LGBTQ rights by country or territory

{{Short description|none}} {{about||historical and current movements to further LGBTQ rights|LGBTQ movements|intersex rights|Intersex human rights}} {{redirect|LGBTQ right|the right-wing LGBTQ movement|LGBTQ conservatism}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{pp-move}} {{update|date=May 2025}}  {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{World homosexuality laws map}} {{LGBTQI+ rights at the UN}} {{LGBTQ rights}} {{Rights}} {{LGBTQ sidebar|expanded=rights}} Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. thumb|right|261px|'''Laws concerning gender identity-expression by country or territory''' {{legend|#800080|Legal identity change, surgery not required}} {{legend|#ff00ffff|Legal identity change, surgery required}} {{legend|#FF0000|No legal identity change}} {{legend|#CCCCCC|Unknown/ambiguous}} Notably, {{as of|2025|January|lc=y}}, 38 countries recognize same-sex marriage.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|title=Countries that allow same-sex marriage |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/countries-that-legally-allow-same-sex-marriage/photostory/98636202.cms |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=timesofindia.indiatimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|title=Same-Sex Marriage Around the World |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/gay-marriage-around-the-world/ |website=Pew Research Center |date=9 June 2023 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|title=LGBTQ People in Afghanistan After the Taliban Takeover |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/01/26/even-if-you-go-skies-well-find-you/lgbt-people-afghanistan-after-taliban-takeover |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=15 November 2022 |date=26 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |author-link=Kameel Ahmady |title=Forbidden Tale (A comprehensive study on lesbian, gay, bisexuals (LGB) in Iran) |title-link=Forbidden Tale |publisher=AP Lambert Academic Publishing |year=2020 |location=Germany}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Ruchi |date=2022-01-26 |title=Lives of LGBTQ+ Afghans 'dramatically worse' under Taliban rule, finds survey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/26/lives-of-lgbtq-afghans-dramatically-worse-under-taliban-rule-finds-survey |access-date=2024-02-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228100850/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/26/lives-of-lgbtq-afghans-dramatically-worse-under-taliban-rule-finds-survey |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title='They Torture And Kill Us': Gay Afghan Men Fear For Lives Under The Taliban |date=2022-11-07 |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/torture-murder-gay-afghan-men-lgbt-taliban/32119338.html |access-date=2024-02-10 |language=en}}</ref> The death penalty is officially law, but generally not practiced, in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia (in the autonomous state of Jubaland) and the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|date=2019-02-13 |title=United Arab Emirates |url=https://www.humandignitytrust.org./country-profile/united-arab-emirates/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Human Dignity Trust |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|title=Saudi Arabia: Man sentenced for homosexuality. Amnesty |url=https://www.amnesty.org/fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/mde230132010en.pdf}}</ref> LGBTQ people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=He Was Targeted in Chechnya for Being Gay. Now, He's Being Hunted in Europe |url=https://time.com/chechnya-movsar/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |magazine=Time |archive-date=8 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808061058/https://time.com/chechnya-movsar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery, which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hazzad |first=Ardo |date=2022-07-02 |title=Nigerian Islamic court orders death by stoning for men convicted of homosexuality |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-islamic-court-orders-death-by-stoning-men-convicted-homosexuality-2022-07-02/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |archive-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713213024/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-islamic-court-orders-death-by-stoning-men-convicted-homosexuality-2022-07-02/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|last=Milton |first=Josh |date=2022-07-05 |title=Three men sentenced to death by stoning for being gay |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/05/nigeria-gay-death-sentence-islam/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=PinkNews }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author-link=Kameel Ahmady |title=Ahmady, Kameel, LGBT In Iran: The Homophobic Laws and Social System in Islamic Republic of Iran, PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology, Volume 18, Pages 1446- 1464, Issue, No. 18 (2021). |url=https://archives.palarch.nl/index.php/jae/article/download/10978/9872/21677 |journal=PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology |date=9 August 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mendos|first=Lucas Ramón|url=https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019.pdf|title=State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019|publisher=ILGA|year=2019|edition=13th|location=Geneva|pages=15|access-date=13 September 2019|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222220100/https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dick |first=Samantha |date=4 April 2019 |title=Brunei not the only place LGBTQI can be killed for who they love |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/04/04/lgbtqi-killings-brunei/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406013019/https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/04/04/lgbtqi-killings-brunei/ |archive-date=6 April 2019 |access-date=5 April 2019 |work=The New Daily}}</ref>

