Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Bolivia may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

Discrimination protections

The Constitution of Bolivia

Constitution of Bolivia

The current Constitution of Bolivia is the 17th constitution in the country's history; previous constitutions were enacted in 1826, 1831, 1834, 1839, 1843, 1851, 1861, 1868, 1871, 1878, 1880, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1961 and 1967. It came into effect on February 7, 2009, when it was promulgated by...

, implemented in February 2009, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The 2010 Law Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination

Law Against Racism 2010

The Law Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination is a statute passed by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia as Law 045 and promulgated by President Evo Morales into law as Law 737/2010 on 10 October 2010...

 includes sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases for discrimination in access to public and private services and to establishments serving the public.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The constitution limits legally recognized marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 and common-law marriage

Common-law marriage

Common-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...

 to opposite-sex unions.
On 17 July 2010, Vice President Álvaro García Linera

Álvaro García Linera

Álvaro Marcelo García Linera is a Bolivian politician who has been Vice President of Bolivia since 2006.-Biography:He was born in Cochabamba and graduated from San Agustín High School. Then, he studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City and became a mathematician...

 said that the Government has no plans to legalize same-sex marriage. Since 2011, there has been a proposal to allow civil union

Civil union

A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...

s for same sex couples, but the legislation is yet to be introduced.