As of September 15, same-sex couples in Ecuador will finally be able to register their civil unions. Same-sex marriage in Ecuador is still illegal, but the status of civil union will be noted on national ID cards, and will allow certain legal and financial benefits to the couple.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa met with LGBT leaders days before the announcement. At the meeting, Correa received a report from the leaders that documented cases of discrimination against LGBT people in Ecuador that were a result of the lack of legal recognition for same-sex couples.
“If there was any doubt about heterosexual or same-sex civil unions being put on national ID cards, there is none any more,” Correa told Telesur after the announcement, “and if someone is still turned away by a government employee, that employee will be dismissed for denying constitutional rights.”
Trans-feminist activist Diane Rodriguez, who attended the meeting with Correa, told Think Progress that the new resolution is a “huge step forward.” She continued, “It’s like giving us full citizenship,” exampling that, “in emergencies, my partner can make decisions about my health care at a hospital. Or at the bank, we can open a joint account.” Rodriguez, however, noted that civil unions do not bring the full rights of marriage, pointing out that same-sex couples in Ecuador still cannot adopt children together.
Homosexuality itself was illegal in Ecuador until 1997, but since then significant progress has been made toward LGBT equality. Ecuador is currently ranked just under the US and Mexico in terms of their protection of LGBT rights on the Social Inclusion Index of 2014. Same-sex couples, however, are constitutionally banned from marrying, and President Correa has stated that he does not support same-sex marriage in Ecuador.
Media Resources: Advocate 8/28/2014; ThinkProgress 8/25/2014; America’s Quarterly Social Inclusion Index of 2014; AFP 8/23/14
