- Homosexuality
- ⚢✔ Legal
- Gay Marriage
- ⚭✖ Banned
- Censorship
- ✖ State-enforced
- Changing Gender
- Ambiguous
- Gender-Affirming Care
- ✖ Banned
- Non-Binary Gender Recognition
- ✖ Not legally recognized
- Discrimination
- ✖ Illegal in some contexts
- Employment Discrimination
- ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Housing Discrimination
- ✖ No protections
- Adoption
- ✖ Single only
- Intersex Infant Surgery
- ✖ Not banned
- Military
- ✖ Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
- Donating Blood
- ✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
- Conversion Therapy
- ✖ Not banned
- Age of Consent
- ✔ Equal
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Public Opinion
Recent studies in El Salvador have revealed a prevalence of resistance towards LGBTQ+ rights.
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Same-sex marriage in El Salvador is banned.
Current status
Since Feb 4, 1858
Banned
Article 90 of the Family Code establishes that it is a cause for absolute nullity of marriage when the parties are of the same sex.
Censorship of LGBT issues in El Salvador is state-enforced.
Current status
Since Feb 28, 2024
State-enforced
On February 28, 2024, the Minister of Education indicated that "any usage of gender ideology has been thrown out of public schools", which means it is no longer possible to teach about LGBT topics in schools.
Until Feb 27, 2024
No censorship
In El Salvador, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Right to change legal gender in El Salvador is ambiguous.
Current status
Since 2022
Ambiguous
There is no legal gender recognition procedure. However, some exceptions have been documented in 2022 with the first being in September on the basis of self-identity.
In 2022 the Supreme Court ordered the legislative assembly to create a procedure but they failed to do so within the deadline and still have not.
Since 2018, a Gender Identity Law has been drafted to formalise such but still has not been discussed.
In 2022 the Supreme Court ordered the legislative assembly to create a procedure but they failed to do so within the deadline and still have not.
Since 2018, a Gender Identity Law has been drafted to formalise such but still has not been discussed.
Gender-affirming care in El Salvador is banned.
Current status
Banned
Sex reassignment surgeries are prohibited in El Salvador.
Legal recognition of non-binary gender in El Salvador is not legally recognized.
Current status
Not legally recognized
El Salvador does not legally recognize non-binary identities.
LGBT discrimination in El Salvador is illegal in some contexts.
Current status
Since Apr 14, 2009
Illegal in some contexts
The current legal measures against LGBT discrimination are only limited to the public administration.
Protection against LGBT discrimination in:
Health: Ministerial Agreement No. 202 (2009), Law 307 (2016).
Public empleoyment: Decree No. 56 (2010).
Clinical practice for students: Law 227 (2019)
Education: Law 431 (2022).
Hate crime law includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
Protection against LGBT discrimination in:
Health: Ministerial Agreement No. 202 (2009), Law 307 (2016).
Public empleoyment: Decree No. 56 (2010).
Clinical practice for students: Law 227 (2019)
Education: Law 431 (2022).
Hate crime law includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBT employment discrimination in El Salvador is sexual orientation and gender identity.
Current status
Since May 12, 2010
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Under Decree 56 in 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against people working in the public administration service on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in El Salvador. However, other forms of employment remain unprotected.
LGBT housing discrimination in El Salvador is no protections.
Current status
No protections
There are no legal protections against LGBT discrimination in housing in El Salvador.
Same-sex adoption in El Salvador is single only.
Current status
Single only
Legal for single only
Intersex infant surgery in El Salvador is not banned.
Current status
Not banned
Surgery on intersex infants is legal in El Salvador but not reported.
Serving openly in military in El Salvador is lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned.
Current status
Since Sep 1, 2018
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
Legal for LGB but not for transgender
Blood donations by MSMs in El Salvador is banned (indefinite deferral).
Current status
Since Oct 1, 2010
Banned (indefinite deferral)
The Ministry of Health prohibits LGBTIQ+ people from donating blood as expressed in the Manual for the promotion, training and selection of blood donors, a manual issued by the Ministry of Health in October 2010.
Annex No.2 shows the form that a person must fill out in order to donate blood. Of the 34 questions on the form, question 27 stands out (Have you or your partner engaged in risky sexual behavior?) because the annex shows a brief description, and in the description, it is stated that people with risky sexual behaviors are men who have sex with their own sex, men or women who have had sex with a bisexual partner, and according to the manual, those people are not eligible to donate blood.
Annex No.2 shows the form that a person must fill out in order to donate blood. Of the 34 questions on the form, question 27 stands out (Have you or your partner engaged in risky sexual behavior?) because the annex shows a brief description, and in the description, it is stated that people with risky sexual behaviors are men who have sex with their own sex, men or women who have had sex with a bisexual partner, and according to the manual, those people are not eligible to donate blood.
Conversion therapy in El Salvador is not banned.
Current status
Not banned
Conversion therapy is not believed to be banned in El Salvador, and there are reports of it.
Equal age of consent in El Salvador is equal.
Current status
Since Jul 9, 1822
Equal
The age of consent for homosexual relations is equal to that of heterosexual ones in El Salvador.
LGBT Rights by Department
View the LGBT laws in each individual department of El Salvador.
Equality Rank
#112
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El Salvador LGBT Organizations
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