In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBTQ rights, following which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBTQ people, including hate crimes, criminalization of homosexual activity, and discrimination. Following the issuance of the report, the United Nations urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBTQ rights.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Jill |date=17 June 2011 |title=U.N. council passes gay rights resolution |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/06/17/un.lgbt.rights/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930190458/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/06/17/un.lgbt.rights/index.html |archive-date=30 September 2018 |access-date=20 September 2018 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|title=UN issues first report on human rights of gay and lesbian people|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40743|publisher=United Nations|date=15 December 2011|access-date=20 September 2018|archive-date=7 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107142044/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40743|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2022 study found that LGBTQ rights (as measured by ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index) were correlated with less HIV/AIDS incidence among gay and bisexual men independently of risky sexual behavior.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stojanovski |first1=Kristefer |last2=King |first2=Elizabeth J. |last3=Amico |first3=K. Rivet |last4=Eisenberg |first4=Marisa C. |last5=Geronimus |first5=Arline T. |last6=Baros |first6=Sladjana |last7=Schmidt |first7=Axel J. |date=2022 |title=Stigmatizing Policies Interact with Mental Health and Sexual Behaviours to Structurally Induce HIV Diagnoses Among European Men Who Have Sex with Men |journal=AIDS and Behavior |volume=26 |issue=10 |pages=3400–3410 |doi=10.1007/s10461-022-03683-9 |pmc=9556380 |pmid=35434774 |s2cid=248220063}}</ref>

The 2023 ''Equaldex Equality Index'' ranks the Nordic countries, Chile, Uruguay, Canada, the Benelux countries, Spain, Andorra, and Malta among the best for LGBTQ rights. The index ranks Senegal, Oman, Brunei, Afghanistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Gambia, and Iran among the worst.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web |date=January 1, 2023 |title=LGBT Equality Index: The Most LGBT-Friendly Countries in the World |url=https://www.equaldex.com/equality-index |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=Equaldex |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802200547/https://www.equaldex.com/equality-index |archive-date=August 2, 2025}}</ref>

LGBT rights are supported by various international religious organizations, including progressive Christian denominations,<ref> William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 603</ref><ref> Jason E. Vickers, ''The Cambridge Companion to American Methodism'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, p. 112</ref> Inclusive churches and progressive Jewish organizations.<ref>Emily McAvan, [https://www.sbs.com.au/voices/article/the-jewish-case-for-marriage-equality-in-australia/3csmnyivn The Jewish case for marriage equality in Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260311160414/https://www.sbs.com.au/voices/article/the-jewish-case-for-marriage-equality-in-australia/3csmnyivn |date=11 March 2026 }}, sbs.com.au, 23 de janeiro de 2017</ref>

==Scope of laws== Laws that affect LGBTQ people include, but are not limited to, the following:

* laws concerning the recognition of same-sex relationships, including same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships * laws concerning same-sex parenting, including same-sex adoption * anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, public accommodations * anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBTQ children at school * hate crime laws imposing enhanced criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated violence against LGBTQ people * bathroom bills affecting access to sex-segregated facilities by transgender people * laws related to sexual orientation and military service * laws concerning access to assisted reproductive technology * sodomy laws that penalize consensual same-sex sexual activity that may or may not target homosexuals, males or males and females, or leave some homosexual acts legal * adultery laws that same-sex couples are subject to * age of consent laws that may impose higher ages for same-sex sexual activity * laws regarding donation of blood, corneas, and other tissues by men who have sex with men * laws concerning access to gender-affirming surgery and gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy * legal recognition and accommodation of the affirmed gender

==History of LGBT-related laws== {{See also|LGBTQ history|Timeline of LGBTQ history|LGBTQ movements|History of homosexuality|Sodomy law#History}}

