Timeline of the decriminalization of homosexual relationships

Legal status
same-sex relationships in the world

Officially recognized

same-sex marriage gay marriage is recognized but not concluded same-sex partnerships

Not prohibited

no regulatory laws there is a restriction on freedom of speech and assembly

Criminalized

de jure illegal, de facto not prosecuted real criminal prosecution imprisonment, including life punishment up to the death penalty

Homosexual relationships (usually male) were previously criminalized in many countries of the world. However, due to a number of historical processes, the decriminalization of these relations gradually began to take place. In the XX century there have been significant changes in this matter.

The states are chronologically below by the date the criminal prosecution was canceled ^[1] , as well as the most significant events around the decriminalization process.

Content

Not Criminalized

There are several states in which voluntary homosexual relations between adults have never been criminalized at all ^[2] :

Burkina Faso
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gabon
Cote d'Ivoire
Madagascar
Mali
Niger
Republic of the Congo
Rwanda

18th century

Napoleon's Code enshrines decriminalization of homosexuality in many countries

1790: Andorra
1791: France . The criminal prosecution of homosexuality was abolished during the French Revolution .
1793: Monaco
1795: Luxembourg

XIX century

1811: The Netherlands ( article 198-bis was introduced in 1911 criminalizing same-sex contacts with people under the age of 21).
1813: Bavaria (in connection with the introduction of the Code of Napoleon ).
1830: Brazil .
1832: Criminal prosecution of homosexuals was introduced into the criminal legislation of the Russian Empire , which provided for the deprivation of all rights of the state and exile to Siberia for 4-5 years for " sodomy ." This norm arose during the copying of the German criminal code by Russia.
1858: Turkey .
1860: A number of kingdoms of Italy with the introduction of the Code of Napoleon
1867 Cote d'Ivoire .
On August 29, 1867, attorney Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs at the Congress of German Lawyers in Munich announced that anti-homosexual legislation should be abolished. This was the first public statement of its kind in recent history.
1871: Mexico and Guatemala .
1880: Paraguay and Japan (in the latter, homosexuality was criminalized in 1873).
1887: Argentina .
1890: Italy at the national level (persecution resumed during the Mussolini dictatorship, although there was no official criminal punishment ).

First Half of the 20th Century

1917: Russia ( RSFSR ). Criminal liability was abolished as a result of the non-recognition of the laws of the Russian Empire by the RSFSR, however, for men, criminal liability was reintroduced in 1933 .
1932: Poland (homosexuals were persecuted during the Nazi occupation)
1933: Denmark (homosexuals persecuted during the Nazi occupation)
1934: Uruguay
1934: Criminal liability for "sodomy" is returned to the USSR .
1940: Iceland
1942: Switzerland
1943: Belgium (the law was signed by the government in exile, in fact, since 1945)
1944: Sweden

1950s

1951: Greece , Jordan (including the Palestinian West Bank)
1953: GDR (partially)
1956: Thailand

1960s

1962: Hungary and Czechoslovakia
1967: England and Wales , Chad
1968: Bulgaria and East Germany (definitively)
1969: Canada and Germany (partially)

1970s

1971: Austria , Costa Rica , Netherlands , Finland
1972: Norway
1973: Malta
1977: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1979: Spain , Guam , Cuba ^[3]

1980s

“At a meeting of sexist scientists from the socialist countries in Leipzig (1981), a well-known sexologist from the German Democratic Republic Siegfried Schnabl unexpectedly asked in which countries anti-homosexual legislation exists and how it is motivated, and it turned out that it exists only in the USSR (there are no Romanian representatives at the meeting was) " Igor Kon

1980: Scotland
1981: Colombia ,
1982: Northern Ireland
1983: Portugal
1986: Haiti , New Zealand
1988: Israel
1989: Liechtenstein

1990s

1991: Bahamas
1992: Latvia , Ukraine , Estonia
1993: Ireland , Lithuania , Russia . Moreover, previously convicted persons were not rehabilitated in Russia.
1994: Belarus , Bermuda , Serbia (the persecution was reintroduced after the collapse of Yugoslavia), South Africa , Germany (in full connection with the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany)
1994: Australia Australia Nationwide, Isle of Man
1995: Albania , Moldova
1996: Republic of Macedonia (persecution was reintroduced after the collapse of Yugoslavia), Romania (partially)
1997: In China, the concept of “hooliganism” is abolished in criminal law, according to which homosexuals are sometimes persecuted. Ecuador
1998: Bosnia and Herzegovina (the persecution was reintroduced after the collapse of Yugoslavia), Republic of Cyprus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Chile .

