Causana

Causana, formally the Causana Integral Human Development Foundation, is an Ecuadorian lesbian feminist organization established in 2002. Its name comes from a Quechua word meaning “life.” The organization emerged during a period when lesbian and broader LGBT communities in Ecuador were developing stronger forms of public organization and advocacy. It became one of Ecuador’s early organizations centered specifically on lesbian women and their rights. In its initial years, Causana combined community-building with recreational activities. These included football matches for lesbian women and the organization of national meetings that brought lesbian activists and community members together. Over time, its work developed from social and cultural programming into more explicitly political advocacy, human-rights work, and campaigns for legal and social recognition of LGBT people in Ecuador. A major area of Causana’s advocacy has been opposition to so-called “dehomosexualization clinics,” abusive institutions that purported to change a person’s sexual orientation. Causana documented and denounced cases involving lesbian women who were confined in such facilities and drew attention to groups that promoted conversion practices, including Exodus International. This work placed the organization within broader Ecuadorian and international efforts to expose coercion, torture, forced confinement, and other abuses directed at LGBT people. Several figures associated with Ecuadorian LGBT activism have served among Causana’s founders or directors, including Ana Lucía Barragán, Patricio Brabomalo, Carina Vance, and Leticia Rojas. Carina Vance’s later appointment as Ecuador’s health minister in 2012 connected the organization’s advocacy concerns with government action. After taking office, Vance stated that she would continue efforts to close abusive clinics. Ecuador’s health authorities subsequently raided three facilities near Quito and rescued dozens of women. Causana has also used cultural production and public education to increase lesbian visibility. On 8 March 2016, its radio drama Mariana sí es lesbiana premiered on Radio Pública. Described as Ecuador’s first radio program with a lesbian theme, the production drew on testimonies gathered by Causana from 24 lesbian women about their experiences around the period when homosexuality was decriminalized in Ecuador. The script was written by María Auxiliadora Balladares. Beyond radio, the foundation has organized art exhibitions in Quito addressing homophobia and has supported the mothers involved in the Satya case, in which a lesbian couple sought official recognition as their daughter’s legal parents. These activities show Causana’s broad approach: combining direct community support, documentation of abuses, cultural visibility, public advocacy, and engagement with legal and institutional questions affecting LGBT families. Causana is therefore best understood not as a commercial consumer brand but as a civil-society organization whose public identity is associated with lesbian feminism, LGBT rights, anti-homophobia work, and the defense of people subjected to conversion practices. Publicly available reference material does not establish its current leadership, present operating status, funding structure, or official website.

Causana was founded in Ecuador in 2002 as the Causana Integral Human Development Foundation, with a specific emphasis on lesbian women and broader LGBT rights. The organization’s name is derived from a Quechua word meaning “life.” It became one of the country’s early lesbian organizations and established its headquarters in Quito. During its early period, Causana helped create spaces for community interaction and participation. Its activities included recreational events such as football matches for lesbian women. It also assumed responsibility for organizing national meetings of lesbian women, helping connect activists and community members beyond local networks. These activities provided a social foundation for later political organizing. As its work expanded, Causana placed greater emphasis on advocacy, public recognition, and human-rights protection. One of its most prominent concerns was the existence of “dehomosexualization clinics,” facilities where LGBT people were subjected to confinement, violence, torture, and other abusive attempts to alter their sexual orientation. Causana denounced these practices, documented cases involving lesbian women, and identified organizations that promoted conversion efforts, including Exodus International. The organization’s advocacy became connected with public policy in 2012, when former Causana director Carina Vance was appointed Ecuador’s minister of health. Vance pledged to continue efforts to close abusive clinics. The ministry subsequently carried out raids on three facilities near Quito and rescued dozens of women. These events brought national attention to the problem of coercive conversion practices and reflected the interaction between activism, government regulation, and LGBT-rights advocacy. Causana also pursued cultural strategies to challenge invisibility and homophobia. On 8 March 2016, it produced Mariana sí es lesbiana, a radionovela that premiered on Radio Pública. The program was described as the first Ecuadorian radio production with a lesbian theme. Its script, written by María Auxiliadora Balladares, was based on testimonies collected by Causana from 24 lesbian women concerning their experiences around the period of homosexuality’s decriminalization in Ecuador. In addition to radio, the foundation organized artistic exhibitions in Quito addressing homophobia. It also supported the mothers involved in the Satya case, in which a lesbian couple sought legal recognition from the Ecuadorian state as the legitimate parents of their daughter. Through these activities, Causana combined direct advocacy, community formation, cultural expression, documentation, and support for legal equality. Public reference material identifies Ana Lucía Barragán, Patricio Brabomalo, Carina Vance, and Leticia Rojas among the organization’s founders or directors. It does not provide a complete chronology of their terms, current officers, funding, membership, or present-day institutional status. Causana’s documented historical identity is that of a Quito-based Ecuadorian lesbian feminist and LGBT-rights organization rather than a commercial brand.

