122 couples got married during this first year. The last nine marriages were performed in March, due to the suspension of care due to the health emergency of COVID-19
June is the commemoration of GLBTI pride at the international level and in Ecuador it is also celebrated that on June 12, 2019 the Constitutional Court gave way to civil marriage between people of the same sex. At the age of one year, the commemoration becomes bitter with episodes of violence such as the recent case of the murder of Javier Viteri.
The Pride celebration became a tradition within the GLBTTIQ community, explains anthropologist Estefanía Manzano, mentioning that the parade that takes place every year is accompanied by colors, music, joy and, above all, love.
In the Constitutional Court there were several files of same-sex couples who asked for an egalitarian marriage to take place. It is June 12, 2019 when the Plenary of the Court, with 5 votes in favor and 4 against, approved this controversial issue. A year ago, homosexuals, lesbians, transsexuals, bisexuals, heterosexuals and all the sex-generic diversities asked for justice so that they can access this right. That day, Christian Paula, from the Pakta Foundation, said that Ecuador was a fairer country.
It did not take long for conservative and religious groups to take to the streets to reject this decision and to shout, with megaphones, «we do not want laws that harm the family.» But it resonated more “love always wins”, exclaimed by those who attended the Pride march 2019.
According to the Civil Registry figures, in this first year after marriage equality was approved, 122 couples were married: 77 couples for men and 45 for women. In March of this year, the last nine marriages were performed, due to the suspension of care due to the COVID-19 health emergency.
Ecuador made progress in ratifying human rights, but manifestations of homophobic violence have not stopped, Manzano regrets. In 2019, according to the annual report of the Silhouette X Association, there were 16 murders, violent or unclear deaths and suspicions of criminality against the GLBTI community, which represents an increase of almost 800% compared to 2018, when they were registered two.
The murder of Javier Viteri occurs a few days before the commemoration of equal civil marriage and the realization of Pride 2020, now virtually. The 22-year-old gay man was killed with more than 80 stab wounds by a conscript. «There is no pride without justice», is the campaign that several activists and groups have started, as well as users on social networks, to reject that the prosecutor in charge of the case handles this crime as an alleged robbery, from which the death of Viteri.
The Ombudsman’s Office demanded that the authorities treat this case as a hate crime because of the elements and descriptions of what happened.
These events, says Manzano, are printed in the speeches and manifestations of violence that invade the life of the GLBTTIQ community in their daily lives.
22 years after the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ecuador and on the first anniversary of equal marriage, the community continues to raise its voice to denounce acts of homophobic violence. This leads us to think that, although the Constitution protects the rights of diversities and the Constitutional Court has approved equal marriage, we still cannot think of a society free of violence, ”said the anthropologist.
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