On August 14, 1989, the Reform Act of the Constituion deled the old Articule 8 of the Constitution, which provided a legal provision for persecution of gays and lesbians. Nonetheless, male homosexual acts are still illegal. Article 365 of the Penal Code sanctions consenting male homosexulal activity as a sodomy delict with penalty of one and a half to three years' imprisonment. The penalty depends on the complains of the "vistim." Lesbian sexual contact are not mentioned in the law. Homosexual are often subjected to offivcial and police harassment and violence. A police exists of compulsory HIV testing of all known gay men.

Society
Homosexuality is a taboo. No visible support for gay and lesbian rights exist.

The Gay and/or Lesbian Movement
gay and Lesbian groups exist but are illegal. In Santiago, a lesbian group called "Colelctivo Ayuquelen" organized the first lesbian and gay meeting in Chile in 1987. In 1988, they received letters from right wing groups threatenning to kill them.