Civil Rights
A national law does exist to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but discrimination remains widespread. Polls show high levels of prejudice directed at LGBT people, and there are many reports of anti-gay harassment and bias motivated violence.
Much of the nation's advocacy on behalf of LGBT rights comes from William Hernández and the other members of, "Asociacion Entre Amigos" (Among Friends Association), who have faced harassment and even death threats for their activism.
On 4 May 2010, President Mauricio Funes issued a presidential decree banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the public service. At the same time, President Funes created a Sexual Diversity Division within the Secretary of Social Inclusion, which was headed by a member of the lesbian community. Although there are gains on removing discrimination, activists report that outside of the government and administrative areas, discrimination is still ongoing.
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In El Salvador
Famous quotes by civil rights:
“... as a result of generations of betrayal, it’s nearly impossible for Southern Negroes to trust a Southern white. No matter what he does or what he suffers, a white liberal is never established beyond suspicion in the hearts of the minority.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 2, ch. 10 (1962)
“... one of the blind spots of most Negroes is their failure to realize that small overtures from whites have a large significance ... I now realize that this feeling inevitably takes possession of one in the bitter struggle for equality. Indeed, I share it. Yet I wonder how we can expect total acceptance to step full grown from the womb of prejudice, with no embryo or infancy or childhood stages.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 10 (1962)
“I’ve never been afraid to step out and to reach out and to move out in order to make things happen.”
—Victoria Gray, African American civil rights activist. As quoted in This Little Light of Mine, ch. 3, by Hay Mills (1993)