LGBTQ rights in Eswatini

LGBTQ rights in Eswatini
Eswatini
Status
  • Male: illegal since 1907 (unenforced, repeal proposed)[1]
  • Female: never criminalised[2]
Gender identityNo
MilitaryNo
Discrimination protectionsNo
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
AdoptionNo

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Eswatini have limited legal rights. According to Rock of Hope, a Swati LGBTQ advocacy group, "there is no legislation recognising LGBTIs or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result [LGBTQ people] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination." Homosexuality is illegal in Eswatini, though this law is in practice unenforced.[2] According to the 2021 Human Rights Practices Report from the US Department of State, "there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct."[1]

Despite the absence of legal enforcement against same-sex sexual activity, LGBTQ people in Eswatini regularly face societal discrimination and harassment, including violence. As such, most choose to remain in the closet or move to neighbouring South Africa.

However, Eswatini has a higher than average tolerance of LGBTQ people compared to most other African countries.[3] Eswatini's first pride parade was held in June 2018.[4]

  1. ^ a b Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2021). "Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses". 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Eswatini (Report). United States Department of State. Retrieved 18 June 2022. While there are colonial-era common law prohibitions against sodomy, no penalties are specified, and there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct.
  2. ^ a b ILGA World; Lucas Ramon Mendos; Kellyn Botha; Rafael Carrano Lelis; Enrique López de la Peña; Ilia Savelev; Daron Tan (14 December 2020). State-Sponsored Homophobia report: 2020 global legislation overview update (PDF) (Report) (14th ed.). Geneva: ILGA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2020. Same-sex sexual activity is criminalised despite no law explicitly outlining this, as Section 252(1) of the Constitution (2005) states that Roman-Dutch Common Law, as interpreted in 1907, applies to any regulations or laws in place prior to independence in 1968 and not subsequently overturned. As such, "sodomy" remains a crime.
  3. ^ O'Donnell, Belinda (3 March 2016). "HERE ARE THE MOST AND LEAST TOLERANT COUNTRIES IN AFRICA". UN Dispatch.
  4. ^ "LGBT Activists Plan First-Ever Pride March in Swaziland". 12 April 2018.