Timeline of LGBTQ history in Ecuador

The earliest manifestations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ecuador were in the pre-Columbian era, in cultures such as Valdivia,[1] Tumaco-La Tolita, and Bahía, of which evidence has been found suggesting that homosexuality was common among its members.

[5] Homosexuality remained absent from the Ecuadorian Criminal Code until 1871, when it was classified for the first time as a crime with a penalty of four to eight years in prison.

[7] A noticeable change took place in the late 1970s, when waves of migration to major cities and the effect of events such as the Stonewall riots caused an increase in the visibility of LGBT people, who began to hold informal meetings that would lead to the birth of an Ecuadorian gay community.

[13] With the implementation of the 2008 Constitution, LGBT people witnessed progress being made regarding their rights, such as the legalization of de facto unions between persons of the same sex [es].

[1][17][3] In cases of sodomy, the guilty parties shall be sentenced to a prison term of four to eight years when no violence or threats are involved; eight to 12 years when one of these circumstances is involved; and an extraordinary prison term when the victim is a minor.In cases of homosexuality that do not constitute rape, the two persons who are jointly responsible shall be punished with maximum-term imprisonment of four to eight years.All persons shall be considered equal and shall enjoy the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities, without discrimination on grounds of birth, age, sex, ethnicity, skin color, social origin, language, religion, political affiliation, economic status, sexual orientation, health status, disability, or difference of any other kind.The stable and monogamous union between two persons, free of marriage ties, who form a de facto couple, for the duration and under the conditions and circumstances established by law, shall generate the same rights and obligations as held by families constituted by marriage.

LGBT activist during a protest in Ecuador in 2020.
Sandra Álvarez Monsalve, first openly LGBT person elected as alternate assembly member.
Meeting of LGBT activists with President Rafael Correa .
Diane Rodríguez and her partner minutes before the registration of their common-law marriage (15 September 2014).
LGBT activists at the National Assembly during one of the debates on reforms to the Civil Code.
Alexandra Chávez and Michelle Avilés, first same-sex couple to get married in Ecuador.
Walter Gómez Ronquillo in 2022.