Countires where its illegall to be gay
This week, the kingdom of Brunei enacted draconian laws that penalize same-sex relations and adultery with death by stoning. The news has sparked international outrage, and calls for a boycott of the Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel chain, but it has also shined a spotlight on the reality that homosexuality and gender-nonconforming identities remains illegal in dozens of countries all over the planet. While the number of places where it is a capital offense is small, in many places those convicted can confront fines, jail time, lashings and even life imprisonment.
Even if the laws are not strictly enforced in a given country, they're routinely used to threaten and discriminate against LGBTQ citizens. "There is no room to argue for legal justification of criminalization of same-sex relations," said U.N. independent expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz. "Criminalization creates an incentive for persecution."
According to ILGA, an international woman loving woman, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex advocacy group, there are 70 U.N. member States that still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual acts. The activist site 76 Crimes adds two non-U.N. member nations, Palestine and the Cook Islands, as well
Which countries impose the death penalty on gay people?
Around the world, queer people continue to face discrimination, violence, harassment and social stigma. While social movements have marked progress towards acceptance in many countries, in others homosexuality continues to be outlawed and penalised, sometimes with death.
According to Statistica Research Department, as of 2024, homosexuality is criminalised in 64 countries globally, with most of these nations situated in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 12 of these countries, the death penalty is either enforced or remains a possibility for intimate, consensual same-sex sexual activity.
In many cases, the laws only apply to sexual relations between two men, but 38 countries own amendments that include those between women in their definitions.
These penalisations represent abuses of human rights, especially the rights to freedom of expression, the right to develop one's own ego and the right to life.
Which countries enforce the death penalty for homosexuality?
Saudi Arabia
The Wahabbi interpretation of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia maintains that acts of homosexuality should be disciplined in the sa
Asia
State
Domestic law[*]
Penalty
Ratified International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)[†]
Ratified Optional Protocol to ICCPR[†]
Bangladesh
“Whoever voluntary has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with dude, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a phrase which may stretch to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.”
6 Sep 2000
–
Brunei
“Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of essence with any male, woman, or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to okay. [S 12/97]
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described
As Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday that the state will repeal a colonial-era law criminalizing sex between men, LGBTQ+ rights activists in the state celebrated a long-sought victory.
The law, which did not enforce to women, had not been enforced in over 15 years, but its long-standing presence contributed to stigmatizing and discriminating against queer men in Singapore, activists said.
"Sex between consenting men should not be criminalized. There is no justification to prosecute people for it, nor to create it a crime," the prime minister said.
A similar statute criminalizing same-sex consensual relations dating support to the British colonial time was struck down in India in 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled the ban to be "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary."
But in both India and Singapore, the abolition of these laws didn't translate into a complete backing of LGBTQ+ rights, as same-sex marriage remains illegal in both countries.
"Let me reassure everyone that in handling the issue, the government will continue to uphold families as the basic building blocks of society," Singapore's prime minister said on Sunday. "We will maintain our
Homosexuality is a crime in 64 countries worldwide
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ghana has develop the latest African territory to propose legislation outlawing homosexuality.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which seeks to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities and lobbying, is returning to parliament after former president Nana Akufo-Addo failed to signal it into law before leaving office at the beginning of this year.
The bill is being sponsored by 10 lawmakers from both major parties, "an unusual bipartisan effort in Ghana's polarised political landscape", said The Africa Announce, and comes "despite international outcry and warnings from Ghana's key development partners".
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The legislation, which has the backing of President John Dram