In January of 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made the approbation of same-sex marriage, the ability for same-sex couples to adopt, and the recognition of transgender people’s gender identity on ID cards mandatory. Since 1971, sexual relations between people of the same sex have been legal, and since 2013, households headed by same-sex couples have been able to obtain some basic domestic partnership benefits. LGBTQ+ rights have grown in many ways over recent years. In general, the people in Costa Rica are very welcoming and friendly, so it makes sense that it has always been easy for them to embrace and appreciate people of all walks of life. However, that doesn’t mean things aren’t happening! The topic is becoming increasingly important to many people in Costa Rica and big movements are gaining momentum, which is very exciting. As a small country that doesn’t have lots of highly populated areas, the events aren’t as huge and flashy as those in the big cities around the world. When you hear about huge pride parades and movements for the rights and inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community, Costa Rica probably isn’t somewhere that comes to mind first.
