In Brazil, number of gay marriage increases more than man and woman marriage

Civil unions between man and woman rose 2.7% in 2015 compared with 2014, while same-sex marriage increased 15.7%, accounting for 0.5% of total marriages celebrated. Data were collected in the 2015 Civil Registry Statistics survey, conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), released this Thursday (Nov. 24).

In absolute numbers, 1,131,707 man and woman marriages and 5,614 same-sex marriages were registered last year.

"It is important to point out that in 2013, the National Council of Justice approved a Resolution 175, which gives permission to all clerk's offices in Brazil to register same-sex unions or, even, to turn a stable union into same-sex marriage. Compared with 2013, homosexual civil unions increased by 51.7%," reports the survey.

According to the IBGE, in man and woman civil unions, the average age difference in a couple is three years. On average, men get married at 30 years old and women at 27 years old. For same-sex marriages, on average, men are between 31 and 36 years, and women are between 32 and 34.

Respect

For public servant Carolina Cordovil Timóteo, her union with financial manager Ana Paula Pereira de Vasconcelos gained more respect with marriage.

“People see gay marriage as a joke. But when we go to a notary office and celebrate our marriage, we send society a message: we are not playing house. We really want to start a family and be respected," said Timóteo.

Together for five years, they celebrated their civil union in February 2015 to safeguard their children's rights. "The decision to get married was made when we decided to raise the family." I did In Vitro Fertilization and, a month after our marriage, I got pregnant with twins, two boys. We wanted both parents on the birth certificate, but it hasn't been judged yet. They were born in December," reported Timóteo, who lives in Rio de Janeiro.

*With additional reporting by Tâmara Freire

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta