Restriction of association with arrests or detention
1No imprisonment in the past three years[timeframe?] or moratorium on law. 2Marriage not available locally. Some jurisdictions may perform other types of partnerships.
Notably, as of January2025[update], 38 countries recognize same-sex marriage. 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. The death penalty is officially law, but generally not practiced, in Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia (in the autonomous state of Jubaland). LGBTQ people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya. Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020.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).
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
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. 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.
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" 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. In Deuteronomy 22:5, cross-dressing is condemned as "abominable".
Assyria
In Assyrian society, sex crimes were punished identically whether they were homosexual or heterosexual. 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. 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". However, homosexual relationships with fellow soldiers, slaves, royal attendants, or those where a social better was submissive or penetrated, were treated as bad omens.
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." 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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, as a violation of military discipline. 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. 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. Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves; the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se. 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.
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. The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as the bride (with a freedmanPythagoras) 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.
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. "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code. Under Justinian, all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners are, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death.
The United Kingdom introduced anti-homosexuality laws throughout its colonies, particularly in the 19th century when the British Empire was at its peak. As of 2018, more than half of the 71 countries that criminalised homosexuality were former British colonies or protectorates.
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. The Hijra were included in the Criminal Tribes Act (1871) and were monitored with the hope of eliminating their culture. Due to the passage of the Criminal Tribes Act (1871), Hijra people could not possess children.
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 and Buddhism as well as the Kama Sutra. 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.
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.
Laws regarding same-sex sexuality by country or territory
Restriction of association with arrests or detention
1No imprisonment in the past three years[timeframe?] or moratorium on law. 2Marriage not available locally. Some jurisdictions may perform other types of partnerships.
Oppose Countries which signed a 2008 statement opposing LGBT rights (initially 57 members, now 54 members after withdrawal of Fiji, Rwanda and Sierra Leone)
Neither Countries which, as regards the UN, have expressed neither official support nor opposition to LGBT rights (44 members)
Note that while this template lists several historical countries, such as the Kingdom of France, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, etc., for the sake of clarity, the flags shown are contemporary flags.
When a country has decriminalized, re-criminalized, and decriminalized again (e.g. Albania, Bulgaria, Spain, republics of the Soviet Union) only the later decriminalization date is included. Countries which have decriminalized and since re-criminalized (e.g. Iraq) are excluded.
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.
Illegal since 9 July 1983 Penalty (de jure): Execution for men, (not enforced, under moratorium), up to 2 years in prison and fines for women (de facto): up to 2 years in prison and a fine.
Male illegal since 1 November 1861 (as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate) Penalty: Up to life imprisonment (not enforced, repeal disputed). Female always legal + UN decl. sign.
Illegal since 1 June 1899 (as part of German East Africa) Illegal since 1 January 1900 (as part of the Sultanate of Zanzibar) Penalty: 30 years to life imprisonment. (repeal disputed)
/ Hate crime protections on sexual orientation since 2023.
Male illegal since 1 April 1902 (as the Protectorate of Uganda) Female illegal since 8 December 2000 Penalty: Up to Capital punishment for "aggravated homosexuality"
Constitutional ban since 2005
/ Limited protections.
Indian Ocean states
LGBTQ rights in:
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
Illegal since 1 July 1891 (as British Central Africa Protectorate) Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment, with or without corporal punishment for men. Up to 5 years imprisonment for women (rarely enforced, repeal proposed)
/ Transgender people can change their gender and name without completion of medical intervention and human rights protections explicitly include gender identity or expression within all of Canada since 2017.
/ Lesbians, gays, and bisexuals have been allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military since 2011, following the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Transgender people previously allowed to serve openly, but restrictions have been placed on those with a history of gender dysphoria. "Transvestites" are currently banned from the military since 2012. Most openly Intersex people may be banned from the military under the Armed Forces ban of "hermaphrodites".
