The case of a Chilean religion teacher who was fired when it emerged that she was a lesbian marked a milestone this week for the entire region from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The events occurred 15 years ago, when the teacher Sandra Pavaez was fired from the school where she worked.
This because the Catholic Church argued that since she was a lesbian, she was not fit to maintain her professional work.Pavaez was fired and, in addition to being prohibited from exercising the profession she had held since 1985. Despite the legal processes she carried out, all instances within Chile rejected her allegations.
This opened the doors to escalate before continental justice and after passing through the filter of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the stage was given in Court.The trial was held the previous year and the respective ruling came out this week with a sentence to Chile, which must compensate the victim.
As highlighted by international judges, interfering in the work of a person because of their sexual orientation violates the following Human Rights:
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Personal freedom
- Private life
- Employment
Court also details the right to teach religion
The Inter-American Court made an additional special statement on the teaching of religion, emphasizing that it must respect the rest of the rights.“Because it is a subject that is part of the education plans for girls and boys, those faculties that derive directly from the right to religious freedom must be adapted to the other rights and obligations in force in terms of equality and non-discrimination,” they pointed out.
The ruling comes in addition to the Court’s tendency to protect the rights of the sexually diverse community. The jurisprudence already has a clear line in favor of issues such as child custody, property and even the right to marriage.