===Ancient India===

In ancient India, Ayoni or non-vaginal sex of all types was punishable in the Arthashastra. Homosexual acts were, however, treated as a smaller offence punishable by a fine, while unlawful heterosexual sex carried much harsher punishment. The Dharmsastras, especially the later ones like the Vashistha Dharmasutra, prescribed against non-vaginal sex. The Yājñavalkya Smṛti prescribed fines for such acts including those with other men. Manusmriti prescribed light punishments for such acts.<ref name="DharmaLGBT">{{Cite book|last=Ali|first=Daud|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uP57zh13BqQC&pg=PA50|title=Sexual Diversity in Asia, c. 600–1950|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0415600590|editor-last=Reyes|editor-first=Raquel A. G.|pages=50–51|chapter=Censured sexual acts and early medieval society in India|lccn=2011049072|author-link=Daud Ali|editor-last2=Clarence-Smith|editor-first2=William G.|editor-link2=William Gervase Clarence-Smith|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614190258/https://books.google.com/books?id=uP57zh13BqQC&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Vanita>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2nprDLPRLwC&q=ayoni&pg=PT55 |title=Same-Sex Love in India |date=October 20, 2008 |last=Vanita |first=Ruth |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-81-8475-969-3 |access-date=May 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804091538/https://books.google.com/books?id=P2nprDLPRLwC&pg=PT55&dq=manusmriti+cart+175&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib7t3XivXhAhXUinAKHZGlBDoQ6AEIUjAH#v=onepage&q=ayoni&f=false |archive-date=4 August 2020}}</ref> Vanita stated that the verses about punishment for a sex between a woman and her maiden was due to its strong emphasis on a maiden's sexual purity.<ref name="VanitaLGBT">{{Cite book|last=Vanita|first=Ruth|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofDIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|title=Love's Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2005|isbn=978-1403970381|pages=32|chapter=Introduction|lccn=2005047571|author-link=Ruth Vanita|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804083558/https://books.google.com/books?id=ofDIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ancient Israel=== The ancient Law of Moses (the Torah) forbids people from lying with people of the same sex (i.e., from having intercourse) in Leviticus 18 and gives a story of attempted homosexual rape in Genesis 19, in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, after which the cities were soon destroyed with "brimstone and fire, from the Lord"<ref name="S&G">{{cite book|last1=Fields|first1=Weston W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9lA3UVoHjAC&q=Sodom+gomorrah+destroyed&pg=PA159|title=Sodom and Gomorrah: History and Motif in Biblical Narrative|publisher=A&C Black|year=1997|isbn=978-0567062611|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217084908/https://books.google.com/books?id=i9lA3UVoHjAC&q=Sodom+gomorrah+destroyed&pg=PA159|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SG2">{{cite book|last1=Loader|first1=J. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJMA_zTueTMC&q=Sodom+gomorrah|title=A Tale of Two Cities: Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, Early Jewish and Early Christian Traditions|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1990|isbn=9789024253333|lccn=91207650|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507231657/https://books.google.com/books?id=qJMA_zTueTMC&q=Sodom+gomorrah|url-status=live}}</ref> and the death penalty was prescribed to its inhabitants – and to Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt because she turned back to watch the cities' destruction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=STRAUSS |first1=Gerhard Friedrich Abraham |last2=SLEE |first2=Jane Mary |title=On Restitution; Lot and his Wife; The Rich Man; Christian Composure; [sermons] by ... F. S. ... translated from the German, by Miss Slee |date=1837 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exFhAAAAcAAJ&q=wife+of+lot&pg=PA60 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=1 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401102700/https://books.google.com/books?id=exFhAAAAcAAJ&q=wife+of+lot&pg=PA60 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Lot's Wife. A sermon at Paule's Crosse [on Luke xvii. 32. By R. W., i.e. R. Wilkinson.] |date=1607 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSpkAAAAcAAJ&q=wife+of+lot&pg=PA14 |access-date=18 August 2019 |author1=R. W |archive-date=1 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401102709/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSpkAAAAcAAJ&q=wife+of+lot&pg=PA14 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Deuteronomy 22:5, cross-dressing is condemned as "abominable".<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7fsoDAAAQBAJ&q=deuteronomy+cross-dressing&pg=PA39|title=Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1317147978|editor-last1=Upson-Saia|editor-first1=Kristi|page=39|chapter=Cross-dressing, Masculinity, and the Social Body in Late Antiquity|lccn=2014000554|access-date=18 August 2019|orig-year=2014|editor-last2=Daniel-Hughes|editor-first2=Carly|editor-last3=Batten|editor-first3=Alicia J.|archive-date=1 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401102714/https://books.google.com/books?id=7fsoDAAAQBAJ&q=deuteronomy+cross-dressing&pg=PA39|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bullough|first1=Vern L.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcD7nVelXJgC&q=deuteronomy+cross-dressing&pg=PR10|title=Cross Dressing, Sex, and Gender|last2=Bullough|first2=Bonnie|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=1993|isbn=9780812214314|page=x|chapter=Introduction|lccn=92032030|access-date=18 October 2020|archive-date=1 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401102723/https://books.google.com/books?id=KcD7nVelXJgC&q=deuteronomy+cross-dressing&pg=PR10|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Assyria=== In Assyrian society, sex crimes were punished identically whether they were homosexual or heterosexual.<ref name="Nissinen">{{cite book |title=Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective |first=Martti |last=Nissinen |publisher=Fortress Press |date=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-sHSNPG85tUC&pg=PA24 |pages=24–28 |isbn=978-1-4514-1433-2 |access-date=May 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414092410/https://books.google.com/books?id=-sHSNPG85tUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA24 |archive-date=14 April 2020 }}</ref> An individual faced no punishment for penetrating someone of equal social class, a cult prostitute, or with someone whose gender roles were not considered solidly masculine.<ref name="Nissinen" /> Such sexual relations were even seen as good fortune, with an Akkadian tablet, the ''Šumma ālu'', reading, "If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his peers and brothers".<ref name="Greenberg">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKhFRgR-1awC&q=equal+basis|title=The Construction of Homosexuality|first=David F.|last=Greenberg|date=15 August 1990|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226306285|access-date=31 July 2018|archive-date=28 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628122610/http://books.google.com/books?id=RKhFRgR-1awC&q=equal+basis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=http://epistle.us/hbarticles/neareast.html|title=Homosexuality in the Ancient Near East, beyond Egypt by Bruce Gerig in the Ancient Near East, beyond Egypt|website=epistle.us|access-date=23 March 2017|archive-date=2 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002215825/http://epistle.us/hbarticles/neareast.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, homosexual relationships with fellow soldiers, slaves, royal attendants, or those where a social better was submissive or penetrated, were treated as bad omens.<ref>Pritchard, p. 181.</ref><ref>Gay Rights Or Wrongs: A Christian's Guide to Homosexual Issues and Ministry, by Mike Mazzalonga, 1996, p.11</ref>

