First Same-Sex Civil Marriage Registered in Bolivia

Last Friday, the first same-sex civil marriage in the history of Bolivia was officially registered in the city of Santa Cruz. The spouses, Fabiana Banzer and Scarlett Rocha, had been fighting for this decision for almost four years.

According to a statement from the NGO Igual, which provided legal support to the couple, the women originally filed their application on October 12, 2022. Registering the marriage required a lengthy administrative process and winning two constitutional amparo actions. The legal basis for the registration was Advisory Opinion 24/17 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which requires states in the region to recognize same-sex families on equal terms with heterosexual ones.

Representatives of human rights organizations emphasize the importance of this precedent. Although formal “free unions” for same-sex couples have been recognized by the state since 2020, the status of a full civil marriage carries a higher degree of social and legal recognition.