/ Gender X became available and recognized formally on US passports in April 2022. This was rescinded in 2025 at the beginning of president Trump's second term;. Gender change is legal on birth certificates (under varying conditions by state), in 42 states + DC. Nonbinary gender markers are available, under varying circumstances, in 25 states + DC. Employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited nationwide since 2020. More extensive protections exist in 22 states, DC, and some municipalities.
Central America
LGBT rights in:
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
/ Transgender persons can change their legal name without surgeries or judicial permission since 2018. Legal gender cannot be changed. Sex indicator removed from all ID cards issued since May 2018 One-time sex change allowed for passports.
Male illegal since 2025 Penalty: Up to 5-year prison sentence (not enforced, Court of Appeal ruling that reinstated buggery and gross indecency laws; previously struck down by lower court in 2018; appeal to Privy Council pending.) Female always legal
Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name without surgeries or judicial order since 2012
Transgender persons have a law reserving 1% of Argentina's public sector jobs. Economic incentives included in the new law aim to help trans people find work in all sectors.
Transgender people can change their legal gender and name before a notary without the need of surgeries or judicial order since 2018. The sex reassignment surgery, hormonal and psychological treatment are offered free of charge by the Brazilian Unified Health System (UHS)
Transsexual persons can change their registral sex and name since 1974. Transgender persons can change their registral sex and name, no surgeries or judicial order for adults above 18 years old since 2019.
Stepchild adoption since 2014; joint adoption since 2015
Since 1999
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Since 2015, transgender persons can change their legal gender and name manifesting their solemn will before a notary, no surgeries or judicial order required
Legal since 1924; equal age of consent since 2012 + UN decl. sign.
/ Limited recognition for same-sex partners of health-care workers since 2020.
Since 2009
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name without the need for the completion of medical intervention since 2016. Judicial order required.
As Antarctica has no resident human population, the human presence there is limited to short-term research or sporting expeditions. The Antarctic Treaty System provides that all legal rights in Antarctica are governed by those of the person's home nation, and do not change based on which country's Antarctic territorial claim the person happens to be present in at any given time.
No Illegal Penalty: 74 lashes for immature men and death penalty for mature men (although there are documented cases of minors executed because of their sexual orientation). For women, 100 lashes for women of mature sound mind and if consenting. Death penalty offense after fourth conviction.
Yes Permitted by law since 2008. But in practice gay couples were put at the end of the queue for adoption, until the Supreme Court forbade this discrimination in 2023. Legal adoptions by gay couples began in practice in 2025.
Yes Since 1993; Includes transgender people
Yes Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Yes Full recognition of gender's ID with or without a surgery or medical intervention; equal employment opportunity law bars discrimination based on gender identity
Ambiguous Ambiguous. Illegal under Article 534 of the Penal Code. Some judges have ruled not to prosecute individuals based on the law, however, this has not been settled by the Supreme Court and thus homosexuality is still illegal. However, a 2017 court ruling claims that it is legal, but the law against it is still in place. Penalty: Up to 1 year imprisonment (unenforced).
No
No
No
No
No
Yes Legal gender change allowed, but sex reassignment surgery required
West Bank: Yes LegalGaza: No consensus on legal applicability of British 1936 Sexual offences provisions to homosexual conduct
West Bank: No Gaza: No
No
No (can only be done by a single individual, not couples)
(Palestine does not have a military)
(but in employment only in some contexts) but in regard to provision of goods and services or in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)
No right to change legal gender but and gender-affirming care was restricted previously to intersex people, not available due to destruction from Gaza war
No Illegal Penalty: Maximum: Capital punishment Minimum: Lashings, imprisonment and fines
No
No
No
No
No
No Sex reassignment surgery severely restricted to limited circumstances (mainly physical intersex traits), highly regulated by the state. Laws used against forms of gender expression.
No Illegal (codified in 1994) Penalty: Unmarried men punished with 100 lashes of the whip or a maximum of one year of imprisonment, stoning for adultery is not enforced. Women punished up to three years of imprisonment.
