It is still a crime to have same-sex relations in 68 countries, according to a global review published on Wednesday by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).
Since the ILGA’s last review in 2017, India and Angola have legalised same-sex relations, while Chad moved to criminalise gay sex that year, the report’s author Lucas Ramon Mendos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
LGBT are faced with 10 legal hurdles:
– Gay sex between adults is legal in 123 of the 193 member states of the United Nations.
– Six countries retain the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts.
– Another 26 nations impose maximum penalties for same-sex sexual relations of between 10 years and life imprisonment.
– There are 32 U.N. member states with laws that restrict freedom of expression on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, including bans on the promotion of homosexuality.
– The establishment or registration of organizations representing gay, lesbian or bisexual people face legal hurdles in 41 countries.
– Workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is outlawed in 73 nations.
– Nine countries enshrine protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation within their constitutions.
– Same-sex marriage is legal in 26 U.N. member states. A total of 27 have some form of recognition, including civil partnerships, for same-sex couples.
– Same-sex second parents can legally adopt in 30 countries, while 27 allow joint adoption.
– Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are illegal in 42 nations, while acts of incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence are criminalized in 39.
Source: The ILGA State-Sponsored Homophobia Report 2019
