The Human Truth Foundation

LGBT Rights Across the World
Which are the Best and Worst Countries?

https://www.humantruth.info/lgbt_rights_across_the_world.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2017

#equality #homosexuality #human_rights #ICCPR #intolerance #LGBT_equality #sexuality #tolerance

Most Equal (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
1Netherlands103
2Belgium90
3Sweden86
4Brazil81
5Spain79
6=France78
6=S. Africa78
8Uruguay77
9=Norway72
9=Denmark72
9=Iceland72
12UK72
13=Mexico70
13=Luxembourg70
15Argentina69
q=196.
Most Discriminatory (2017)1
Pos.Lower is worse
Score1
196Syria-84
195Somalia-79
194Saudi Arabia-72
193Sudan-67
192Qatar-54
191Solomon Islands-44
190=Morocco-42
188=Libya-42
188Tunisia-39
187=Senegal-39
185=Cameroon-39
183=Guinea-39
184Kuwait-37
183=Algeria-37
182UAE-34
q=196.

Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) folk is rife across the world. Legal restrictions co-exist alongside social stigmatisation and physical violence2. LGBT tolerance and equal rights have been fought for country-by-country across the world, often against tightly entrenched cultural and religious opposition. Adult consensual sexual activity is a Human Right, protected by privacy laws3. Despite this, homosexual activity is outlawed in around 80 countries2. The Social & Moral LGBT Equality Index was created to compare countries and regions, granting points to each country for a variety of factors including how long gay sex has been criminalized and the extent of LGBT legal rights. Graded negative points are given for criminality of homosexuality, unequal ages of consent, legal punishments and for not signing international accords on LGBT tolerance. The signs in many developed countries are positive, and things are gradually improving. Europe is by far the least prejudiced region (Scandinavia in particular being exemplary). The Middle East and then Africa are the least morally developed, where cultural bias goes hand-in-hand with state intolerance, all too often including physical violence.


1. Current Trends

#argentina #china #christianity #equality #homosexuality #human_rights #intolerance #iran #islam #mauritania #netherlands #nigeria #norway #religion #russia #saudi_arabia #south_africa #spain #sudan #tolerance #UK #USA #yemen

The Economist (2012) produced a graph (above) for the USA and UK, and stated that "the British Social Attitudes Survey shows that views of homosexuality started out tough and hardened in the mid-1980s - the period of the AIDS panic. Since then they have softened (see chart). The young are more liberal than their parents"4.

In nearly every country strong opposition to LGBT equality and anti-discrimination laws has come from the Catholic Church, conservative Christianity, or Muslim authorities. The USA's moral development suffers from the powerful influence of conservatism tied to the Religious Right (i.e., fundamentalist evangelical Christianity) and "homosexuality was officially classified as a mental illness in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual until 1973"5. In the Netherlands "the only opposition in parliament came from the Christian Democratic Party, which at the time was not part of the governing coalition. [...] Muslim and conservative Christian groups continue to oppose the law" (PF 2013). In Spain "Vatican officials, as well as the Catholic Spanish Bishops Conference, strongly criticized the law". In Norway there was "resistance from members of the Christian Democratic Party and the Progress Party" [...] "Lutheran-affiliated Church of Norway, was split over the issue. Following passage of the new law, the church's leaders voted to prohibit its pastors from conducting same-sex weddings". In Argentina "vigorous opposition from the Catholic Church and evangelical Protestant churches".

Obnoxiousness is not the preserve of Christian and Muslim organisations however. In South Africa religious institutions and civil officers can refuse to conduct ceremonies and "the traditional monarch of the Zulu people, who account for about one-fifth of the country's population, maintains that homosexuality is morally wrong". In the UK Christianity is a forgotten power with very little influence over public opinion. However, there are still plenty of bigots around in the UK. The UKIP party (UK Independence Party)'s official online forum has "been used to vent 'racist and homophobic' views by some of the party´s top members, including comparing homosexuality to bestiality and paedophilia", according to Pink News (2013)6. Support for UKIP comes from the under-privileged, poorly educated and angry central trash culture of the UK, which is the same segment of society that is classically considered the most homophobic and xenophobic and this pattern of aggressiveness against LGBT tolerance probably repeats across the West.

