Consensual same-sex acts still criminalised by a third of the world

More than 30 percent of the world’s countries still criminalise LGBTQ+ individuals for engaging in consensual same-sex acts, according to a new report.

ILGA World’s new flagship publication, Laws on Us, documents legal developments in all 193 UN member states, several non-UN member entities, and various sub-national jurisdictions between January 2023 and April 2024.

“Our communities celebrated important victories during the past two years,” stated Lucas Ramón Mendos, research manager at ILGA World and lead co-author of Laws on Us, ahead of the report’s release. “And yet, resistance and detraction have materialized almost everywhere.”

Published just ahead of Pride Month, which begins on Saturday (1 June), the report revealed that 32 percent of the world continues to criminalise consensual same-sex acts, including 60 UN member states by law and two more de facto, ‘MSN’ reports.

However, the report also highlighted several positive developments in various countries.

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In the past 16 months, four UN member states (Andorra, Estonia, Greece, and Slovenia) have made marriage equality a reality for LGBTQ+ couples, while Nepal issued an interim order to facilitate such unions, and Bolivia and Latvia legalised same-sex civil unions.

There were also significant advances in decriminalising same-sex acts, including in the UN member states of Singapore, Mauritius, and Dominica, as well as in the non-UN member Cook Islands in the South Pacific.

Additionally, five UN states (Ecuador, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, and Spain) and the state of Yucatán in Mexico have legalised gender recognition based on self-identification.

Nine UN states now have legal protections against non-consensual interventions on intersex minors, with Chile, Spain, and Australian Capital Territory joining the list since the start of 2023.

Yet, not all news was positive.

Russia and several US states have enacted bans on gender-affirming care and actively promote interventions on intersex minors.

Uganda passed an Anti-Homosexuality Bill imposing a possible death penalty, Iraq codified previously existing de facto criminalisation, and reports have surfaced of capital punishment being enforced in Afghanistan and Yemen.

Additionally, several other UN states have announced regressive bills and/or discussed criminalising same-sex relationships.

“We have seen an alarming rise in restrictions on freedom of expression and association,” stated Dhia Rezki Rohaizad, lead co-author of Laws on Us. “This has resulted in censorship, arrests, and persecution in many UN member states.”

Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uganda have implemented laws targeting the “promotion of homosexuality,” while Belarus has begun classifying LGBTQ+ content as pornography and Russia has labeled the international LGBTQ+ movement as “extremist.”

In recent months, multiple individuals have been arrested in Russia for allegedly promoting LGBTQ+ rights, with authorities raiding an “anti-war LGBTQ+ party,” arresting two bar workers, and rating My Little Pony as 18+.

Commenting on the report, Julia Ehrt, executive director at ILGA World, said: “In 2024, half of the global population will head to the election polls, and states are trying to restrict the civic space for non-governmental organisations, particularly those addressing sexual and gender diversity.”

“Even talking about our lives in public is becoming increasingly difficult in a growing number of states. This trend is extremely concerning: history has shown us that the advances our movements have made worldwide are often just an election or a downturn away from being reversed.”

ILGA World co-secretaries general Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown added: “Every day, the lives of LGBTI people are used as wedge issues to distract, mobilize, and divide. In concerning times like these, it is paramount to have reliable evidence on the laws worldwide affecting our communities and a clear understanding of the challenges that lie ahead and around us.”

Read related myGwork articles here:

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law

Mauritius Decriminalises Homosexuality

Bhutan Decriminalises Homosexuality

Botswana Decriminalises Homosexuality with Landmark Ruling