No
No
No
No
No
No
South Asia
LGBT rights in:
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
Yes A third gender option (hijra) besides male and female is available; transgender people have a constitutional right to change gender, only after medical/surgical intervention
Yes can openly serve No open displays of affection
Yes Court has in some cases protected LGBT workers from employment discrimination.
No protection codified in law
Yes
legal gender change possible since 2002.
Since 2022, legal gender change allowed with only partial sex reassignment surgery. Difficulty remains to change gender information on diplomas and degrees.
Yes Stepchild adoption since 2019 Yes Joint adoption legal since 2023
Yes
Yes Constitutionally bans all anti-gay discrimination from government; several laws banning anti-gay discrimination regarding education and employment.
Yes Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery.
Southeast Asia
LGBT rights in
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of relationships
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
No Illegal since 1908 Penalty: Death by stoning (in abeyance, de jure), 7 year imprisonment and 100 lashes for men (de facto). Caning and 10 years prison for women.
No Federal criminal law: Illegal since 1871, up to 20 years imprisonment and caning for anal sex (male/male or male/female); ? Uncertain for lesbian sex. No State shariah law: Gay sex or lesbian sex, or both, are illegal for Muslims in all states and federal territories, except in Pahang.
No
No
No LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples
No
No
No Generally impossible to change gender. Gender changes was briefly recognized as fundamental rights in a 2014 court ruling, but was overturned by the apex court in 2015. Forms of gender expression are criminalized for Muslims under state shariah law.
No LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples
Yes Since 2009
Yes/ No Bans some anti-gay discrimination in certain cities and provinces, including the City of Manila,Cebu City, Quezon City, and Davao City; Nationwide anti-bullying law for basic education students.
No Generally impossible to change legal gender. However in Cagandahan vs Philippines, allowed an intersex man to change his legal gender from female to male.
/ Stepchild adoption legal in 19/27 member states; joint adoption legal in 17/27 member states
Legal in all member states
Membership requires a state to ban discrimination based on person's sexual orientation in employment. 4/27 states ban some anti-gay discrimination. 23/27 states ban all anti-gay discrimination
/ Legal in 24/27 member states
Central Europe
LGBT rights in
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
Legal in East Germany since 1968 Legal in West Germany since 1969; equal age of consent since 1988 in East Germany and since 1994 in unified Germany + UN decl. sign.
Registered life partnerships from 2001 to 2017 (existing partnerships and new foreign partnerships still recognised)
Legal since 2017
Stepchild adoption since 2005; successive adoption since 2013; joint adoption legal since 2017
Includes transgender people
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Gender self-determination enacted and implemented on a birth certificate since 2024.
Always legal in Polish legislation (Russian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia and Austria-Hungary Empire laws criminalizing same-sex intercourse were in force to 1932; German laws criminalizing same-sex intercourse were in force from 1939 to 1945 during Nazi Germany occupation) + UN decl. sign.
/ Constitutional ban since 1997 (Article 18 of the Constitution is generally interpreted as limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples)
Marriages performed in other EU countries recognised under EU Law
LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples
Bans some anti-gay discrimination
Transgender people allowed to change gender. No provisions for nonbinary people.
Legal nationwide since 1942 Legal in the cantons of Geneva (as part of France), Ticino, Valais, and Vaud since 1798; equal age of consent since 1990 + UN decl. sign.
Registered partnerships in Geneva (2001), Zürich (2003), Neuchâtel (2004) and Fribourg (2005) Nationwide from 2007 until 2022 (superseded by marriage)
Legal since 2022
Stepchild adoption since 2018; joint adoption since 2022
Includes transgender people
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Change of legal sex by simple declaration (self-determination +16 yo); surgery/sterilisation not required.