In 2008 Veronique Mottier in "Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction"7 reported that "around 70 countries currently criminalize homosexuality (and, in the case of Zimbabwe, same-sex hand-holding as well)"8. It is slightly more common to find that homosexual sexual activity is outlawed, as is the case in around 80 countries according to Jack Donnelly in "Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice" (2013)2.

Psychiatric labels [of homosexuality as a mental illness] were abolished in the UK in 1994, in the Russian Federation in 1999, and by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry in 2001, after gay rights groups as well as dissenting psychiatrists argued that homophobia rather than homosexuality was the problem.

"Sexuality: A Very Short Introduction" by Veronique Mottier (2008)5

In Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen (plus certain states in Nigeria) penalties up to death may be imposed. In Iran, at least three gay men were executed in both 2010 and 2011. (The actual number is almost certainly much higher.) While I was revising this chapter, four more were sentenced to death.

"Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice" by Jack Donnelly (2013)2

The Pattern of European Progression:

Kees Waaldijk has found [... :]

The law in most countries seems to be moving on a line starting at (0) total ban on homo-sex, then going through the process of (1) the decriminalisation of sex between adults, followed by (2) the equalisation of ages of consent, (3) the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation, and (4) the introduction of legal partnership. A fifth point on the line might be the legal recognition of homosexual parenthood.9

The basic logic is one of gradual inclusion, moving through increasingly active measures of nondiscrimination in a wide range of areas of public activity.

"Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice" by Jack Donnelly (2013)10

2. Factors Included in the International LGBT Equality Index

#islam

The points awarded take into account multiple factors: for how long fully equal same-sex marriage has been legal, for how long gay adoption has been possible, for how long civil unions have been possible (or any other similar domestic partnering functions that grant some equal rights to LGBT folk). A point is awarded for having signed the UN 2008 document in support of LGBT non-harassment and equality, and, a negative point is awarded for signing the anti-LGBT-document championed by the Catholic Church and the Muslim world in 2008 December. Some countries signed the opposing document but have since switched; they now get 0.5 points. Positive points are given for gay sex not being illegal and negative points for its illegality, and, a point for there being effective anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT folk.

Several of these factors are scaled by age; meaning, the longer ago the positive change was made, the higher the score is for that criteria. Some of the criteria are necessarily capped at a maximum score as some countries have never had anti-gay-sex laws, for example.

Where same-sex marriage (SSM) and civil unions (CU) are only legal in some states of the country, but not others, I multiply the SSM+CU points by the proportion of states that accept it. Therefore, the more states that accept it, the fuller proportion of proper score the country receives.

The legality points are awarded negatively according to severity of punishments for being accused of having gay sex. There is -1 point for each year of imprisonment, -20 points for life imprisonment or corporal punishment, and, -50 points if homosexuality carries the death penalty. Many countries only have such laws against male homosexuality, but, where the laws are gender unequal, I've still assigned the worse possible points. In some cases I have reduced points if it is public knowledge that the country does not actually make its discriminatory laws effective. If gay sex is not illegal, then, points are awarded according to how long it has been legal, to a maximum of 10 points. Generally, from 1970 and further back, one point is awarded per decade.

3. Comparisons of Regions and Continents

#homosexuality #human_development

AreaSocial & Moral
Lower is better

Avg Rank11
LGBT Equality (2017)
Higher is better

Score1
Africa...112.4-10.4
Asia...88.2-02.1
Australasia101.607.1
Baltic States59.733.3
Central America87.831.4
Europe...59.346.9
Melanesia107.5-01.8
Micronesia114.115.0
North America84.016.6
Polynesia95.5-02.4
Scandinavia...35.367.3
Small Islands...92.602.8
South America81.144.2
The Americas...83.026.1
The Balkans70.835.3
The Caribbean...88.0-01.1
The Mediterranean71.817.0
The Middle East...89.4-18.8
World87.912.6

