Until this week in the Venezuelan Armed Forces, you could go to prison for one to three years for being homosexual, which the Organic Code of Military Justice classified as “unnatural sexual acts”, for which you were persecuted, investigated and humiliated in the quarters. Sexual orientation was also a filter to enter the military ranks. This Thursday, the Supreme Court of Justice has handed down a sentence in which it has declared the article that penalized homosexuality unconstitutional. Venezuela is one of the last countries to take this step in the region.
The court ruling alleges the incompatibility of the article with the Constitution and international instruments signed by the country that promote the progressivity of human rights. The repealed provision established: “The officer who commits acts that insult or lowers his dignity or that allows such acts, without trying to prevent it by means authorized by law, will be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and separation from the Armed forces. The same penalty will be applied to any soldier who commits unnatural sexual acts.” This article is included in the chapter called On cowardice and other crimes against military decorum.
The recent Supreme Court decision responds to a request from the Ombudsman, Alfredo Ruiz. In 2021, the highest judicial instance had already admitted a claim for the annulment of the article requested by the NGO Venezuela Igualitaria and to which the Judiciary had not responded.
At the end of January, during the visit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, this was one of the aspects discussed with the Government. Nicolás Maduro promised to move forward in order to update the report on the situation in Venezuela that the official will give next week in Geneva. Another aspect that Türk pointed out to Chavismo was the decriminalization of abortion, since the country has one of the most restrictive laws in the region and has lagged behind the recent advances in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.
The elimination of the discriminatory norm has been a repeated struggle of the LGBTQ+ movement in Venezuela, for which several organizations have described the progress that has been made this week as significant. In February, activists protested at the headquarters of the Supreme Court in Caracas to demand the annulment of this norm and also to legislate on issues of equal civil marriage, blood donation, which is prevented by discrimination for gays, and recognition of identity. of gender for trans people who continue to be stranded in the Legislative Branch and in the courts for more than eight years.
#Venezuela #decriminalizes #homosexual #relations #military