LGBT rights in Somalia

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

LGBT rights in Somalia
Somalia
Same-sex sexual activity legal? Illegal[1]
Penalty:
Up to death [2]
Military service n/a
Discrimination protections None
Family rights
Recognition of
relationships
No recognition of same-sex relationships
Adoption n/a

LGBT rights in Somalia fall under the scope of Somalia's federal laws. As such, homosexuality is illegal in the country and is punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment.[1] or vigilante execution

Legislation

Homosexuality was criminalised in the territory of present-day Somalia in 1888.[3] Under Article 409 of the Somali Penal Code introduced in 1973, sexual intercourse with a person of the same sex is punishable by imprisonment from three months to three years. An "act of lust" other than sexual intercourse is punishable by a prison term of two months to two years. Under Article 410 of the Somali Penal Code, an additional security measure may accompany sentences for homosexual acts, usually coming in the form of police surveillance to prevent "re-offending".[4]Threats have been made that indicate that Somalia tolerates executions of homosexuals[2]

HIV/AIDS prevention

Family planning services are hard to access, as is fact-based information on human sexuality. Humanitarian workers have stated that Islamic social mores often make it difficult to publicly talk about how the virus can be spread.[5] Since 1999, much of the AIDS/HIV education and care has come from international organizations such as the United Nations.[5]

Despite this, Somalia has one of the lowest HIV infection rates on the continent. This is attributed to the Muslim nature of Somali society and adherence of Somalis to Islamic morals.[6] While the estimated HIV prevalence rate in Somalia in 1987 (the first case report year) was 1% of adults,[6] a more recent estimate from 2007 now places it at only 0.5% of the nation's adult population.[7]

LGBT organizations

As of 2004, one group reportedly existed for LGBT people in Somalia.[8]

Living conditions

The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that “sexual orientation was considered a taboo topic, and there was no public discussion of this issue in any region of the country," and that "there were no reports of societal violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation."[9]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal No (Penalty: Up to Death)
Equal age of consent No
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only No
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services No
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (Incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) No
Same-sex marriages No
Recognition of same-sex couples No
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples No
Joint adoption by same-sex couples No
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military No
Right to change legal gender No
Access to IVF for lesbians No
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No
MSMs allowed to donate blood No

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. 5.0 5.1 http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/somalia_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf
  6. 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. http://paei.state.gov/documents/organization/160144.pdf

External links

<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>