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Colombia Diversa celebrates the fact that Juan's family, made up of his two mothers, Laura and Camila, have obtained the justice they were seeking after being discriminated against twice in a clinic in Medellín..
The story goes back to 2020, when Laura and Camila took Juan, a three-year-old boy, to a urology consultation. When they arrived at the clinic, the receptionist told them that only the child's mother could enter the clinic, so they explained that they were both mothers and that this was established in the child's civil registry. Upon entering the clinic, this family was again confronted with statements that insistently questioned the type of family they had and, again, stated that legally there was only one mother.
After this episode of discrimination, the family filed a complaint with the clinic and the clinic promised to train its staff. However, three years later, when Juan and Laura attended a speech therapy appointment, they were confronted with similar questions to those they had already experienced. This time, the doctor told them: "there is only one mother, and she is the biological one" and Laura, who was accompanying her son, was told that she "did not have a link with the child".
Faced with this situation, the clinic manager and the mothers agreed to organise a space for conversation and a sit-in in front of the health institution's facilities, which could be attended by friends and family, as well as the doctor who treated them, in order to define "restorative measures in cases of discrimination". However, despite the commitment made by the clinic, on the day of the meeting the manager stated that "nothing had happened, that it was all a misunderstanding and that everything had been solved". For Laura and Camila, there was no real conversation about the unequal treatment to which they and their son were subjected.
This is why this family decided to file a tutela action against the clinic for violating their right to a family, to live in dignified conditions and to equality. This legal action reached the Constitutional Court, where Colombia Diversa presented an intervention in which they explained that the Constitution not only protects the family formed by a man and a woman, but also guarantees the existence of other types of families, such as the one formed by two women.
Furthermore, when doctors denigrate Juan's family, they expose him to a situation of inequality and discrimination. Because another child of the same age who attends the same medical appointment with a family made up of a man and a woman would not have been told that they are NOT his "biological family".
Finally, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Juan's family and agreed with Colombia Diversa's arguments. For Camila, this decision represents a victory in the recognition of same-sex couples and a hopeful sign that the justice system can guarantee the happiness of these families.
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