Where is it illegal to be gay? The countries where sex, kissing, holding hands and gay relationships are still against the law
IT has been more than 50 years since Britain took its first steps to decriminalise homosexuality – but there are still 71 countries worldwide that totally ban same-sex relationships.
In some of these, homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty. Let’s take a look at these non-LGBTQ-friendly nations.
Where is it still illegal to be gay?
Worldwide, there are still 71 countries that ban same-sex relationships.
These include large parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, where there is high intolerance of homosexuality.
Being gay in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Yemen, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Iran is one of the biggest “crimes” and “offenders” face the death penalty.
In Qatar, the death penalty only applies to Muslims and also applies to extra-marital sexual activity –regardless of the genders of participants.
In Pakistan and the UAE, Sharia Law would dictate the death penalty is issued for homosexual activity, although there is no evidence that the law has been applied here.
But on June 11, Botswana, in Africa, overturned its colonial era ban on being gay
What are the other punishments handed out for same-sex relationships?
In countries where homosexuality is banned but not punished by death, “offenders” face being flogged or imprisoned.
They are also stripped of their human and political rights, and treated like third class citizens.
Those sentenced to death and those killed during other punishments are also denied a proper burial – there was even a case where a gay man had to be buried by the side of roads in Senegal because of multiple refusals from cemeteries.
What are the levels of protection and intolerance worldwide?
At present, nine countries openly issue the death penalty for homosexuality.
Elsewhere, countries like Vietnam, Madagascar and Venezuela have no laws against homosexuality but are considered incredibly intolerant towards the LGBTQ community.
While homosexuality is legal in parts of the Caribbean, China and Turkey, the LGBTQ community is not actually protected in law.
While homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997, it was only removed from the official list of mental illnesses in 2001.
Gay sexual conduct between consenting adults in private is not a crime in Turkey and the age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is 18.
However, the criminal code also has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism," and "offences against public morality" that can be used to harass gay and transgender people essentially make same-sex hand-holding and kissing in public “criminal”.
Countries like Mongolia and the Philippines have legalised same-sex relationships and offer some legal protections to its homosexual citizens.
This means that while homosexuals are protected from hate crimes, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Italy, Poland, Greece and Chile have all legalised homosexuality and offer a range of legal protections to their citizens.
However, while they take an open and liberal view on the matter, same-sex marriage is still banned in these countries.
In the UK, Finland and the USA, members of the LGBT+ community are granted more extensive protections under the countries’ laws and same-sex marriage is legal.
What’s the deal with Russia?
While homosexuality is legal in Russia, there are no laws in place to protect same-sex couples from discrimination.
As well as this, “propaganda and promotion of homosexuality [non-traditional sexual relationships]” is still banned.
Homosexuality was officially removed from the Russian list of mental illnesses in 1999 but there is still strong anti-gay sentiment in the country.
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What happened in India?
On September 6, 2018, India’s Supreme Court made a landmark ruling decriminalising homosexuality in the country.
Activists and homosexuals who have been forced to live in fear of imprisonment for decades took to the streets in wild celebrations following the announcement from Delhi.
Five judges at India's highest court passed down their verdict in a long running case on September 6, 2018.
Until now, the law on homosexual relationships had remained virtually unchanged since legislation imposed by colonial British rulers in 1861.
Section 377 of India's penal code criminalised "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal".
It was modelled on England's Buggery Act of 1533 and mainly applied to same-sex relationships.
The maximum punishment was life in jail.
When Section 377 was upheld by India's supreme court in 2013, judges said it did not breach people's rights because only around 200 people had been prosecuted in 150 years.
The conviction rate was low because the law required a witness to the act.
But many more people were accused and detained.
According to India's National Record Bureau, more than 2,100 cases were registered under the law in 2016, .
Even those who were never arrested said they felt they were living as "unconvicted felons" and were scorned by India's conservative society.
Gay people have frequently been victims of blackmail by neighbours who threaten to report them to police.