• 2016

  Mariana sí es lesbiana radio premiere

  [1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Causana’s lesbian-themed radionovela premiered on Radio Pública on 8 March, International Women’s Day.

• 2012

  Former director becomes health minister

  [1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Carina Vance, identified as a former Causana director, became Ecuador’s health minister and continued advocacy against abusive conversion-practice facilities.

• 2012

  Raids on three facilities near Quito

  [1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Ecuador’s health ministry raided three facilities near Quito and rescued dozens of women in an operation linked to efforts against “dehomosexualization clinics.”

• 2002

  Foundation established

  [1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Causana was founded in Ecuador as a lesbian feminist organization focused on human development and LGBT rights.

A lesbian feminist human-rights organization combining community organizing, public advocacy, cultural visibility, and opposition to abusive conversion practices in Ecuador.

• 2016Mariana sí es lesbiana

  Ecuador

  Causana produced a lesbian-themed radio drama based on testimonies from 24 lesbian women. The program addressed lesbian experience and historical memory around the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ecuador.

  Outcome. The program premiered on Radio Pública and was described as Ecuador’s first radio program with a lesbian theme.

  Source
• Anti-conversion-practice advocacy

  Ecuador

  Causana denounced abusive facilities that claimed to change sexual orientation, reported cases involving lesbian women, and challenged organizations associated with these practices.

  Outcome. The issue gained public and governmental attention, including health-ministry raids on three facilities near Quito in 2012.

  Source
• Quito anti-homophobia art exhibitions

  Quito

  The foundation organized artistic exhibitions intended to challenge homophobia and increase public visibility for LGBT communities.

  Source
• Support for the Satya case

  Ecuador

  Causana supported mothers involved in the Satya case, concerning recognition of a lesbian couple as the legal parents of their daughter.

  Source

• 2016

  Launch of Mariana sí es lesbianaProduct launch

  Background

  Causana sought to address lesbian invisibility and preserve community testimony through a public cultural medium.

  Action taken

  The foundation produced a lesbian-themed radionovela based on testimonies from 24 lesbian women and broadcast it through Radio Pública.

  Aftermath

  The program premiered on 8 March 2016 and was identified as Ecuador’s first radio program with a lesbian theme.

  Source

• 2016

  Mariana sí es lesbiana premieres on Radio Pública[1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Campaign

  Causana produced a lesbian-themed radio drama that premiered on 8 March 2016. It was based on testimonies from 24 lesbian women and was described as Ecuador’s first radio program with a lesbian theme.

• 2012

  Carina Vance appointed Ecuadorian health minister[1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Regulation

  Former Causana director Carina Vance became Ecuador’s health minister and pledged to continue efforts to close abusive conversion-practice facilities.

• 2012

  Ecuadorian authorities raid three facilities near Quito[1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Other

  Following the health minister’s commitment to address abusive clinics, Ecuador’s health ministry raided three facilities near Quito and rescued dozens of women.

• Causana advocates against abusive “dehomosexualization clinics”[1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization reported cases involving lesbian women confined in facilities that attempted to change sexual orientation through coercion and abuse, and criticized organizations promoting such practices.

• Causana supports the Satya case[1]Causanaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The foundation supported mothers involved in the Satya case, concerning a lesbian couple’s effort to obtain legal recognition as their daughter’s parents.

1. 1Causanaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Del silencio a la visibilidad: activismos, politización y derechos humanos de las mujeres lesbianas en Ecuadorigualdadgenero.gob.ec