COSTA RICA: Survey Shows Some Cops Approve Of Abusing LGBT People

Costa Rica is generally regarded as relatively LGBT friendly, so this is disturbing. Via Inside Costa Rica:

In the survey, in which nearly 500 police, traffic, and immigration officers responded, 17.7% said they felt it was acceptable to demand bribes from gay people while 20.4% found it acceptable to detain gay people without probable cause. A further 15.7% said they felt it was acceptable to physically harm gay people without cause and 13.5% felt the sexual abuse of a gay person was acceptable. Further, many officers said it is better to ignore complaints of domestic violence in same-sex couples rather than respond. More than 60% of officers said they believe that homosexuality is a disease or illness. Deputy Minister of the Interior, Carmen Muñoz, called the situation a major challenge.

Costa Ricans are broadly protected by anti-discrimination laws, but same-sex marriage and adoption remains banned.