Middle Assyrian Law Codes dating 1075 BC has a particularly harsh law for homosexuality in the military, which reads: "If a man have intercourse with his brother-in-arms, they shall turn him into a eunuch."<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|last1=Halsall|first1=Paul|title=The Code of the Assura|url=https://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1075assyriancode.asp|website=Internet History Sourcebooks Project|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Fordham University|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911230918/http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1075assyriancode.asp|archive-date=11 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRjGApZVwPIC&pg=PA69|title=Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex|isbn=9781453503164|last1=Wilhelm|first1=Amara Das|date=18 May 2010|publisher=Xlibris Corporation |access-date=22 March 2017|archive-date=17 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217041536/https://books.google.com/books?id=gRjGApZVwPIC&pg=PA69|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar law code reads, "If a seignior lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into a eunuch". This law code condemns a situation that involves homosexual rape. Any Assyrian male could visit a prostitute or lie with another male, just as long as false rumors or forced sex were not involved with another male.<ref>G. R. Driver and J. C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws (Oxford, Clarendon Press [1935]), 71.</ref>

===Ancient Rome===

In ancient Rome, the bodies of citizen youths were strictly off-limits, and the ''Lex Scantinia'' imposed penalties on those who committed a sex crime ''(stuprum)'' against a freeborn male minor.<ref>Plutarch, ''Moralia'' 288a; Thomas Habinek, "The Invention of Sexuality in the World-City of Rome," in ''The Roman Cultural Revolution'' (Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 39; Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," pp. 545–546. Scholars disagree as to whether the ''Lex Scantinia'' imposed the death penalty or a hefty fine.</ref> Acceptable same-sex partners were males excluded from legal protections as citizens: slaves, male prostitutes, and the ''infames'', entertainers or others who might be technically free but whose lifestyles set them outside the law.

