LGBT rights in Honduras

LGBT rights in Honduras
Honduras
Same-sex sexual activity legal?	Legal
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex couples
Restrictions:	Same-sex marriage prohibited by constitution
Adoption	Prohibited by constitution

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Honduras may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in Honduras, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Both same-sex marriages and same-sex adoption have been constitutionally banned since 2005.

Government, Law and Politics

Criminal and Constitutional Law

Homosexuality is legal provided that it involves consenting adults in private. In 2005 the Constitution was amended to expressly ban legal recongition of same-sex couples and to prohibit such couples from adopting or having custody of children [1].

Interest Groups & Political Parties

The Constitution stipulates that citizens have the right to establish and associate with political parties and interest groups,yet initial efforts to register a LGBT-rights group were met with government opposition or extended delays.

The first LGBT-rights organizations arose in the 1980s, often in the response to the AIDS-HIV pandemic. Such organizations had no legal standing and were essentially ignored by the government, except for police harassment.

In 2004 the Government extended formal recognition to three LGBT-rights interest groups, despite organized protests from the Catholic Church, Evangelical Protests and conservative legislators [2]

The two major political parties have not expressed any support in expanding LGBT-rights. Only a handful of dissident members within the leftist Party of Unified Democracy have expressed some interest in working with the LGBT-community [3].

Discrimination & Harassment

No national legislation exists to address discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Reports suggest that law enforcement often engages in or tolerates abuse [4]. As many suggest 200 Honduras people may have been killed because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity between 1993 - 2003 [5].

International human rights organizations have stated that LGBT people have been targeted by the military government for harassment, abuse and murder [6].

Walter Trochez, a Honduran political activist and LGBT rights leader, was allegedly assassinated by members of the anti-Zelaya regime for organizing dissent against the new government.

AIDS/HIV

• See Also HIV/AIDS in Honduras

The socially conservative influence of the Catholic Church and evangelical Protestants has made it difficult for any sort of comprehensive public program to be implemented. Female prostitutes and men who have sex with men are seen as the highest risk groups. The government does offer medical care to all citizens and has been increasingly working with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to raise awareness.

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