Rights of LGB People Across the World

India’s top court decriminalized homosexual sex in a landmark ruling that overturned section 377, a relic of colonial law which categorized gay sex as an “unnatural offence” and made engaging in homosexual sex punishable by maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The court has gone further than just decriminalizing gay sex by stating that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a fundamental violation of rights. While the court has made a historic ruling, there are still no laws explicitly preventing discrimination based on a person’s sexuality in India. Activists are now getting ready to take those rights-based issues head on in the coming years. This news comes after a Malaysian court caned two women last Monday for engaging in sexual relations.

Compared to global numbers, there are now roughly 70 states where male same sex relationships are illegal and 45 states where same sex relationships between females are illegal. In over 20 percent of countries, there has been documented arrests of people based on their sexual orientation.