A male citizen who willingly performed oral sex or received anal sex was disparaged, but there is only limited evidence of legal penalties against these men.<ref>Williams, ''Roman Homosexuality'', pp. 214–215; Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," ''passim''.</ref> In courtroom and political rhetoric, charges of effeminacy and passive sexual behaviors were directed particularly at "democratic" politicians ''(populares)'' such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.<ref>Catharine Edwards, ''The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome'' (Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 63–64.</ref>

Roman law addressed the rape of a male citizen as early as the 2nd century BC when it was ruled that even a man who was "disreputable and questionable" had the same right as other citizens not to have his body subjected to forced sex.<ref>As recorded in a fragment of the speech ''De Re Floria'' by Cato the Elder (frg. 57 Jordan = Aulus Gellius 9.12.7), noted and discussed by Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," p. 561.</ref> A law probably dating to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar defined rape as forced sex against "boy, woman, or anyone"; the rapist was subject to execution, a rare penalty in Roman law.<ref>Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," pp. 562–563. See also ''Digest'' 48.5.35 [34] on legal definitions of rape that included boys.</ref> A male classified as ''infamis'', such as a prostitute or actor, could not as a matter of law be raped, nor could a slave, who was legally classified as property; the slave's owner, however, could prosecute the rapist for property damage.<ref>Under the ''Lex Aquilia''. See McGinn, ''Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome'', p. 314.</ref>

In the Roman army of the Republic, sex among fellow soldiers violated the decorum against intercourse with citizens and was subject to harsh penalties, including death,<ref>McGinn, ''Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome'', p. 40.</ref> as a violation of military discipline.<ref>Sara Elise Phang, ''Roman Military Service: Ideologies of Discipline in the Late Republic and Early Principate'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 93.</ref> The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) lists deserters, thieves, perjurers, and "...on young men who have abused their persons" as subject to the ''fustuarium'', clubbing to death.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/6*.html |author=Polybius |title=The Histories Fragments of Book VI |access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref> Ancient sources are most concerned with the effects of sexual harassment by officers, but the young soldier who brought an accusation against his superior needed to show that he had not willingly taken the passive role or prostituted himself.<ref>Phang, ''The Marriage of Roman Soldiers'', pp. 280–285.</ref> Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves;<ref>Phang, ''The Marriage of Roman Soldiers'', p. 3.</ref> the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se.<ref>Williams, ''Roman Homosexuality'', p. 112 ''et passim''.</ref> By the late Republic and throughout the Imperial period, there is increasing evidence that men whose lifestyle marked them as "homosexual" in the modern sense served openly.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyFdUxqYZ48C&pg=PA285 |last=Phang |first=Sara Elise |title=The Marriage of Roman Soldiers |date=13 May 2024 |pages=285–292 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12155-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805022337/https://books.google.com/books?id=jyFdUxqYZ48C&pg=PA285#v=onepage&q=%22more%20tolerant%20of%20homosexual%20relations%20between%20soldiers%22 |archive-date=5 August 2020}}</ref>

Although Roman law did not recognize marriage between men, and in general Romans regarded marriage as a heterosexual union with the primary purpose of producing children, in the early Imperial period some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites. Juvenal remarks with disapproval that his friends often attended such ceremonies.<ref>Juvenal, ''Satire'' 2; Williams, ''Roman Homosexuality'', p. 28.</ref> The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as the bride (with a freedman Pythagoras) and once as the groom. His consort Sporus appeared in public as Nero's wife wearing the regalia that was customary for the Roman empress.<ref>Suetonius ''Life of Nero'' 28–29; Williams, ''Roman Homosexuality'', p. 279ff.</ref>

Apart from measures to protect the prerogatives of citizens, the prosecution of homosexuality as a general crime began in the 3rd century of the Christian era when male prostitution was banned by Philip the Arab. By the end of the 4th century, after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule, passive homosexuality was punishable by burning.<ref>Michael Groneberg, "Reasons for Homophobia: Three Types of Explanation," in ''Combatting Homophobia: Experiences and Analyses Pertinent to Education'' (LIT Verlag, 2011), p. 193.</ref> "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code.<ref>''Codex Theodosianus'' 9.7.3 (4 December 342), introduced by the sons of Constantine in 342.</ref> Under Justinian, all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners are, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death.<ref>Groneberg, "Reasons for Homophobia," p. 193.</ref>

