Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad was created on October 10, 2000. It is not a federal government program but is a non-profit organization. The organization maintains two main goals. One goal of the organization is to achieve social and political rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and people who identify as

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

ual. Another goal for the organization is sexual health advocacy. The foundation was started because

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

were incarcerated due to a criminalization of sexual activity between people of the same sex by the government.

Research

Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad organized local volunteers to participate in the

iPrEx iPrEx (from es, Iniciativa Profilaxis Pre-Exposición, "pre-exposure prophylaxis initiative") was a phase III clinical trial to determine whether the antiretroviral medication emtricitabine/tenofovir (as tenofovir disoproxil, tenofovir disoproxil ...

study, which was a

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, diet ...

testing the efficacy of a drug used as a

pre-exposure prophylaxis Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of medications to prevent the spread of disease in people who have not yet been exposed to a disease-causing agent, usually a virus. The term typically refers to the use of antiviral drugs as a strateg ...

against HIV infection.

Context

Prior to current laws and regulations, Ecuadorians could be arrested for any public displays that went against their common moral value. Men were publicly and brutally attacked for being at gay bars or for interacting with the gay community. These actions were justified under the court of law, until constitutional reform in 1998. On August 10, 1998, the Constitution of Ecuador underwent reformation in order to recognize equality based within the law, regardless of age, sex, ethnic origin, color, religion, political affiliation, economic position, sexual orientation, state of health, or any other difference. Within the South American countries, this is considered to be the most liberal, as well as the most enlightened. Since 2008, civil unions with all of the rights of marriage (except for adoption) have been available to same-sex couples. In Quito and Guayaquil, liberalism has become more prevalent as conservatism adjusts to the law.

Partners

Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad receives support from Hivos, a Dutch organization which promotes HIV education and gay rights.

Legal rights in Ecuador

Currently in Ecuador, both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the same legal protection available to opposite- sex married couples. In 1998, Ecuador became one of the first countries worldwide to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since 2008,

civil unions A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

with all of the rights of marriage (except for adoption) have been available to same-sex couples. The original constitution permitted marriage only between man and woman: however, same-sex activity has been legal in Ecuador since 1997.

Mission

The mission is to promote sexual health and reduce prejudice and acts of discrimination based on sexual preferences sex identity, or HIV/AIDS, through communication, prevention, sensibility, empowerment and citizen participation in society. Those efforts will aid in making a better quality of life for the GLBTI community and people who have HIV and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. The organization offers help with medical problems, help with getting HIV tested, psychological services, help getting legal aid for people in the GLBTI community and a community space for members.

Magazine

The foundation created the annual magazine called '' GLBTI nùmero 12'', discontinued in 2014. This magazine was meant to reflect the principle necessities that the GLBTI community faced in the country. The magazine talked about the representation of the GLBTI.

References

External links

Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad
* http://fequidadecuador.org * https://bitacoraq.com/bitacoraq/licuadoragestora/la-intimidad-en-lo-publico/fundacion-ecuatoriana-equidad/ * https://www.elcomercio.com/tendencias/fundacion-equidad-lanza-revista-glbti.html * http://www.ecuadorenvivo.com/sociedad/190-sociedad/8988-efrain-soria-la-orientacion-sexual-no-debe-ser-utilizada-para-descalificar-una-persona.html * https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/04/opportunity-lgbt-rights-ecuador * http://fequidadecuador.org * https://bitacoraq.com/bitacoraq/licuadoragestora/la-intimidad-en-lo-publico/fundacion-ecuatoriana-equidad/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Fundacion Ecuatoriana Equidad Non-profit organisations based in Ecuador LGBT organisations in Ecuador