“This measure affected families made up of same-sex couples, because they were not counted as they are not considered families.” “For this scheme, a census of families was ordered,” Quiteria Franco, general coordinator at Union Afirmativa de Venezuela, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Venezuela’s capital Caracas. Under the government’s family food bag scheme, same-sex couples were excluded. The turmoil has pushed gay rights to the bottom of the pile of priorities, with funding for many organizations and resources either reduced or cut entirely, a number of LGBT+ Venezuelans told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.Ī government limit on the sale of food has also penalized same-sex couples. Over the past three years, the Venezuelan economy has shrunk by a third, resulting in what has been described as the worst economic crisis to hit the country in its history. There are no official figures on the number of gay or trans migrants, but according to the United Nations’ refugee agency, three million people have fled Venezuela, with the majority heading for neighboring Colombia. “As a vulnerable population, they do suffer the consequences of the crisis much worse.” “The impact of the crisis on LGBT+ people is evident,” said Tamara Adrian, a lawyer and politician living in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Arzola’s story is not unique, but things may be getting worse.
