Cuba defends respect for sexual orientation and gender identity

Cuba celebrates today the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia with the fundamental premise of respect for sexual orientation and gender identity, in order to build a society without exclusions.

The largest of the Antilles made great progress in recognizing the enjoyment of all rights without exception by its citizens and the new Constitution reflects this, recently commented the director of the National Center for Sexual Education (Cenesex), Mariela Castro.

However, many remains to be resolved. The debates related to the proposal for a new Family Code are promoted, among other actions.

Today in society, discriminatory attitudes persist that restrict a transsexual person in their workplace or a homosexual couples who want to expand their family or who, by their own decision, are interested in contributing to the development of the country without their bisexuality becoming an obstacle , notes the newspaper Juventud Rebelde.

That respect for people should prevail regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, that sexual rights or others are not reviled, said the director of Cenesex.

'We educate for love and respectful coexistence, not for the perpetuation of relationships of domination or violence', said Castro.

Homophobia refers to hatred, fear, prejudice or discrimination against homosexual people, biphobia is phobia towards people with sexual orientation towards both sexes and transphobia towards transgender individuals (transvestites and transsexuals).

Beginning in 1974, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality and bisexuality from its Classification Manual for Mental Illness.

Years later, in 1990, the World Health Organization set May 17 as the date to celebrate the aforementioned event globally.

Currently there is still discrimination in many parts of the world towards people with different heterosexual orientation, and these are manifested in various ways such as: the limitation of their free development, job discrimination, verbal offenses and extreme physical violence.