===British Empire=== {{see also|LGBTQ rights in the Commonwealth of Nations}}

The United Kingdom introduced anti-homosexuality laws throughout its colonies, particularly in the 19th century when the British Empire was at its peak.<ref name="kirby-export">{{#invoke:Cite|journal|last1=Kirby |first1=Michael |title=The sodomy offence: England's least lovely criminal law export? |journal=Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change |date=2013 |url=https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4824/20/02Kirby_TheSodomyOffence.pdf |access-date=6 October 2020 |publisher=School of Advanced Study, University of London |location=London |archive-date=10 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010225917/https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4824/20/02Kirby_TheSodomyOffence.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2018, more than half of the 71 countries that criminalised homosexuality were former British colonies or protectorates.<ref name="cnn-british-legacy">{{#invoke:Cite|news|author=Ben Westcott |title=The homophobic legacy of the British Empire |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/11/asia/british-empire-lgbt-rights-section-377-intl/index.html |access-date=6 October 2020 |work=CNN |date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008120150/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/11/asia/british-empire-lgbt-rights-section-377-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1861, the British Empire introduced Section 377 of the British Colonial Penal Code, outlawing consensual sexual activity between same-sex couples as well as labelling third gender communities such as the apwint people and Hijra as "outlaw tribes". This law was intended to criminalise acts "against the order of nature". Section 377 was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity.

Today, Section 377 still exists in some former British colonies: * {{flagicon|BAN}} Bangladesh<ref name="elliott">{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Josh |title=India legalized homosexuality, but many of its neighbours haven't |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4430721/india-gay-sex-supreme-court-pakistan-bangladesh/ |access-date=19 January 2022 |work=Global News |date=6 September 2018 |language=en |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102809/https://globalnews.ca/news/4430721/india-gay-sex-supreme-court-pakistan-bangladesh/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * {{flagicon|MYS}} Malaysia<ref name="elliott"/> * {{flagicon|MYA}} Myanmar<ref name="elliott"/> * {{flagicon|PAK}} Pakistan<ref name="elliott"/> * {{flagicon|SRI}} Sri Lanka (as Section 365)<ref name="elliott" />

In addition to Section 377, the United Kingdom also introduced a number of laws targeting gender non-conformity throughout its colonies. In 1861, authorities of the North-Western Provinces (NWP) sought to enact a 'special law' against Hijra people in order to criminalise their identity.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hinchy|first=Jessica|title=Governing Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India: The Hijra, c.1850–1900|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-108-49255-3 |pages=95–109}}</ref> The Hijra were included in the Criminal Tribes Act (1871)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reddy |first1=Gayatri |title=With Respect to Sex: Negotiating Hijra Identity in South India |year=2010 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-70754-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyqTnL9jTFoC&q=Criminal%20Tribes%20Act&pg=PA26 |page=25}}</ref>{{sfn|Hinchy|2019|pp=95–109}} and were monitored with the hope of eliminating their culture.{{sfn|Hinchy|2019|pp=95–109}} Due to the passage of the Criminal Tribes Act (1871), Hijra people could not possess children.{{sfn|Hinchy|2019|pp=95–109}}

While significant progress has been made to reverse these laws, the majority of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Homosexual activity remains a criminal offence in 29 of the 56 sovereign states of the Commonwealth; and legal in only 27. In 3 of these states, homosexual activity is punishable by death.

LGBTQ communities still face significant discrimination due to the influence of colonialism in former British colonies, despite these communities being accepted prior to British colonialism. In the Indic cultural sphere, references to a third sex can be found throughout the texts of India's religious traditions like Jainism<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zwilling |first1=L |last2=Sweet |first2=MJ |year=1996 |title="Like a city ablaze": The third sex and the creation of sexuality in Jain religious literature |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=359–84 |jstor=4629615 |pmid=11609126}}</ref> and Buddhism<ref name="Jackson10996">{{Cite journal |last=Jackson |first=Peter A. |date=April 1996 |title=Non-normative Sex/Gender Categories in the Theravada Buddhist Scriptures |journal=Australian Humanities Review |hdl=1885/41884}}</ref> as well as the Kama Sutra.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Penrose |first=Walter |year=2001 |title=Hidden in History: Female Homoeroticism and Women of a "Third Nature" in the South Asian Past |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=10 |pages=3–39 [4] |doi=10.1353/sex.2001.0018 |s2cid=142955490 |quote=distinct social and economic roles once existed for women thought to belong to a third gender. Hidden in history, these women dressed in men's clothing, served as porters and personal bodyguards to kings and queens, and even took an active role in sex with women.}}</ref> The foundational work of Hindu law, the Manu Smriti (c. 200 BC–200 AD) explains humans as belonging to one of three biological sexes, indicating a belief that transsexuality was an inherent trait.

