Some 350.000 Dogs Roam The Streets of Costa
Rica
Costa Rican
Public Funds Shaky
Costa Rica A
Day of Multi-Coloured Splendor for Gays
Loss Of Power Forces Small Plan To Land On
Circunvalación
Vandenberg
Medical Team to Work With Costa Rican
Doctors
Costa Rica: A
Day of Multi-Coloured Splendor for Gays
By Daniel Zueras
Government institutions and civil society
organisations are holding talks, workshops
and other activities aimed at raising
awareness and overcoming intolerance, in
preparation for the National Day Against
Homophobia on Sunday in Costa Rica.
President Óscar Arias issued a decree in
March 2008 declaring May 17 the national day
of fighting discrimination against
homosexuals, placing Costa Rica among 30
countries that have officially decided to
mark such a day.
The decree states that public institutions
must widely disseminate the goals of this
commemoration, and must also ”facilitate,
promote and support activities aimed at the
eradication of homophobia.”
This step was taken as a result of a
campaign by the Centre for Investigation and
Promotion of Human Rights in Central America
(CIPAC), one of whose members, Francisco
Madrigal, spoke to IPS about the importance
of the decree for encouraging the state to
take part in the transformation of society.
In his view, ”deeper awareness is needed as
well as the institutionalisation of policies
to respect a person's sexual orientation.”
To further this task, several government
institutions will carry out
awareness-raising activities like talks for
their employees, training events and round
table discussions in various parts of the
country. The rainbow flag of the homosexual
rights movement will also be raised at their
buildings.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal
Supremo de Elecciones), the Human Rights
Ombudsman's Office (Defensoria de los
Habitantes) and the Health Ministry (Ministerio
de Salud) are some of the government bodies
involved.
The National University (Universidad
Nacional), the Institute of Technology and
the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have been
holding the First Inter-University Festival
for Sexual Diversity since Wednesday.
Considerable progress has been made over the
years in the fight against discrimination
based on sexual orientation in this Central
American country, but the leader of the
Movimiento Diversidad (MD),
Abelardo Araya, told IPS that, in spite of
these efforts, homophobia still exists.
But, Araya said, ”it cannot be compared to
how things were 20 years ago,” when
homosexuals were persecuted with ”police
raids and imprisonment.”
In this activist's view, the pattern of
homophobia nowadays is different, although
some sectors are resistant to greater
openness, and ”it can be found at all levels
of society.”
For instance, the Catholic Church has
already expressed its opposition to the
draft law on civil unions between same-sex
couples which is currently before
parliament.
The statements by the church hierarchy
surprised no one, but the position against
the proposed law taken by the centre-left
Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusión (PASE)
did, especially as it specifically called
for the vote of the gay community in the
last legislative elections.
PASE is now advocating a referendum to
decide the issue of same-sex civil unions.
The gay community is against the idea
”because it is a matter of human rights,”
Araya said.
The
Movimiento Diversidad
is putting the final touches to a document
to be presented to the Supreme Electoral
Tribunal, showing the amendments made to the
draft law, as well as the conventions that
Costa Rica has ratified which would preclude
calling a referendum on issues that involve
human rights.
Among these are the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women.
Sociologist Jacobo Schifter, one of the
first well-known Costa Ricans to come out of
the closet in 1988, told IPS that
”homophobia has always existed and will
continue to exist.” In his view, 20 years
ago gay people were completely invisible,
but ”AIDS made this community more visible.”
A 1987 national AIDS survey ”found that the
most homophobic people were those who were
least familiar with homosexuals,” he said.
Schifter said that people are more
open-minded in rural and marginalised areas,
because they have a more communal social
life. But changing the country's laws ”is to
import the U.S. model” and ”is a stupid
approach,” he said.
He said that in Latin America, ”it's easier
to focus on changing people's social
attitudes. Gay marriages won't make any
difference to acceptance” of the gay
community. He also said ”no one pays any
attention to what the Catholic Church says,
so what does it matter what they say about
people's sex lives?”
What needs to happen is social progress,
Schifter said, ”so that gays come out of the
ghetto and take their place in every sector.
And it should happen from the bottom up.” In
his view, the present strategy followed by
the gay rights movement is a waste of time.
As for participation in political life,
Araya said the Diversity Movement is trying
to encourage participation by gay people
within the party structures, without
”reducing our participation to one political
party, but helping new community leaders
emerge in the existing structures.”
He said he was confident that LGBT (lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender) caucuses
would begin to emerge in the parties.
The Movement is also campaigning for ”the
vote for equality,” that is, an ”informed
vote” within the community, where it is
”calling on people not to vote for those who
discriminate against us, like PASE,” he
said. |
|
|
|
|