Eastern Europe
LGBT rights in
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
/ Banned from military service during peacetime, but during wartime homosexuals are permitted to enlist as partially able
/ (Highly bureaucratic, lengthy two-stage process: deciding body meets only twice a year; permission for medical or surgical interventions only at the second stage. Flaw in passport conversion whereby passport number may reveal former designation of sex to agencies.)
Forbids discrimination based on gender identity. / (Sterilization is technically not required by law but the absence of a concrete legal framework regarding gender identity forces all individuals seeking legal gender change to go through a lengthy and highly bureaucratic process to seek recognition through the court system on an individual basis with mixed results often depending on each individual judge.)
Legal since 1944; equal age of consent since 1972 + UN decl. sign.
Registered partnerships from 1995 to 2009 (existing partnerships are still recognised)
Legal since 2009
Legal since 2003
Includes transgender people
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
First country within the world in 1972, to allow gender reassignment procedures for individuals.[dubious–discuss] Since July 1, 2025 by “self-determination” for individuals to change gender.
Southern Europe
LGBT rights in
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
Act on the elimination of discrimination bans all discrimination based on both gender identity and gender expression. Gender change is regulated by special policy issued by Ministry of Health.
Legal from 1858, when nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire to 1860, and again since 1994 (As part of Yugoslavia); equal age of consent since 2006 + UN decl. sign.
Constitutional ban since 2006
LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Legal after 1 year of hormone therapy, surgery no longer required since 2019
Legal since 1983; equal age of consent since 2012 + UN decl. sign.
Civil partnerships performed in the UK abroad recognised for succession purposes in inheritance and other matters respecting interests in property since 2012 Legal cohabitation since 2017
Legal since 2017 in Guernsey, since 2018 in Alderney, and since 2020 in Sark
Transgender people are allowed to change their legal gender and to have their new gender recognised as a result of the Gender Recognition Act 2009 (c.11)
Female always legal. Male legal in England and Wales since 1967, in Scotland since 1981, and in Northern Ireland since 1982; equal age of consent since 2001 + UN decl. sign.
Civil partnerships since 2005
Legal in England, Wales, and Scotland since 2014, and Northern Ireland since 2020
Legal in England and Wales since 2005, in Scotland since 2009 and Northern Ireland since 2013
Always legal for women. Male legal in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 1997. Tasmania was the last state to legalise male homosexuality; Equal age of consent in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 2016. + UN decl. sign.
Gay men and lesbians since 1992; Transgender and intersex people since 2010
Bans all anti-gay discrimination.
/ Since 2025, differing regulations within each jurisdiction regarding change of sex on a birth certificate applies - for example some jurisdictions still requires “appropriate clinical treatment” (WA, SA & NT), while others are based on “self-determination” (TAS, VIC, NSW, ACT & QLD).. Gender identity change is not recognized for the purpose of inheritance of hereditary peerages and baronetcies, which is subject to Section 16 of the United Kingdom's Gender Recognition Act 2004.
Unregistered cohabitation since 2002; Civil unions since 2005
Legal since 2013
Legal since 2013
Since 1993; Includes transgender people
Bans all anti-gay discrimination
Covered under the "sex discrimination" provision of the Human Rights Act 1993; Since July 2023, gender self-determination implemented by legislation on a birth certificate.
Melanesia
LGBT rights in:
Same-sex sexual activity
Recognition of same-sex unions
Same-sex marriage
Adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military?
Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation
↑In Taiwan, gender change is not explicitly stated in any law; instead it is permitted by an executive order published by the Ministry of the Interior, which dictates that sex reassignment surgeries are required before gender change. In 2021 a judgement by the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled that the executive order above was unconstitutional and therefore the defendant (district household registration office) must allow the plaintiff to change their gender. The judgement was finalized since the defendant did not appeal. However, since rulings in Taiwan are generally not precedential, said judgement only applies to the plaintiff and does not bind other cases nor the executive branch.
