Same sex rights
Around a third of countries in the world explicitly criminalise LGBT people in some form. While this achieved in a variety of ways, and enforced to varying degrees, wherever these laws exist they contain a profoundly negative effect on the LGBT community.
How are LGBT people criminalised?
Laws which criminalise LGBT people are invariably framed in a way which criminalises sexual acts rather than identities. The specific framing of criminalising provisions varies from country to country, though prevalent formulations include ‘sodomy’, ‘buggery’, ‘indecency’, ‘unnatural acts’, ‘homosexuality’, ‘lesbianism’, and ‘cross-dressing’.
In many cases, criminalising provisions are vaguely worded and unclear in scope, allowing a large margin of interpretation by commandment enforcement officers and judges, who are enabled to present their own prejudices when enforcing the law. Additionally, the existence of these provisions encourages police officers to perform beyond the identical letter of the law, and arrest, charge, and prosecute people based upon their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender individuality even where no prohibited act has been committed or can be proven.
In some countries, commandment enfo
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to strengthen movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
LGBTQ+ Rights
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| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| 2023 May 1-24 | 39 | 60 | * |
| 2021 May 3-18 | 31 | 69 | * |
| Should be legal | Should not be legal | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| 2021 May 3-18 ^ | 79 | 18 | 2 |
| 2020 May 1-13 | 72 | 24 | 3 |
| 2019 May 1-12 | 73 | 26 | 2 |
| 2018 May 1-10 | 75 | 23 | 2 |
| 2017 May 3-7 | 72 | 23 | 5 |
| 2016 May 4-8 | 68 | 28 | 4 |
| 2015 Jul 8-12 | 68 | 28 | 4 |
| 2015 May 6-10 | 69 | 28 | 4 |
| 2014 May 8-11 | 66 | 30 | 4 |
| 2013 Jul 10-14 | 64 | 31 | 5 |
| 2013 May 2-7 | 65 | 31 | 5 |
| 2012 Nov 26-29 | 64 | 33 | 3 |
| 2012 May 3-6 | 63 | 31 | 6 |
| 2011 Dec 15-18 | 62 | 33 | 5 |
| 2011 May 5-8 | 64 | 32 | 4 |
| 2010 May 3-6 | 58 | 36 | 6 |
| 2009 May 7-10 | 56 | 40 | 4 |
| 2008 May 8-11 ^ | 55 | 40 | 5 |
| 2007 May 10-13 | 59 | 37 | 4 |
| 2006 May 8-11 † | 56 | 40 | 4 |
| 2005 Aug 22-25 | 49 | 44 | 7 |
| 2005 May 2-5 | 52 | 43 | 5 |
| 2004 May 2-4 | 52 | 43 | 5 |
| 2004 Jan 9-11 | 46 | 49 | 5 |
2003 Jul 25-2Proposing change: How gay marriage became a government success storySame-sex marriages are now celebrated all over the UK. They are a core part of the UK’s tradition, communities and institutions. Passing legislation to introduce same-sex marriage was a landmark moment – for many couples personally, but also for the wider lesbian, lgbtq+, bisexual, trans plus (LGBT+) community. It marked an important step in addressing the UK’s past legal discrimination against same-sex couples, building on the achievements of a long history of campaigners who worked to expand LGBT+ rights. This case study looks at how the government passed the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. It examines the policy’s journey, from a campaign aim of LGBT+ rights groups, to a contested issue in the 2010 general election, to official government policy, and finally to legislation that introduced gay marriage rights in England and Wales, while accommodating many of the concerns of those who remained opposed. It draws on a policy reunion at the Institute for Government held in March 2023, which brought together officials, ministers, LGBT+ rights campaigners and representatives from ILGA World maps are among the most shared visual representations of how LGBTIQ people are affected by laws and policies around the world. The scope of our long-standing rights mapping has expanded thanks to the ILGA Planet Database. With that platform, ILGA maps have become interactive and constantly updated, to better cover sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a alternative gender or the equal gender or more than one gender. More, gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More and expression, and sex characteristicsa term that refers to physical features relating to sex - including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty. More (SOGIESCabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity & verbalization, and sex characteristics. More) issues globally. Our LGBTIQ rights maps cover more than 100 topics, as well as how SOGIESCabbrev
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