In 1998,
Ecuador's new constitution introduced protections against discrimination based
on sexual orientation. In 1999, Chile
decriminalized same-sex intercourse. Rio de Janeiro's state legislature banned
sexual-orientation discrimination in public and private establishments in 2000.
In 2002, Buenos Aires
guaranteed all couples, regardless of gender, the right to register civil
unions.
The policy changes just kept coming. In 2003, Mexico passed a
federal antidiscrimination law that included sexual orientation. A year later,
the government of Brazil
initiated "Brasil sem homofobia" (Brazil without homophobia), a
program with nongovernmental organizations to change social attitudes toward sexuality.
In 2006, Mexico City
approved the Societal Cohabitation Law, granting same-sex couples marital
rights identical to those for common-law relationships between a man and a woman.
Uruguay
passed a 2007 law granting access to health benefits, inheritance, parenting,
and pension rights to all couples who have cohabited for at least five years. In
2008, Nicaragua
reformed its penal code to decriminalize same-sex relations. Even Cuba's authoritarian
new president, Raúl Castro, has allowed free sex-change operations for
qualifying citizen
Laura Donovan on 18 Nov 09This is an article discussing the resent return of remains of a young woman who disappeared during Argentina's "Dirty War." Years after the end of the war this is an example of the ways in which the victims and the communities are dealing with the violence and terror that had become characteristic to their lifestyles. Thanks to a non-profit organization working to find and return loved ones to families affected by the violence people of this region and others around the war are beginning to be able to mourn the loss of their family members and acknowledge the violence that they were subjected to under their corrupt government.
