Homoxexual rights around the world, 2000 (excerpt)

Countries where homosexual acts are punishable by death

Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen

Countries with sodomy laws

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bahrain, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries that have a higher age of sexual consent for homosexuals than for heterosexuals:

Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Channel Islands, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Portugal, South Africa, Suriname, United Kingdom

Countries that give domestic partner benefits to homosexual couples:

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden

Homosexual rights around the world

Afghanistan has a sodomy law; the punishment is execution, the methods are throwing homosexuals down from a high roof or hill or by burying them beside a wall, which is then toppled over onto them.

Albania has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 18 for homosexual males and 14 for lesbians and heterosexuals.

Algeria: Homosexual activity is illegal; punishable with up to 3 years imprisonment and a fine between 1,000 and 10,000 Algerian dinars.

Andorra has no sodomy laws.

Angola: Homosexual acts are illegal; described as offences against public morality.

Antigua and Barbuda has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 18 for homosexual males and 16 for lesbians and heterosexuals.

Argentina has no sodomy laws.

Armenia has a sodomy law, punishable with up to 5 years in prison for anal sex. Oral sex is legal. Lesbian sex is not mentioned in the law.

Aruba has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 16 for all. A homosexual contact with minors under the age of 16 is punishable with a penalty of up to 4 years imprisonment. Heterosexual contacts with minors under the age of 16 are only criminal under certain conditions.

Australia: No states or territories have sodomy laws. State/Territory Age of Sexual Consent: New South Wales: 18 South Australia: 17 Northern Territory: 18 Tasmania: 17 Australian Capital Territory: 16 Victoria: 16 Queensland: 16 for oral sex & 18 for anal sex. Western Australia: 21 for gay men & 16 for lesbians (Indicates there are no laws regarding lesbian sex). The heterosexual age of sexual consent is 16 in all but 2 states, in Tasmania and South Australia it is 17. Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia ban donor insemination services to lesbians. Queensland bans gays and lesbians from foster parenting.

Austria has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 18 for gay men and 14 for lesbians and heterosexuals. "Same Sex Lewdness" with persons under 18 Years: a man over 19 years of age who engages in same-sex lewdness with a person who has attained the age of 14 but not yet the age of 18 years can be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years. 1. Allows homosexuals in its military, however while gay conscripts are welcome for the compulsory service, openly gay people have no chance of embarking on a professional career in the army. 2. The 1992 Reproductive Medicine Act explicitly excludes lesbians and all single women from the benefit of artificial insemination or invitro fertilization methods, those are restricted to married women or women in long-term heterosexual partnerships only.

Azerbaijan has a sodomy law; punishable with 5 to 7 years in prison for anal sex. Oral sex is legal.

Lesbian sex is not mentioned in the law.

Bahamas has no sodomy laws for sex in private; the age of sexual consent is 18 for homosexuals and 16 for heterosexuals. There is a law against sex in public; punishable with up to 20 years in prison. Another source says Sections 390 and 530 Penal Code criminalizes homosexual acts between men, with a penalty of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Section 529 criminalizes homosexual contacts between women, with a penalty of up to 2 years' imprisonment, and that the laws are still enforced to a certain degree. Does allow homosexuals in its military.

Bahrain has a sodomy law, punishable with imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, with or without corporal punishment.

Bangladesh has a sodomy law, punishable with deportation, fines, and/or up to 10 years to life imprisonment.

Barbados: Homosexual activity is illegal.

Belarus has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 18 for males, and between 14 and 18 for females, depending on their sexual maturity. 1. Sexual activity with a person under 18 is pun- ished with prison term of up to 8 years. 2. In the Army, untraditional relationships between men are considered contrary to military requirements and laws, and are severely prosecuted.

Belgium has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 16 for all. 1. Allows homosexuals in its military. 2. Has a Statutory Cohabitation Contract. The contract is available to any two adults who are not otherwise married or contracted, regardless of their gender or blood relationship; it is signed before a notary public and entered into the register of the town where they live. The contract's main advantage appears to be access to the courts in event of a property dispute upon dissolution; its main responsibility is joint liability for living expenses, proportionate to the means of the partners. Absent proof of individual title, all assets acquired during the term of the contract are considered to be jointly owned. However, it specifically notes that the couples are treated as separate individuals with respect to submitting income tax returns, rate of taxation, inheritance, and parental status with respect to children, adoption, fertility services, social security and pension rights, and immigration.

Belize has no sodomy laws.

Benin has a sodomy law.

Bhutan: Male homosexual sex is forbidden by law; punishable with a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Bolivia has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 17. Sexual activity with someone under 17 is punishable with up to 5 years imprisonment.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska is the only remaining Federation with a sodomy law; punishing male homosexual activity with a penalty of up to 1 year imprisonment. The remainder of the nation has no sodomy laws; the age of sexual consent is 16 for all.

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