read more »