Panama decriminalized homosexuality 15 years ago: persecution continues

 | 
08/03/2023

After the cancellation of the decree law criminalizing sodomy, Panama decriminalized homosexuality 15 years ago, becoming the latest Latin American country to do so. Shortly before, activist Juan Alonso had been arrested for distributing condoms as part of a campaign against HIV. “I had the feeling that I was illegal, first of all you don’t fit into society and secondly, what you feel as a person can be seen as an administrative error,” says Alonso, 40, after attending a health fair where he was tested for HIV. Official Gazette of Panama, published 31 July 2008 decree 332 it repealed that 1949 law, which, in detail, punished “sodomy, by which homosexuality was known until 1973”.

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 11/04/2024
11/03/2024
The West African nation of Mali, which has been ruled by a military junta for more than three years, has voted for a new …
Added on: 11/04/2024
11/03/2024
On 22 October, Chinese host and dancer Jin Xing sparked an online uproar with a lengthy post on Weibo charging that her performance application …
Added on: 11/04/2024
11/03/2024
Japan’s Tokyo High Court ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional during a hearing on Wednesday. The Tokyo court ruled that the …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Added on: 09/09/2024
Yumisleidi Rodríguez, a transgender student in  Cuba, proudly shared on social media their ability to choose and wear the male school uniform at their educational …
Added on: 09/01/2024
The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court will hear a challenge on August 30, 2024, to laws that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct by officers in the …
Added on: 08/31/2024
The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court will hear a challenge on August 30, 2024, to laws that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct by officers in the …