===Netherlands===

In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwNhIK9Fn1sC&dq=queen+beatrix+same+sex+marriage&pg=PA191 | isbn=9781576072677 | title=Homosexuality and the Law: A Dictionary | year=2001 | publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref>

==Global LGBTQ rights maps==

Note that for simplicity the table below does not distinguish between 'legal' and 'lawful'. An action can only be legal or illegal where a specific law has been passed.

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style="font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">Equalization of age of consent laws for same-sex couples by country or territory</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px;" | <div>[[File:Equalization of age of consent laws for same-sex couples by country or territory'.svg|thumb|center|850px| {{legend|#FFB380|1790–1829}} {{legend|Maroon|1830–1839}} {{legend|#FF0000|1840–1859}} {{legend|Tomato|1860–1869}} {{legend|#FF6600|1870–1879}} {{legend|Orange|1880–1889}} {{legend|#FFFF00|1890–1929}} {{legend|Goldenrod|1930–1939}} {{legend|GreenYellow|1940–1949<sup>1</sup>}} {{legend|#00FF00|1950–1959}} {{legend|#008800|1960–1969}} {{legend|#00FFFF|1970–1979}} {{legend|#0000FF|1980–1989}} {{legend|#000080|1990–1999}} {{legend|#800080|2000–2009}} {{legend|#FF00FF|2010–2019}} {{legend|#E0135E|2020–present}} {{legend|White|Unknown date for equal age of consent laws for opposite and same-sex couples}} {{legend|#cccccc|No consent laws/equal age of consent laws always equal for opposite and same-sex couples}} {{legend|#6C5353|Unequal age of consent laws for same-sex couples}} {{legend|#2B0000|Same-sex sexual intercourse illegal}} <sup>1</sup>During World War II, Nazi Germany annexed or occupied territory, extending Germany's laws against same-sex sexual intercourse. Age of consent was previously equalized for same-sex couples in the following countries or territories before the war: Belluno (legal in 1890), Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (legal in 1890), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (legal in 1890),<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://italysegreta.com/a-brief-history-of-homosexuality-in-italy-from-ancient-rome-to-today/ |title=A brief history of homosexuality in Italy from ancient Rome to today |last=Dama |first=Francesco |website=Italy Segreta |date=July 2022 |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716115956/https://italysegreta.com/a-brief-history-of-homosexuality-in-italy-from-ancient-rome-to-today/ |archive-date=July 16, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/same-sex-marriage-in-italy-an-overview-and-current-status.html |title=Same sex marriage in Italy: an overview and current status |date=February 16, 2024 |website=Wanted in Rome |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216145403/https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/same-sex-marriage-in-italy-an-overview-and-current-status.html |archive-date=February 16, 2024}}</ref> and Poland (decriminalized in 1932).<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-54191344 |title=Inside Poland's 'LGBT-free zones' |last=Ash |first=Lucy |date=September 20, 2020 |website=BBC |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920234338/https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-54191344 |archive-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/europe/lgbtq-rights-hungary-eastern-europe-intl-cmd/index.html |title=Eastern Europe was once a world leader on gay rights. Then it ran out of scapegoats |last=Kottasova |first=Ivana |date=July 1, 2021 |website=CNN |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701043814/https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/europe/lgbtq-rights-hungary-eastern-europe-intl-cmd/index.html |archive-date=July 1, 2021}}</ref> During World War II Germany did not consistently enforce anti-homosexual laws in all occupied countries.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://rm.coe.int/079317-queer-in-europe-during-the-second-world-war-web-web/16808e4a53 |title=Queer in Europe during the second World War |editor=Regis Schlagdenhauffen |date=August 2018 |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=May 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531083332/https://rm.coe.int/079317-queer-in-europe-during-the-second-world-war-web-web/16808e4a53 |archive-date=31 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite|web|url=https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230.html |title=Age of Consent Laws |last=Robertson |first=Stephen |website=Children & Youth in History |access-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620101739/https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230.html |archive-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref> All countries and territories listed that were annexed or established into reichskommissariats by Nazi Germany during World War II were restored as independent countries or reincorporated into their previous countries during or after the war and thus re-legalized equal age of consent laws for same-sex couples in those areas.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}]]</div> |}

