LGBTQ rights in Cuba

LGBTQ rights in Cuba
Cuba
StatusLegal since 1979
Gender identityGender change allowed since 2008; Surgery not required since 2013
MilitaryLGBT people allowed to serve openly since 1993
Discrimination protectionsConstitutional protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity since 2019[1][2][3]
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsSame-sex marriage since 2022
AdoptionFull adoption rights since 2022

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Cuba have significantly varied throughout modern history. Cuba is now considered generally progressive, with vast improvements in the 21st century for such rights.[4][5] Following the 2022 Cuban Family Code referendum, there is legal recognition of the right to marriage, unions between people of the same sex, same-sex adoption and non-commercial surrogacy as part of one of the most progressive Family Codes in Latin America.[6] Until the 1990s, the LGBT community was marginalized on the basis of heteronormativity, traditional gender roles, politics[7][8] and strict criteria for moralism. It was not until the 21st century that the attitudes and acceptance towards LGBT people changed to be more tolerant.[9]

In 2018, the National Assembly of People's Power voted to legalize same-sex marriage, with a constitutional referendum to be held in February 2019; it was later removed from the draft constitution.[10] In May 2019, the government announced that the Union of Jurists of Cuba was working on the new Family Code, which would address same-sex marriage.[11] On 7 September 2021, the government announced that the new Family Code would be brought to the National Assembly for approval, and then be put to popular vote to legalize same-sex marriage if approved in the referendum.[12] The referendum was approved in April 2022 and took place in September 2022, with the referendum passing.[13] Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal in Cuba.

Historically, public antipathy towards LGBT people was high. This had eased since the 1990s.[14] Educational campaigns on LGBT issues are currently implemented by the National Center for Sex Education (locally known as "CENESEX"), headed by Mariela Castro, daughter of former president and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Raúl Castro. Pride parades in Havana are held every May, to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, with attendance having grown every year. In 2022, Cuba became the first Latin American country to mark LGBT History Month.[15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference new2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Gaceta Oficial No. 29 Extraordinaria de 17 de junio de 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Entra en vigor nuevo Código del Trabajo". cubaencuentro.com.
  4. ^ "The 203 Worst (& Safest) Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2023". Asher & Lyric. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  5. ^ Staff (1 January 2023). "LGBT Equality Index: The Most LGBT-Friendly Countries in the World". Equaldex. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Cuba approves same-sex marriage in historic turnabout". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  7. ^ Llovio-Menéndez, José Luis (1988). Insider: my hidden life as a revolutionary in Cuba. Toronto: Bantam Books. pp. 156–158, 172–174. ISBN 9780553051148. Retrieved 27 May 2022 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Gay and Lesbian Humanist - Gay Rights and Wrongs in Cuba". 21 August 2002. Archived from the original on 21 August 2002. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  9. ^ Smith, Lydia (4 January 2018). "Inside Cuba's LGBT revolution: How the island's attitudes to sexuality and gender were transformed". The Independent. Havana. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ Martín, Sarah Paz (19 December 2018). "#ReformaConstitucional: ¿Qué pasó con el artículo 68? (+Infografías)". Cubahora. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  11. ^ Alfonso, María Isabel (17 September 2018). "As Cuba backs gay marriage, churches oppose the government's plan". The Conversation. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Código de las familias, con un sello cubano y vocación de futuro". 7 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Cuba Family Code: Country votes to legalise same-sex marriage". BBC News. 26 September 2022.
  14. ^ Rachel Evans, "Rainbow Cuba: the sexual revolution within the revolution" Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal (23 December 2011).
  15. ^ "Cuba marks Latin America's first LGBTQ+ history month". Reuters. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.