Taiwan has legalised same-sex marriage – but when was gay marriage legalised in the UK and where in the world is it still a criminal offence?

Georgia Chambers17 May 2019

Hundreds of gay rights supporters cheered outside the parliament building in the capital, Taipei, as three different bills legalising same-sex unions were passed on Friday 17 May – which is also the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

In 2017, Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled that banning same-sex couples from marrying was unconstitutional and gave parliament two years to make the necessary changes.

The ruling marks a huge victory for Taiwan’s LGBT community who are still fighting the social stigma around homosexuality in their country. But where else in the world is being gay still illegal? Here’s everything you need to know:

Taiwan legalises same-sex marriage - In pictures

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What will the new bill mean for Taiwan’s LGBT community?

The proposal of a new bill legalising same-sex marriage was met with public backlash, leading parliament to hold a series of referendums, The results of these showed that the majority of Taiwanese people believe marriage to be strictly between a man and a woman.

For this reason, a special separate bill was created which refers to same-sex partnerships as “same-sex family relationships” or “same-sex unions.”

Whilst some of Taiwan’s LGBT community are not completely satisfied with the new bill, for many it is regarded as the closest thing to full equality with heterosexual couples, despite its limitations.

Supporters of same-sex marriage react as they gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated by parliamentarians in Taipei, Taiwan.
EPA

Ahead of the vote, President Tsai Ing-wen said she recognised the divisiveness of the issue between “families, generations and even inside religious groups.”

“Today, we have a chance to make history and show the world that progressive values can take root in an East Asian society,” she added in a Twitter post.

When did the UK legalise gay marriage?

Up until 1967 in the UK, gay and bisexual men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In 1967, gay sex was partly decriminalised by the Sexual Offences Act, but gay people living in the UK still faced discrimination.

In 2002, the law was changed to allow gay people to adopt children.

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And it was only in 2003 when the 1988 ban on 'promoting' homosexuality in schools was overturned.

In 2013, gay marriage was made legal in England and Wales, and later in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, gay marriage is still not legal.

Where else in the world is homosexuality still illegal?

Homosexuality is still outlawed in the following countries:

The Americas

  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Barbados
  • Dominica
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Jamaica
  • St Kitts and Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines

Africa

  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Botswana
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Comoros
  • Egypt
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Kenya
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Malawi
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Swaziland
  • Tanzania
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Middle East

  • Iran
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Oman
  • Palestine
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Syria
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Yemen

Central, South and East Asia

  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bhutan
  • Brunei
  • Indonesia
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Myanmar
  • Pakistan
  • Singapore
  • Sri Lanka
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uzbekistan

India's Supreme Court legalises gay sex in landmark ruling

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Oceania

  • Kiribati
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Samoa
  • Solomon Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu

In April, Brunei’s attorney general announced new sharia-based laws which make homosexual sex a criminal offence, punishable by whipping or stoning to death.

In Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, homosexuality is still punishable by death, under sharia law. The same applies in parts of Somalia and northern Nigeria.

In Syria and Iraq, the death penalty is carried out by non-state actors, including Islamic state.

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