Ecuador: Information on a gay rights organization called Amigos Por la Vida (Friends for Life) based in Quito, a December 1995 gay rights/AIDS march, including whether the organizers suffered any violence by state authorities or society at large, the prevalence of "gay bashing" and the availability of legal protection and redress, and whether the treatment and situation of homosexuals has improved since the decriminalization of homosexuality in November 1997 (1994 to present)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ECU29194.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ecuador: Information on a gay rights organization called Amigos Por la Vida (Friends for Life) based in Quito, a December 1995 gay rights/AIDS march, including whether the organizers suffered any violence by state authorities or society at large, the prevalence of "gay bashing" and the availability of legal protection and redress, and whether the treatment and situation of homosexuals has improved since the decriminalization of homosexuality in November 1997 (1994 to present), 1 April 1998, ECU29194.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac9984.html [accessed 23 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please consult Response to Information Request ECU29070.F of 6 April 1998, soon to be available at all Regional Documentation Centres and through Sharenet, for information on the repealing of Article 516 of the Ecuadorian Penal Code in November 1997, which criminalized homosexuality, and legal redress for homosexuals in Ecuador.
Previous to the repealing of Article 516, several reports state that 14 gay men were arrested during a bar raid in the city of Cuenca in Azuay province on 14 June 1997 (IGLHRC Action Alert 1997, 1; IPS 23 July 1997; The San Francisco Chronicle 17 Dec. 1997; UPI 3 July 1997). The IGLHRC Action Alert and The San Francisco Chronicle reports state that one of those arrested was brutally raped by other inmates while in police custody (1997,1; 17 Dec. 1997). The same reports state that the men were released two days after their arrest and charged with "intention to commit a crime against morality." According to the IGLHRC, for the first time ever in Ecuador, a formal complaint was filed against the Chief of Police of Azuay and the accompanying police squad called Grupo Especial de Operaciones de la Policía (Special Operations Squad) (1997,1). Please consult the IGLHRC Action Alert report for additional information on the Cuenca incident.
The 23 July 1997 IPS report states that the arrest of 14 gay men in Cuenca was only one report of attacks against homosexuals among many others received daily by the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights.
A 14 March 1996 Latinamerica Press report states that because of Article 516 of the Ecuadorian Penal Code, the murder of at least 10 homosexuals in Quito had never been investigated (5). The report also states that a man was arrested by police for being gay and was subsequently raped by an agent while detained at the Pichincha Provincial Detention Center. The same article reports that the AIDS Prevention Bylaw has been used by state authorities as a means "to harass and discriminate against people" instead of educating the population about HIV/AIDS prevention. Please consult the attached article for additional information on AIDS and homosexuality in Ecuador.
According to a December 1996 ILGA Bulletin, an Ecuadorian gay and lesbian rights group called Sociedad de Orientación General y Ayuda (SOGA) has changed its name to the Fundación Ecuartoriana de Ayuda, Educación y Prevención del SIDA, FEDAEPS (Ecuadorian Foundation of Help, Education and Prevention of AIDS) (11). The group claims that it has been "harassed and persecuted by the Ecuadorian public, and denied legal status" because it is an openly gay and lesbian organization (ibid.).
Information on a group called Amigos Por la Vida (Friends for Life), a December 1995 demonstration and whether the situation of homosexuals has improved since the decriminalization of homosexuality in November 1997 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
IGLHRC Action Alert [San Francisco]. 1997. Volume VI, Number 4. "Fourteen Men Arrested During Gay Bar Raid in Cuenca, Ecuador, One Is Raped by Other Inmates While in Police Custody."
ILGA Bulletin [Brussels]. October-November-December 1996. "Ecuadorian Gay Group Changes Name: Still Fighting to be Legal."
InterPress Service (IPS). 23 July 1997. Mario Gonzalez. "Ecuador-Rights: Homosexuals Fight For Decriminalization." (NEXIS)
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 14 March 1996. Vol. 28, No. 9. Luis Angel Saavedra. "Ecuador: Laying the Blame."
The San Francisco Chronicle. 17 December 1997. Lewis Dolinsky. "Gays Win One." (NEXIS)
United Press International (UPI). 3 July 1997. "Ecuadoreans Protest Anti-Homosexual Laws." (NEXIS)
Attachments
IGLHRC Action Alert [San Francisco]. 1997. Volume VI, Number 4. "Fourteen Men Arrested During Gay Bar Raid in Cuenca. Ecuador, One Is Raped by Other Inmates While in Police Custody," p. 1.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 14 March 1996. Vol. 28, No. 9. Luis Angel Saavedra. "Ecuador: Laying the Blame," p. 5.
Additional Sources Consulted
Latin American Regional Reports: Andean Report [London]. 1994-1998.
NACLA Report on the Americas [New York]. 1994-1998.
Resource Centre Amnesty International File: Ecuador. 1994-1998.
Resource Centre Country File: Ecuador. 1995.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection (WNC).