{| class="collapsible collapsed" class="collapsible collapsed" style=" text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">Immigration equality by country or territory</span>{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>thumb|center|850px|{{legend|#0000ff|Recognition of same-sex couples in national immigration laws}}{{legend|#cccccc|Unknown/ambiguous}}</div> |} {| class="collapsible collapsed" style=" text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">Bans on same-sex unions by country or territory</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>thumb|center|850px|{{legend|#cccccc|No specific prohibition of same-sex marriages or unions}}{{legend|#d40000|Same-sex marriage banned by secular constitution}}{{legend|#800000|Same-sex marriage banned by constitutionally mandated religious law}}{{Original research inline|date=September 2024}}</div> |}

==Timeline== {{Decriminalization of homosexuality timeline}}

==LGBT-related laws by country or territory== '''Note''': A country in this list is to be presumed to have equalized the age of consent at the same time as it decriminalized homosexual acts, unless otherwise noted.

===Africa=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in Africa}} {| class="collapsible uncollapsed" style="text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style="font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">List of countries or territories by LGBTQ rights in Africa</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px;" | <div>{{LGBT rights table Africa}}</div> |}

===Americas=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in the Americas}} {| class="collapsible uncollapsed" style=" text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">List of countries or territories by LGBTQ rights in the Americas</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>{{LGBT rights table Americas}}</div> |}

===Antarctica=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in Antarctica}}

===Asia=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in Asia}} {| class="collapsible uncollapsed" style=" text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">List of countries or territories by LGBTQ rights in Asia</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>{{LGBT rights table Asia}}</div> |}

===Europe=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in Europe}} {| class="collapsible uncollapsed" style=" text-align: left; border: 1px solid silver; margin: 0.2em auto auto; width:100%; clear: both; padding: 1px;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">List of countries or territories by LGBTQ rights in Europe</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>{{LGBT rights table Europe}}</div> |}

===Oceania=== {{Main|LGBTQ rights in Oceania}} {| class="wikitable sticky-header" style="font-size: 90%;" |- ! style=" font-size:87%; padding:0.2em 0.3em; text-align: center; " | <span style="font-size: 115%;">List of countries or territories by LGBTQ rights in Oceania</span> |- | style="border: solid 1px silver; padding: 8px; " | <div>{{LGBT rights table Oceania}}</div> |}

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== <references />

==External links== {{commons category|LGBTQ rights by country or territory}}   * [http://www.ilga.org/ International Lesbian and Gay Association] ** [https://web.archive.org/web/20150629054502/http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2015.pdf State-sponsored Homophobia report (2015 edition)] ** [https://web.archive.org/web/20160409042054/http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_WorldMap_2015_ENG.pdf Lesbian and Gay Rights in the World map (2015 edition)] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100516054224/http://www.amnestyusa.org/lgbt-human-rights/country-information/page.do?id=1106576 Amnesty International USA: LGBT legal status around the world] – interactive map * [https://pridelegal.com/worldwide-laws-by-country/ Pride Legal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305085218/https://pridelegal.com/worldwide-laws-by-country/ |date=5 March 2022 }} – information by country * [https://www.hrw.org/topic/lgbt-rights Human Rights Watch on LGBT Rights] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111228093601/http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/content/takeaction/resourcecenter/index.html International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission resource links] – for researching legal information *International Commission of Jurists, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120118183926/http://www.icj.org/dwn/database/Sexual%20Orientation,%20Gender%20Identity%20and%20Justice-%20A%20Comparative%20Law%20Casebook%5B1%5D.pdf Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Justice – A Comparative Law Casebook] *United Nations Human Rights Council, ''[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/19session/A.HRC.19.41_English.pdf Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity]'', an annual report *United Nations, ''[http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/LivingFreeAndEqual.pdf Living Free and Equal: What States Are Doing to Tackle Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex People]'', November 2016 {{Criminalization of homosexuality}} {{LGBT rights footer}}  {{Law country lists}} {{Particular human rights}}{{Discrimination}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Rights By Country Or Territory}} Category:LGBTQ-related legislation Category:Minimum ages Category:Sex laws Category:Sexuality and age Category:Youth rights Category:LGBTQ rights by location Category:Law-related lists Category:Human rights-related lists *