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LGBTQ rights advocacy is only possible in secret in Libya. (Photo courtesy of Kuchu Times / Zoonar.com)

Spotlight on Libya, where the LGBTQ community hides in the shadows

Survey of nations with anti-homosexuality laws

Graphic from the Azerbaijan LGBTQ organization Qiy Vaar states, "Get Out of Our Lives"
Azerbaijan police detain over 100 in queer nightclub raid
Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview

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This site's activist journalists have laid the groundwork for Project Not Alone, which frees imprisoned victims of African homophobia. This illustration shows two gay men waiting for donations that will pay their fines and set them free.
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Map of 66 countries that criminalize homosexuality
Homosexuality is now illegal in 65 nations
21 varieties of traditional African homosexuality
Death penalty, ex-gay therapy, 100s of prisoners, the Commonwealth, more

Upbeat news

Guadeloupean performer Admiral T is known for his homophobic lyrics.
Homophobic song by Guadeloupe artist Admiral T removed from streaming platforms
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Progress and backsliding in Latin America and Caribbean
Saint Lucia carnival scene (Photo courtesy of Saint Lucia Tourist Authority)
St. Lucia election mirrors an increasing acceptance of island’s LGBTQ community
Word cloud showing the names (pseudonyms) of the 56 prisoners for whom Project Not Alone has won early release.
Readers’ donations have freed a total of 56 victims of African homophobia

Important work funded by our readers

Marriage was a gay man’s shield. Exposure forced him to start again
Word cloud showing the names (pseudonyms) of the 56 prisoners for whom Project Not Alone has won early release.
Readers’ donations have freed a total of 56 victims of African homophobia
Rainbow flag: St. Paul's Foundation for International Reconciliation needs your financial support for its work advancing LGBT rights. Click the image to donate.
To support LGBT rights, include St. Paul’s Foundation in your year-end giving
We freed four Muslim men imprisoned when their imam called them gay

Africa

Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Group Therapy nightclub scene in Lagos, Nigeria (Photo courtesy of Instagram)
Queer Lagosians made alté cool. Now they’re being pushed out.
Evariste Ndayishimiye, president of Burundi. (Photo courtesy of Africa News)
Spotlight on Burundi, where the president wants gays to be stoned
Senegal Serigne Kosso Mbacke Courtesy of Senenews
Senegal: 11 men convicted of ‘unnatural acts’, 11 others awaiting trial

Caribbean

Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.

LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview

Guadeloupean performer Admiral T is known for his homophobic lyrics.

Homophobic song by Guadeloupe artist Admiral T removed from streaming platforms

2025 LGBTQ rights update: Progress and backsliding in Latin America and Caribbean

Europe

Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Although Ukraine in general does not acknowledge same-sex marriages, a court recognized the marriage Tymur Levchuk and Zorian Kis, a Ukrainian diplomat stationed in Israel. Zoryan Kis, First Secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel, and his partner Tymur Levchuk. The couple had lived together since 2013 and were legally married in the United States in 2021.. (Photo courtesy of Teenergizer)
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Anti-trans hysteria mars Europe’s LGBTQ gains
LGBTQ+ Germans on edge because of right wing’s advances in 2025
Guadeloupean performer Admiral T is known for his homophobic lyrics.
Homophobic song by Guadeloupe artist Admiral T removed from streaming platforms

Asia

Graphic from the Azerbaijan LGBTQ organization Qiy Vaar states, "Get Out of Our Lives"
Azerbaijan police detain over 100 in queer nightclub raid
Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Map of LGBT Rights in Asia: DARK BLUE: Equal marriage and non-discrimination law; LIGHT BLUE: Limited recognition of same-sex unions and discrimination banned in certain regions only; PURPLE: Foreign same-sex marriages recognized, adoption legal, and discrimination banned; GREEN: At least some sexual orientation discrimination banned nationwide; PALE GREEN: Sexual orientation discrimination banned only in certain regions; BEIGE: Crackdowns on LGBT rights advocacy and expression, but homosexuality legal, if only technically; ORANGE: Sodomy illegal; MAGENTA: Sodomy illegal, but discrimination against trans people prohibited.
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Many bright spots in Asia amid the gloom
Donald Trump on the campaign trail in 2016 (David Becker photo courtesy of Reuters)
Annus Horribilis: After the grim revelations of 2025, what next?

Middle East/North Africa

LGBTQ rights advocacy is only possible in secret in Libya. (Photo courtesy of Kuchu Times / Zoonar.com)
Spotlight on Libya, where the LGBTQ community hides in the shadows
Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Iran, captained by Alireza Jahanbakhsh (pictured), is scheduled to face Egypt in what's set to be a pride match in Seattle at the FIFA World Cup. (Etsuo Hara photo courtesy of ABC / Getty)
Iran and Egypt protest World Cup match scheduled amid Pride celebrations
Rainbow flag: St. Paul's Foundation for International Reconciliation needs your financial support for its work advancing LGBT rights. Click the image to donate.
To support LGBT rights, include St. Paul’s Foundation in your year-end giving

Americas

Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.

LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview

2025 was a difficult year for LGBTQ rights, with few advances and a lot of…

Governmental leaders of North America, clockwise from top left: Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada; Claudia Scheinbaum, president of Mexico; Donald Trump, president of the United States; and Jens-Frederik Nielsen, prime minister of Greenland. (Photos courtesy of Canada, Wikipedia, Reuters and PBS)
2025 LGBTQ rights global update: In North America, one nation raged alone
Guadeloupean performer Admiral T is known for his homophobic lyrics.
Homophobic song by Guadeloupe artist Admiral T removed from streaming platforms
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Progress and backsliding in Latin America and Caribbean

Oceania

Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.

LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview

2025 LGBTQ rights update: Mixed results in Oceania

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Outright launches important reports on LGBTQ rights in every country