Eny L. Says:
My partner and I have been together for over 30 years. We would like to know if being a gay couple would cause an issue in Belize.
IL Belize Correspondent Shane Kenny Says:
Hi Eny,
In the more popular expat areas of Belize general acceptance of the LBGTQ+ community is growing… thanks to the influence of expats from the US and Canada.
The country’s first Pride parade was held in 2017, with Pride week also being celebrated in subsequent years. You’ll find many networks on Facebook to connect to the gay community, and especially on Ambergris Caye, you will find a well-established and visible gay community.
That being said, I would not expect acceptance to equal what you have come to expect in the US or Canada at this point.
Megan Rodden, an American expat living in Placencia, summed things up very well in one of her blog posts:
“The experience in progressive and touristy hot-spots such as San Pedro is going to be light years apart from the experience in say, a rural, conservative Mennonite community in Toledo. Belizeans in general are a very live-and-let-live people but it was only in 2016 that they finally abolished their anti-sodomy law, recognizing discrimination based on sexual orientation unconstitutional. I think, in general, there’s mostly apathy regarding LGBTQ issues with a small population on either side of the spectrum either condemning or crusading for equality.”
So, there has been movement in the right direction, and in most expat areas you should be fine. But there is still work to be done.
Join me and our other Belize experts this Wednesday, February 7 for the Belize Now online seminar, where we will talk about life here in detail. There will be a Q&A session where you can discuss issues like this with us in real time.
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