↑There are no provision that specifically criminalise lesbian sex under Malaysia's federal criminal law, and there is no known case of lesbian being charged for lesbian sex under Section 377D of the Penal Code. See LGBTQ rights in Malaysia § Federal criminal law for details.
↑In January 2019, a lower administrative court in Warsaw ruled that the language in Article 18 of the Constitution does not explicitly ban same-sex marriage.
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↑Mendos, Lucas Ramón (2019). State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019(PDF) (13thed.). Geneva: ILGA. p.15. Archived(PDF) from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
↑Bullough, Vern L.; Bullough, Bonnie (1993). "Introduction". Cross Dressing, Sex, and Gender. University of Pennsylvania Press. p.x. ISBN9780812214314. LCCN92032030. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
↑G. R. Driver and J. C. Miles, The Assyrian Laws (Oxford, Clarendon Press [1935]), 71.
↑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.
↑Williams, Roman Homosexuality, pp. 214–215; Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," passim.
↑Catharine Edwards, The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome (Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 63–64.
↑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.
↑Richlin, "Not before Homosexuality," pp. 562–563. See also Digest 48.5.35 [34] on legal definitions of rape that included boys.
↑Under the Lex Aquilia. See McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome, p. 314.
↑McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome, p. 40.
↑Sara Elise Phang, Roman Military Service: Ideologies of Discipline in the Late Republic and Early Principate (Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 93.
↑Juvenal, Satire 2; Williams, Roman Homosexuality, p. 28.
↑SuetoniusLife of Nero 28–29; Williams, Roman Homosexuality, p. 279ff.
↑Michael Groneberg, "Reasons for Homophobia: Three Types of Explanation," in Combatting Homophobia: Experiences and Analyses Pertinent to Education (LIT Verlag, 2011), p. 193.
↑Codex Theodosianus 9.7.3 (4 December 342), introduced by the sons of Constantine in 342.
↑Kirby, Michael (2013). "The sodomy offence: England's least lovely criminal law export?"(PDF). Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change. London: School of Advanced Study, University of London. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
↑Hinchy, Jessica (2019). Governing Gender and Sexuality in Colonial India: The Hijra, c.1850–1900. Cambridge University Press. pp.95–109. ISBN978-1-108-49255-3.
↑Zwilling, L; Sweet, MJ (1996). ""Like a city ablaze": The third sex and the creation of sexuality in Jain religious literature". Journal of the History of Sexuality. 6 (3): 359–84. JSTOR4629615. PMID11609126.
↑Jackson, Peter A. (April 1996). "Non-normative Sex/Gender Categories in the Theravada Buddhist Scriptures". Australian Humanities Review. hdl:1885/41884.
↑Penrose, Walter (2001). "Hidden in History: Female Homoeroticism and Women of a "Third Nature" in the South Asian Past". Journal of the History of Sexuality. 10: 3–39 [4]. doi:10.1353/sex.2001.0018. S2CID142955490. 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.
↑Lucas Ramon Mendos; Kellyn Botha; Rafael Carrano Lelis; Enrique López de la Peña; Ilia Savelev; Daron Tan (14 December 2020). State-Sponsored Homophobia report(PDF) (Report) (2020 global legislation overview updateed.). Geneva: ILGA. p.15. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
↑"Tunisia (Law)". International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
↑Maxwell Akalaare Adombila (9 May 2024). "Ghana's top court postpones hearing on challenge to anti-LGBTQ bill". Reuters. Additional reporting: Karin Strohecker. Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo... adjourn[ing the] first... hearing on the challenges without setting a new date further delays any resolution on a bill that, if signed into law...
↑Isamova, Lidia (12 May 2014). "Transgender in Tajikistan". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
↑Erez Levon (January 2008). National Discord: Language, Sexuality and the Politics of Belonging in Israel. pp.45–46. ISBN978-0-549-58242-7. This amendment to the penal code entailed a de jure decriminalization of sodomy since, in 1963, the Israeli Supreme Court had already issued a de facto decriminalization, ruling that the anti-sodomy law (which dated back to the British Mandate of Palestine; Mandatory Criminal Ordinance of 1936) could not be prosecuted (Yosef Ben-Ami vs. The Attorney General of Israel, 224/63).
