In 2011, it was reported that many LGBTI people conceal their sexuality due to the ‘macho-male culture’ that exists in Cuba. In 2004, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ( ILGA) noted that homosexuals at that time were still ‘afraid of meeting and organising themselves’.
Although mentioned in various documents, information regarding NGOs, for example, the Félix Varela Centre, the Martin Luther King Centre and the Cuban Federation of Women is not available.
An example of this can be seen when on Jthe Cuban Government shut down the organisation ‘The Cuban Association of Gays and Lesbians’ in Havana and arrested all the members. As yet there is no law in place that protects homosexuals from discrimination and marginalisation.Ī report from 2003, states that independent organisations are forbidden to advocate for LGBTI groups. Since 1994, the age of consent in Cuba is sixteen, for both heterosexual and homosexual sexual relationships.Īccording to the US Department of State 2009 Human Rights report, ‘there was no discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care’, however there was still a large amount of stigma in society and from authorities police sweeps in known ‘gay’ areas are not uncommon and there still exists a significant amount of discrimination and intolerance towards these minority groups. Cuba saw its first marriage between a gay man and transgender woman in August 2011. As of 2007, the government will now provide each state with funding, allowing a number of sexual reassignment surgeries on the health service to be given to Cuban Transsexuals who opt for the procedure. In public health, the Health Minister José Ramón Balaguer signed the resolution that allows for the existence of an ‘integral health care for transsexuals’. There are now annual government-sanctioned gay pride marches. Politically there have been changes made in government policy. Advocacy work for LGBTI issues has been largely headed up by Mariela Castro who announced in an interview, in 2001, that gay men are able to serve in the military.Īnother significant step came from Fidel Castro who, in 2010, apologised and took responsibility for the injustices faced by homosexuals following the revolution in 1959. It would also define a policy to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity towards LGBTI people. The Cuban Government put same-sex civil unions on the legislative agenda in 2012 that, if passed, would have allowed legal civil partnerships.
In this case, a gay Cuban national was ordered to be deported by the Attorney General who said: “I hereby designate the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals in In re: Fidel Toboso-Alfonso (A23 220 644) (March 12, 1990) as precedent in all proceedings involving the same issue or issues.” PUBLIC ATTITUDES AND/OR STATE’S CAPACITY TO PROTECT Matter of Toboso-Alfonso, United States Board of Immigration Appeals, 12 March 1990 The Cuba Penal Code does not prohibit homosexuality, but the Constitution of 1992 does not protect homosexual rights. Cuba’s Parliament has debated a proposal to recognise homosexual marriages, (2012) however it did not pass. The former law prohibited public homosexual demonstrations, punishable by fine and imprisonment.Įven though homosexuality is now legal in Cuba, same sex marriage is not recognised Article 36 of the Constitution only recognises unions between a man and a woman. Homosexuality was legalised in 1988 as the Parliament abrogated the 1930s Law of Public Ostentation.
(See Below for Case Law, Evidence of Public Attitudes, NGOs that Assist or Advocate on LGBTI issues, and Country of Origin LGBTI Specialists) LEGAL INFORMATION