2000s

2000: Azerbaijan , British Virgin Islands , Georgia , Cayman Islands , Montserrat
2001: San Marino , Romania (full)
2002: Armenia , Mongolia
2003: By decision of the US Supreme Court , homosexuality is decriminalized at the national level (up to this point, several states have maintained criminal prosecution). Iraq
2004: Cape Verde
2005: Puerto Rico
2007: Nepal , Niue , Tokelau
2008: Nicaragua ^[4] , Panama
2009: Benin , India ^[5] (in 2013, the decision on decriminalization was canceled ^[6] , in 2018 it was adopted again ^[7] )

2010s

2010: Fiji ^[8]
2011: Sao Tome and Principe
2013: Homosexuality canceled again in India , repealed in 2009
2014: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , Palau
2015: Mozambique ^[9]
2016: Nauru , Seychelles , Belize ^[10]
2018: India (re-decriminalization) ^[7] , Trinidad and Tobago
2019: Bhutan , Botswana , Angola (adoption of a new Penal Code replacing Portuguese colonial). ^[11]

Notes

↑ In some countries, criminalization / decriminalization has occurred several times, so both dates are indicated. In some countries, decriminalization took place in stages, in which case the previous steps are explained as partial abolition.
↑ ILGA Review, 2015 , p. 27.
↑ BBC. Fidel Castro took the blame for the persecution of gays
↑ DESPENALIZAN HOMOSEXUALIDAD EN NICARAGUA
↑ Ser homosexual ya no es crimen en India
↑ Indian Supreme Court bans homosexuality - Newspaper. Ru | Society
↑ ¹ ² India throws out ban on gay sex, sparking celebrations
↑ Fiji's new decree says gay sex is now legal (unopened) (link not available) . Date of treatment April 24, 2010. Archived March 7, 2010.
↑ BBC News. Mozambique decriminalises gay and lesbian relationships (neopr.) . BBC Date of treatment July 5, 2015.
↑ Sopelsa, Brooke . Belize Supreme Court Overturns Anti-Gay Law (August 10, 2016). Date of treatment August 13, 2016.
↑ Angola repeals criminal article for “unnatural sex”

Links

State-sponsored homophobia . - ILGA , 2015 .-- T. 10 .-- 129 s. Archived on June 29, 2015. Archived June 29, 2015 to Wayback Machine

[1] In some countries, criminalization / decriminalization has occurred several times, so both dates are indicated. In some countries, decriminalization took place in stages, in which case the previous steps are explained as partial abolition.

[_c18d8a9f97423f96-2] ILGA Review, 2015 , p. 27.

[3] BBC. Fidel Castro took the blame for the persecution of gays

[4] DESPENALIZAN HOMOSEXUALIDAD EN NICARAGUA

[5] Ser homosexual ya no es crimen en India

[6] Indian Supreme Court bans homosexuality - Newspaper. Ru | Society

[india2018-7] ¹ ² India throws out ban on gay sex, sparking celebrations

[8] Fiji's new decree says gay sex is now legal (unopened) (link not available) . Date of treatment April 24, 2010. Archived March 7, 2010.

[9] BBC News. Mozambique decriminalises gay and lesbian relationships (neopr.) . BBC Date of treatment July 5, 2015.

[belize-10] Sopelsa, Brooke . Belize Supreme Court Overturns Anti-Gay Law (August 10, 2016). Date of treatment August 13, 2016.

[11] Angola repeals criminal article for “unnatural sex”