↑"LGBTQ Timeline"(PDF). University of Alabama. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
↑王若翰 (20 June 2012). "变性人群体真实生态：唯学历证明无法修改性别" (Press release) (in Chinese (China)). 搜狐. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
↑Hassig, Ralph; Oh, Kongdan (2015). The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom (Seconded.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p.126. ISBN978-1-4422-3719-3. The second major stress on soldiers is their highly restricted social life. During their initial ten years of service they are not permitted to marry, which means that they are supposed to postpone sexual activity until their late twenties.
↑"The Constitution of the Republic of Poland". Sejm RP. Retrieved 5 May 2015. Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.
↑Judgment of the Supreme Court of 7 July 2004, II KK 176/04, W dotychczasowym orzecznictwie Sądu Najwyższego, wypracowanym i ugruntowanym zarówno w okresie obowiązywania poprzedniego, jak i obecnego Kodeksu postępowania karnego, a także w doktrynie (por. wypowiedzi W. Woltera, A. Zolla, A. Wąska), pojęcie "wspólne pożycie" odnoszone jest wyłącznie do konkubinatu, a w szczególności do związku osób o różnej płci, odpowiadającego od strony faktycznej stosunkowi małżeństwa (którym w myśl art. 18 Konstytucji jest wyłącznie związek osób różnej płci). Tego rodzaju interpretację Sąd Najwyższy, orzekający w niniejszej sprawie, w pełni podziela i nie znajduje podstaw do uznania za przekonywujące tych wypowiedzi pojawiających się w piśmiennictwie, w których podejmowane są próby kwestionowania takiej interpretacji omawianego pojęcia i sprowadzania go wyłącznie do konkubinatu (M. Płachta, K. Łojewski, A.M. Liberkowski). Rozumiejąc bowiem dążenia do rozszerzającej interpretacji pojęcia "wspólne pożycie", użytego w art. 115 §11 k.k., należy jednak wskazać na całkowity brak w tym względzie dostatecznie precyzyjnych kryteriów.
↑"Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 11 May 2005, K 18/04". Polska Konstytucja określa bowiem małżeństwo jako związek wyłącznie kobiety i mężczyzny. A contrario nie dopuszcza więc związków jednopłciowych. [...] Małżeństwo (jako związek kobiety i mężczyzny) uzyskało w prawie krajowym RP odrębny status konstytucyjny zdeterminowany postanowieniami art. 18 Konstytucji. Zmiana tego statusu byłaby możliwa jedynie przy zachowaniu rygorów trybu zmiany Konstytucji, określonych w art. 235 tego aktu.
↑"Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland of 25 October 2016, II GSK 866/15". Ustawa o świadczeniach zdrowotnych finansowanych ze środków publicznych nie wyjaśnia, co prawda, kto jest małżonkiem. Pojęcie to zostało jednak dostatecznie i jasno określone we wspomnianym art. 18 Konstytucji RP, w którym jest mowa o małżeństwie jako o związku kobiety i mężczyzny. W piśmiennictwie podkreśla się, że art. 18 Konstytucji ustala zasadę heteroseksualności małżeństwa, będącą nie tyle zasadą ustroju, co normą prawną, która zakazuje ustawodawcy zwykłemu nadawania charakteru małżeństwa związkom pomiędzy osobami jednej płci (vide: L. Garlicki Komentarz do art. 18 Konstytucji, s. 2-3 [w:] Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Komentarz, Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, Warszawa 2003). Jest wobec tego oczywiste, że małżeństwem w świetle Konstytucji i co za tym idzie – w świetle polskiego prawa, może być i jest wyłącznie związek heteroseksualny, a więc w związku małżeńskim małżonkami nie mogą być osoby tej samej płci.
