Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Venezuela may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in Venezuela, 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.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Venezuela. The age of consent is equal at 16.
Recognition of same-sex couples
There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples explicitly in the Venezuelan law. In 2003, a gay NGO called Union Afirmativa (Affirmative Union) submitted an Appeal to the Supreme Court for legal recognition of economic rights (pensions, inheritance, social security, common household, etc) for same-sex partners. The ruling, issued on 28 February 2008 despite recognizing that "same sex partners enjoy all of the rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights- they do have not special protection similar to concubinage or marriage between a man and a woman, that is, in the same terms than heterosexual partners have. Notwithstanding this, the National Assembly is the government body with the mandate to legislate to protect such rights for same-sex partners. The decision also indicated that these rights were covered under the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
On 20 March 2009, Chamber of Deputies member Romelia Matute announced that the National Assembly would explicitly legalize same-sex unions and recognize them as asociaciones de convivencia (association by cohabitation) as part of the Gender and Equity Organic Law.
Anti-discrimination legislation
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was outlawed in the 1999 Labour Organic Law (Ley Orgánica de Trabajo).
In the process leading up to the adoption of the new 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, anti-discrimination provisions were proposed, however due to forceful opposition from the Catholic Church, they were dropped from the final draft. In 2001, there were renewed attempts to include them in the Constitution. In 2002, Current President Hugo Chávez voiced his regret for their exclusion, signaling that they may be included in future rounds of constitutional reform.
The Venezuelan constitutional referendum in 2007 would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation but both of the two reform packages, which covered a wide range of social and economic measures, were narrowly defeated.
There is a pending bill against sexual discrimination to be introduced into National Assembly by several LGBT organizations next year.
Living conditions
Venezuela is home to a thriving gay community. Since 2000, International Day of Gay Rights has been marked, while recently the government began participating in Gay Pride Day for the first time. However, police harassment and homophobia in the workplace remain as serious problems.
Special lawmaking powers vested by the former National Assembly (AN) in Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez until mid 2011 jeopardize human rights. The claim was lodged on March 29 by a group of university scholars and human rights advocated with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
The Venezuelan Constitution prohibits any discrimination. However, in the South American country there are some groups such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) that do not even have the right to identity.
The complaint was made by Venezuelan gay activist group Diverlex in a report sent last week to Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and to the UN Human Rights Council, in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, a process which involves a review of the human rights record of all 192 UN Member States. Venezuela will undergo such review in October.
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