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It’s can be fatal to openly gay in Belize. Call it a product of this country’s deep-rooted macho culture or the so-called “anti-buggery” laws that remain on the books, but it is not a safe environment for gay travelers or those who live there in silence and secret.
State-sponsored homophobia in Belize supports the cultural view that those who engage in same sex sexual activity do so at their peril. Belize distinguishes itself in many ways, not least of which is its status as the Murder Capital of the World. Now add its homophobia-driven laws to the mix and see what it tells you. With this mix, sightseeing in Belize can become a swim with sharks if you are gay.
A recent conversation with an American friend who went to Belize with his partner is a telling illustration of what life is like there for people who don’t fit in with the conventional norms. A Carnival Cruise Lines package to Belize didn’t turn out as hoped for the couple, who were legally married in Toronto last year. “It’s a blatantly violent country for gay men,” he told me. Although they moved around with the rest of the passengers on a shore excursion, a tour of Belize City included threatening taunts from local men as they toured old colonial architecture. Things went further than insults when his partner was grabbed by the throat and spat on when the two wandered a short distance from the crowd. “Not exactly our idea of a holiday. Never going to Belize again. Too out-there dangerous for us.”
The most recent report from ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Trans an Intersex Association) underscores once again that Belize is not a friend of LGBTI people.
Section 53 of their Criminal Code states, “ Every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years.”
In an ironic twist, their criminal code was amended to strengthen Belize’s homophobic climate in 2003, the same year the US legalized same-sex sexual activity nationwide.
Compare Belize with other Central American countries and their attitudes are displayed in an even more dramatic light. Honduras’ laws, dating back to 1899, permit same-sex sexual activity. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama do not criminalize people for their sexual orientation.
Belize’s laws effectively legalize homophobia. Why is there no movement into the 21st century on these laws? The recently released UNAIDS OUTLOOK Report 2010 quotes Caleb Orozco, a gay man from Belize, regarding the basis for his country’s legislation. “Policy-makers and legislators resort to scoring political points on the backs of the population to advance their political careers. Knowing that the laws do not recognize my relationship reinforces that, while I’m in a democratic society, I’m still marginalized by the laws, health policies and institutional attitudes that prevail.”
