41 countries criminalise private, consensual sexual activity between women using laws against ‘lesbianism’, ‘sexual relations country a person of the same sex’ and ‘gross indecency’. Even in jurisdictions that do not explicitly criminalise women, lesbians and how many women have been subjected to arrest or threat of arrest. Worldwide, 64 countries criminalize homosexuality as of Most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
In 12 countries, the death penalty is imposed or at least a. As of February65 countries around the world criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity. While some nations have made progress in decriminalisation and LGBTQ+ rights, others have introduced harsher penalties. We take a look at all the countries and territories illegal it is still illegal to be gay or LGBTQ+ – and examine the role colonialism played.
Notably, as of January [update], 38 countries recognize same-sex marriage. [1][2]By contrast, not counting non-state actors and gay 2024 killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iranand Afghanistan. I hereby confirm that I wish to receive FairPlanet's newsletter. By The Week UK.
Laws which criminalise LGBT people are invariably framed in a way which criminalises sexual acts rather than identities. There are 64 countries worldwide that still criminalise homosexuality, with 12 countries — IranNorthern Nigeria, Saudi ArabiaSomalia, YemenAfghanistanBrunei, Mauritania, PakistanQatar, United Arab Emirates, and Uganda — imposing a possible death sentence for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity, said Statista.
Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Japan decriminalised homosexuality almost years ago. One in 50 people in UK now say they are lesbian, gay or bisexual.
In addition to imprisonment, those who are found guilty of homosexuality may also face fines, public flogging or other forms of punishment, such as capital punishment. Saudi Arabia The Wahabbi interpretation of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia maintains that acts of homosexuality should be disciplined in the same way as adultery - with death by stoning. Criminalisation is in clear breach of international human rights law.
Most obviously, criminalisation means that LGBT people can be lawfully arrested, detained, and prosecuted simply for being who they are. Pride celebrations in Berlin last week. The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat. Related Articles of Human Rights Art. Yemen In Yemen, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.
Which countries enforce the death penalty for homosexuality? Countless examples of torture and other types of ill-treatment of detained LGBT people in criminalising countries have been documented.
Dossiers Developing Stories Creative Series view all. But Britain was by no means a frontrunner when it moved 50 years ago to partly decriminalise homosexuality. Barbados, and St Kitts and Nevis repealed their laws infollowing similar moves by Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago. Ghana has become the latest African country to propose legislation outlawing homosexuality.
Queer politics has been a force for change — celebrate how far we've come Jeanette Winterson. Bahrain, Israel and Jordan are the only countries in the region that do not outlaw homosexuality. The sentences imposed in the 15 countries which maintain laws criminalising gender expression also vary. A range of sentences are imposed under laws that criminalise same-sex sexual activity.
The maximum sentences available, with the exclusion of Indonesia, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia, in which the sentence imposed is unclear, the maximum prison sentences, with or without fines, are as follows:.
A number of international human rights bodies have issued rulings recognising that the criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity violates the rights of LGBT people. Email Confirm Email. Homosexuality carries a sentence of capital punishment in Mauritania, Sudansouthern Somalia and northern Nigeria. Lesbians and bisexual women face multiple and compounded human rights violations from both governments and individuals in 41 countries.
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