LGBTQ rights in Oceania | |
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Status | Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 9 out of 15 countries Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 11 out of 12 territories |
Gender identity | Legal in 3 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories |
Military | Allowed to serve openly in 2 out of 6 countries having an army Allowed in all 12 territories |
Discrimination protections | Protected in 7 out of 15 countries Protected in 8 out of 12 territories |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | Recognized in 2 out of 15 countries Recognized in 8 out of 12 territories |
Restrictions | Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned in 1 out of 15 countries |
Adoption | Legal in 2 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories |
Oceania is, like other regions, quite diverse in its laws regarding LGBT rights. This ranges from significant rights, including same-sex marriage – granted to the LGBT+ community in New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Hawaii, Easter Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands – to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in six countries and one territory.[1] Although acceptance is growing across the Pacific, violence and social stigma remain issues for LGBT+ communities.[2] This also leads to problems with healthcare, including access to HIV treatment in countries such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where homosexuality is criminalised.[3]
The United Kingdom introduced conservative social attitudes and anti-LGBT laws throughout the British Empire, including its colonies throughout the Pacific Ocean.[4] This legacy persists in anti-LGBT laws found in a majority of countries in the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations. Opponents of LGBT rights in Oceania have justified their stance by arguing it is supported by tradition and that homosexuality is a "Western vice", although anti-LGBT laws themselves are a colonial British legacy.[4] Several Pacific countries have ancient traditions predating colonisation that reflect a unique local perspective of sexuality and gender, such as the fa'afafine in Samoa and fakaleiti in Tonga.[4][5]
LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Adoption by same-sex couples | LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
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Australia (including territories of Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island) |
Always legal for women. Male legal in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 1997. Tasmania was the last state to legalise male homosexuality; Equal age of consent in some states and territories since 1975, nationwide since 2016. + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Unregistered cohabitation nationally since 2009; Domestic partnerships in Tasmania (2004),[6] South Australia (2007),[7] Victoria (2008),[8] New South Wales (2010),[9] and Queensland (2012);[10] Civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory (2012)[11] |
Legal since 2017[12] | Legal nationwide since 2018 | Gay men and lesbians since 1992[13]; Transgender and intersex people since 2010[14] | Bans all anti-gay discrimination.[15] | Different regulations within each jurisdiction on change of sex. NSW explicitly legally requires sexual reassignment surgery to change sex on a birth certificate, since 1996.[16][17] |
New Zealand | Legal since 1986 + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Unregistered cohabitation since 2002; Civil unions since 2005 |
Legal since 2013[18] | Legal since 2013[18] | Since 1993; Includes transgender people[19] | Bans all anti-gay discrimination | Covered under the "sex discrimination" provision of the Human Rights Act 1993; From July 2023, change of sex on a birth certificate by self-determination.[20][21] |
LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Adoption by same-sex couples | LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fiji | Legal since 2010 + UN decl. sign.[22][1] |
Bans all anti-gay discrimination[1] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2010 |
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Indonesia | Legal (except in Aceh)[1][23] | Limited protection following legal process by the authorities.[24] | Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery. | ||||
New Caledonia (Special collectivity of France) |
Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Civil solidarity pact since 2009[25] | Legal since 2013 | Legal since 2013 | France responsible for defence | Bans all anti-gay discrimination | Under French law |
Papua New Guinea | Male illegal Penalty: 3 to 14 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). Female always legal[1] |
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Solomon Islands | Illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed).[1] |
Has no military | [26] | ||||
Vanuatu | Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed since independence[27]) + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Bans some anti-gay discrimination |
LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Adoption by same-sex couples | LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation | Laws concerning gender identity/expression | Lack of a Presence of Anti-LGBT laws |
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Guam (Unincorporated territory of the United States) |
Legal since 1978 | Since 2015 | Legal since 2015 | Legal since 2002 | United States responsible for defense[28][29] | Bans some anti-gay discrimination | Allowed to legally change gender, but requires sex reassignment surgery | |
Micronesia | Legal + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Has no military | Bans all anti-gay discrimination[30] | |||||
Kiribati | Male illegal Penalty: 5-14 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). Female legal[1] |
Has no military | Bans some anti-gay discrimination | |||||
Marshall Islands | Legal since 2005 + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Has no military | Bans all anti-gay discrimination[31] | |||||
Nauru | Legal since 2016[32][33] + UN decl. sign. |
Has no military | Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2016 |
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Northern Mariana Islands (Unincorporated territory of the United States) |
Legal since 1983 | Since 2015 | Legal since 2015 | Legal since 2015 | United States responsible for defense[28][29] | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[34][35] | Under the Vital Statistics Act of 2006 | |
Palau | Legal since 2014 + UN decl. sign.[36] |
Constitutional ban since 2008 | Has no military | |||||
United States Minor Outlying Islands (Unincorporated territories of the United States) |
Legal | Legal | Legal | United States responsible for defense[28][29] |
LGBT rights in: | Same-sex sexual activity | Recognition of same-sex unions | Same-sex marriage | Adoption by same-sex couples | LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military? | Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation | Laws concerning gender identity/expression |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Samoa (Unincorporated territory of the United States)[37] |
Legal since 1980 | / Same-sex marriages recognized but not performed under Respect for Marriage Act since 2022. | / Same-sex marriages recognized but not performed under Respect for Marriage Act since 2022.[38] | United States responsible for defense[28][29] | [39] | ||
Cook Islands (Part of the Realm of New Zealand) |
Legal since 2023 + UN decl. sign.[1] |
New Zealand responsible for defence | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[40] | ||||
Easter Island (Special territory of Chile) |
Legal since 1999 + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Civil unions since 2015[41] | Since 2022[42] | Since 2022[42] | Chile responsible for defence[43][44] | Bans all anti-gay discrimination[45] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2021 |
Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name since 1974. No surgeries or judicial order since 2019.[46] |
French Polynesia (Overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Since 2013 | Legal since 2013 | Legal since 2013 | France responsible for defence | Bans all anti-gay discrimination | Under French law |
Hawaii (Constituent state of the United States) |
Since 1972 | Since 1997 | Since 2013 | Since 2012 | United States responsible for defence | Bans all anti-gay discrimination | |
Niue (Part of the Realm of New Zealand) |
Male illegal Penalty: 5-10 years imprisonment. (Not enforced, Legalization proposed).[47] Female legal + UN decl. sign.[1] |
New Zealand responsible for defence | |||||
Pitcairn Islands (Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom) |
Legal since 2001 + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Since 2015 | Legal since 2015[48] | Legal since 2015[49] | UK responsible for defence | Constitutional ban on all anti-gay discrimination[50] | |
Samoa | Male illegal Penalty: 5-7 years imprisonment (Not enforced). Legalization proposed Female always legal + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Has no military | Bans some anti-gay discrimination[51] Pathologization or attempted treatment of sexual orientation by mental health professionals illegal since 2007 |
Samoa has a large transgender or "third-gender" community called the fa'afafine. They are a recognized part of traditional Samoan customs. | |||
Tokelau (Dependent territory of the Realm of New Zealand) |
Legal since 2003[52] + UN decl. sign.[1] |
New Zealand responsible for defence | |||||
Tonga | Male illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years imprisonment (Not enforced, Legalization proposed). Female always legal[1] |
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Tuvalu | Male illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment (Not enforced). Legalization proposed Female legal + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Consitutional ban since 2023 | Has no military | Bans some anti-gay discrimination | |||
Wallis and Futuna (Overseas collectivity of France) |
Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the collectivity) + UN decl. sign.[1] |
Civil solidarity pact since 2009 | Legal since 2013 | Legal since 2013 | France responsible for defence | Bans all anti-gay discrimination | Under French law |