4. The Full Table of Results for All Countries

#homosexuality

LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
1Netherlands103
2Belgium90
3Sweden86
4Brazil81
5Spain79
6=France78
6=S. Africa78
8Uruguay77
9=Norway72
9=Denmark72
9=Iceland72
12UK72
13=Mexico70
13=Luxembourg70
15Argentina69
16=Malta63
16=Andorra63
16=New Zealand63
16=Portugal63
20Canada62
21Colombia58
22Finland57
23Austria56
24Ireland53
25=Ecuador50
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
26=Australia50
26=Peru50
28Hungary49
29Israel48
30=Estonia45
30=Honduras45
30=Bolivia45
30=Croatia45
30=Slovenia45
35Germany44
36USA44
37=Monaco40
37=Poland40
37=Albania40
37=Switzerland40
37=Serbia40
37=Cyprus40
37=Italy40
44Greece39
45=Czechia39
45=Slovakia39
45=Romania39
48San Marino35
49=Montenegro35
49=Guatemala35
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
51=Japan35
51=Bosnia & Herzegovina35
51=Georgia35
51=Nicaragua35
51=El Salvador35
51=Kosovo35
57Thailand34
58Bulgaria33
59Fiji32
60=S. Korea30
60=Timor-Leste (E. Timor)30
60=Costa Rica30
60=Suriname30
60=Venezuela30
60=Lithuania30
66Taiwan25
67=Chile25
67=Ukraine25
67=Mongolia25
67=Liechtenstein25
67=Macedonia25
67=Cape Verde25
67=Moldova25
67=Turkey25
67=Latvia25
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
76=Dominican Rep.25
76=Seychelles25
76=Panama25
76=Vietnam25
76=Nepal25
76=Cuba25
82Paraguay20
83=Philippines20
83=Central African Rep.20
83=Sao Tome & Principe20
83=Palau20
83=Nauru20
83=Marshall Islands20
83=Guinea-Bissau20
83=Micronesia20
83=Armenia20
92Mozambique17
93=Laos15
93=Haiti15
93=Azerbaijan15
93=Equatorial Guinea15
93=Burkina Faso15
93=Cambodia15
93=Vanuatu15
93=Congo, DR15
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
101=Lesotho15
101=Belize15
101=Belarus15
101=Kyrgyzstan15
105Jordan12
106=China12
107Djibouti11
108=Mali11
108=Tajikistan11
110Gabon10
111=Bahamas10
112Kazakhstan8
113=N. Korea8
114Rwanda7
115=Congo, (Brazzaville)5
115=Madagascar5
115=Chad5
118Indonesia1
119=Ivory Coast1
119=Russia1
119=Benin1
119=Niger1
123Bahrain-2
124Sierra Leone-3
125=Grenada-5
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
126=Dominica-5
126=Namibia-5
126=Kiribati-5
126=Jamaica-5
126=Cook Islands-5
126=Guyana-5
132St Lucia-9
133=India-10
133=Samoa-10
133=Trinidad & Tobago-10
133=S. Sudan-10
133=Papua New Guinea-10
133=Sri Lanka-10
133=Antigua & Barbuda-10
133=St Vincent & Grenadines-10
133=Mauritius-10
133=Myanmar (Burma)-10
133=Barbados-10
144Ethiopia-14
145=Eritrea-14
145=Brunei-14
145=Swaziland-14
145=Kenya-14
149Singapore-15
150=Zambia-15
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
151=Bangladesh-17
151=Tanzania-17
153Iran-19
154=Malaysia-19
154=Gambia-19
154=Maldives-19
154=Afghanistan-19
158Liberia-20
159=Bhutan-20
159=Burundi-20
161Nigeria-22
162=Malawi-22
162=Uganda-22
162=Oman-22
162=Yemen-22
166Turkmenistan-24
167=Lebanon-24
167=Zimbabwe-24
169St Kitts & Nevis-25
170=Botswana-25
170=Ghana-25
172Pakistan-26
173Egypt-27
174=Iraq-29
174=Togo-29
q=196.
LGBT Equality (2017)1
Pos.Higher is better
Score1
176=Comoros-30
176=Angola-30
176=Uzbekistan-30
176=Tonga-30
176=Tuvalu-30
181Mauritania-32
182UAE-34
183=Kuwait-37
183=Algeria-37
185Tunisia-39
186=Guinea-39
186=Cameroon-39
186=Senegal-39
189Libya-42
190=Morocco-42
191Solomon Islands-44
192Qatar-54
193Sudan-67
194Saudi Arabia-72
195Somalia-79
196Syria-84
q=196.