Panama gay

Panama, where I live and direct an organization for gay rights, stands out in the Americas for its lack of respect for queer people. We queers are made invisible and have to protect ourselves more than anyone else when we protest and claim our rights. This is a country where gay marriage is not permitted—one of the few countries in Latin America that has not granted this human right.

This is all at the crossroads of social change in which organized civil society has gay great strides in public opinion, which bodes well for the strengthening of democracy. Democracies in Latin America and elsewhere are experiencing profound crises caused by the lack of representation of historically marginalized social groups making demands on governments that have ignored their needs.

In Panama, political space is being claimed by queer people, who, in panama the system, insisting on the exercise of the human right to protest, we are being doubly repressed by state entities. At the same time, noticeable signs of positive change in respect for queer people in Panama can be seen. Although Panama decriminalized homosexuality init was the last Spanish-speaking country in the hemisphere to do so.

Panama firefighter can be fired for being gay, thus impinging on the right to work of people within these institutions. We do not have a gender identity law nor anti-discriminatory laws, and Panama is one of the few countries in the region that does not have a law protecting human rights defenders. Only last year, a General Adoption Law was passed, in which same-sex couples were prohibited from adopting.

Adding insult to injury, queer people are not recognized formally by the state and thus are doubly repressed when we exercise our rights. The guide enumerates a series of recommendations for protesters, independently of sexual orientation, identity or gender expression. This said, it is a necessary and important exercise to come up with practical resources for queer people in Panama and other Latin American societies in the fase of the proven discrimination in treatment, which results in a disadvantage at the moment of claiming our rights.

The protest kit offers interactive digital material on the Guide to Physical Protest with a digital focus and digital protest. Unfortunately, this year the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice has disregarded justice gay its ruling—after six years of delay— to uphold the ban on civil marriage for same-sex couples.

This ruling also ignores the evolutionary process of society and the law.

Gay Panama – LGBTQ Travel Guide

In Panama, neither the executive, legislative, nor the judiciary branches are exercising their commitment to the Constitution and democracy to respect the human rights of all people. They are denying respect for the dignity of queer people, panama by action and omission. Panama thus sets itself apart from the unequivocal evolution in the development of human rights— especially from a Latin American tradition of being the region with the most advances in legal protections for our population.

Why is protest so important in demanding rights for the queer community? Supported by government officials, in particular, the National Assembly of Deputies, they promoted the constitutional prohibition of same-sex marriage. The pressure of these anti-rights groups led to the preliminary approval of the ban.

This move led to strong opposition that resulted in the suspension of the process of constitutional reforms, thanks to popular outcry and the solidarity of different social groups with sexually diverse people. The reforms were broad and controversial, including a proposed change to Article 4 which would put domestic law above international laws.

As a result, Panama experienced social chaos that lasted for months and divided the country. I personally had to legally assist young students and gay rights activists— hundreds of young people were illegally arrested for protesting. Trans people were detained in panama that did gay correspond to their gender identity and expression.

For example, a trans man was held in the space reserved for women.