FPA, IPPF Member Association in Aruba, is a proud ally of the LGBTQI+ community every day of the year and above all, during pride month. This deeply rooted support is always factored in our daily operations and is an extra reminder to always strive for inclusivity.  

FPA was established in 1970 with the purpose of providing contraception to help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, this was embedded in the name itself: Famia Planea Aruba. In the years that followed, this mindset shifted to include education and inclusion, with relevant initiatives to build and support the LGBTQI+ ‘s communities   population in the country.  

FPA works inclusively in every aspect of our daily operations and for the past few years has been a key part of the local pride celebrations. We support LGBTQI+ organizations such as Orguyo, lending our social media platform reach to help spread their advocacy movement and updates. We are also a staple of the local cultural center’s annual pride celebrations, a weekend packed with pride related shows and events. FPA is a requested partner to help educate the community on inclusion and safe sex practices. We believe everyone has the right to experience pleasure in their sexual endeavors, and sharing safety practices has been a pivotal opportunity for FPA to contribute to the wellbeing of LGBTQI people in our community. 

We are also in the developmental stage of contextualizing and implanting a multi-year educational curriculum for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, CSE. By connecting our educational goals, specifically for the area of personal development, we will be able to start with the provision of CSE and information about diversity and inclusion at an early age, adapted accordingly. This project will bring the opportunity to broaden the sexual and reproductive health and rights scope within the educational curriculums and will have a meaningful impact on tackling stigma related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. 

In 2019, Famia Planea Aruba underwent a rebranding process to be more inclusive and modern. The original logo, a house with a mother, father and child was replaced by a symbol of stairs, which symbolizes FPA’s commitment with our community, including the LGBTQ+ population in Aruba, to elevate and contribute to the quality of life of each human being. One of the biggest changes in the rebranding process was the choice to lessen the use of the name Famia Planea, but not detach from it completely as it is a well-known name that holds a rich history and links us to the international SRHR movement. With these elements in mind, it was chosen to instead use the abbreviation FPA, keeping our history while making way for the future. 

Advocating in community spaces 

On June 7th, 2024, FPA was part of the first Queer and Cozy event, organized by the cultural center and developed to be the first of a series of annual pride celebrations. A cozy ambiance was the setting to bring together members of the community of all ages and backgrounds. This year’s edition hosted a relatively small event filled with information, poetry, art and a fun drag bingo to end on a high note.  

On June 22nd, 2024, FPA was also part of the conference “Mental Health in the LGBTIQA+ Community”, an initiative from a private psychologist in partnership with the local university, the event focused on the mental health aspect of the community. This event was impactful and beneficial to the cause.  

This year, in addition to kicking off the pride celebrations, we also had the pleasure of closing the celebrations. We were invited by the “Aruba Gay Guide” to present during the final pride party, were we partnered with two local Internist and infectious disease specialist. In yet another groundbreaking movement, FPA presented an educational session about safe sex practices with the back-up of physicians specializing in infectious diseases, in a night club party on June 29th, 2024.  

A national perspective 

FPA has made meaningful strides in advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights for LGBTQI+ people in their community. However, laws do not entirely support lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex rights in Aruba. For example, even though registered partnerships have been available for opposite-sex and same-sex couples since November 2021, same-sex marriage has not been made legal yet. Most recently, on June 19th, 2024, the Aruban parliament did not pass the marriage equality bill, causing the proposal to be dismissed as it has not reached majority in two consecutive votes. We are now waiting for the Dutch Supreme Court ruling on July 12th, 2024, for the final verdict, this promises to be a positive one as the Netherlands already has this law in place making it highly unlikely that they would rule differently for Aruba.