Gallo D; Paladini L; Pustorino P, eds. (2014). Same-Sex Couples before National, Supranational and International Jurisdictions. Berlin: Springer. p.215. ISBN978-3-642-35434-2. the drafters of the 1997 Polish Constitution included a legal definition of a marriage as the union of a woman and a man in the text of the constitution in order to ensure that the introduction of same-sex marriage would not be passed without a constitutional amendment.
Marek Safjan; Leszek Bosek, eds. (2016). Konstytucja RP. Tom I. Komentarz do art. 1-86. Warszawa: C.H. Beck Wydawnictwo Polska. ISBN978-83-255-7365-2. Z przeprowadzonej powyżej analizy prac nad Konstytucją RP wynika jednoznacznie, że zamieszczenie w art. 18 Konstytucji RP zwrotu definicyjnego "związek kobiety i mężczyzny" stanowiło reakcję na fakt pojawienia się w państwach obcych regulacji poddającej związki osób tej samej płci regulacji zbliżonej lub zbieżnej z instytucją małżeństwa. Uzupełniony tym zwrotem przepis konstytucyjny "miał pełnić rolę instrumentu zapobiegającego wprowadzeniu takiej regulacji do prawa polskiego" (A. Mączyński, Konstytucyjne podstawy prawa rodzinnego, s. 772). Innego motywu jego wprowadzenia do Konstytucji RP nie da się wskazać (szeroko w tym zakresie B. Banaszkiewicz, "Małżeństwo jako związek kobiety i mężczyzny", s. 640 i n.; zob. też Z. Strus, Znaczenie artykułu 18 Konstytucji, s. 236 i n.). Jak zauważa A. Mączyński istotą tej regulacji było normatywne przesądzenie nie tylko o niemożliwości unormowania w prawie polskim "małżeństw pomiędzy osobami tej samej płci", lecz również innych związków, które mimo tego, że nie zostałyby określone jako małżeństwo miałyby spełniać funkcje do niego podobną (A. Mączyński, Konstytucyjne podstawy prawa rodzinnego, s. 772; tenże, Konstytucyjne i międzynarodowe uwarunkowania, s. 91; podobnie L. Garlicki, Artykuł 18, w: Garlicki, Konstytucja, t. 3, uw. 4, s. 2, który zauważa, że w tym zakresie art. 18 nabiera "charakteru normy prawnej").
Scherpe JM, ed. (2016). European Family Law Volume III: Family Law in a European Perspective Family. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. p.121. ISBN978-1-78536-304-7. Constitutional bans on same-sex marriage are now applicable in ten European countries: Article 32, Belarus Constitution; Article 46 Bulgarian Constitution; Article L Hungarian Constitution, Article 110, Latvian Constitution; Article 38.3 Lithuanian Constitution; Article 48 Moldovan Constitution; Article 71 Montenegrin Constitution; Article 18 Polish Constitution; Article 62 Serbian Constitution; and Article 51 Ukrainian Constitution.
Stewart J, Lloyd KC (2016). "Marriage Equality in Europe". Family Advocate. 38 (4): 37–40. Article 18 of the Polish Constitution limits the institution of marriage to opposite-sex couples.
↑"Ustav Republike Hrvatske"(PDF) (in Croatian). Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
↑"Romania". Intercountry Adoption - Department of State. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
↑First post-Medieval criminal code in the Principality of Serbia, named "Kaznitelni zakon" (Law of Penalties), adopted in 1860, punishes sexual intercourse "against the order of nature" between males with 6 months to 4 years imprisonment. V. Para # 206, p. 82 of the "Kaznitelni zakon 1860" in Slavo-Serbian orthography (PDF)
↑"Legal Aspects of Gender Reassignment Surgery in Turkey: A Case Report". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 18 (1): 77–88. 28 January 2011. doi:10.1177/097152151001800104. S2CID143761091.
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