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LGBTQ rights in Laos

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LGBTQ rights in Laos
Legal StatusLegal
Discrimination protectionsNo
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo
AdoptionNo

Homosexuality is legal in Laos. Claims have suggested that Laos is "one of the most tolerant" communist states.[1] A Gallup poll in June 2024 found that Laos was a gay-friendly country and 54% of Laotians thought that their country was a good place to live for gay people.[2]

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

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Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Laos, and is not believed to have ever been criminalized. Having been a former colony of France, Laos never inherited any anti-sodomy laws since the French declared such laws as unconstitutional in 1791. The age of consent is 15, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.[3]

Discrimination protections

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There are no laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation,[4] and the national Constitution of Laos does not expressly address sexual orientation or gender identity issues.[5]

On 21 January 2020, at the 35th Session - Universal Periodic Review at UN Human Rights Council, there was the recommendation on The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE-LGBTI) From H.E Christopher Grima - Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations Office in Geneva to the delegation of Lao PDR to: "Continue taking steps to improve the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, particularly by identifying their needs, and consider involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex representatives in decision-making processes."[6]

There was a recommendation from H.E Harald Aspelund, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Iceland to the United Nations in Geneva, to the delegation of Lao PDR to: "Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that addresses direct and indirect discrimination and encompasses all the prohibited grounds of discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity."[6]

Living conditions

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In 2013, the United States Department of State reported that "societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and against persons with HIV/AIDS" was prevalent.[7]

Theravada Buddhism is the most predominant religion in Laos. LGBT activist Anan Bouapha has stated, "Many people might think that Laos is conservative and extremely close-minded when it comes to LGBT issues. Realistically, our culture and mentality seem to be quite open-minded to people from all walks of life. I have seen many transgender people wearing traditional costumes to temples, attending traditional ceremonies and some gay students expressing [their] identity among [their] peers and teachers."[7]

Groups and organisations

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Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are permitted to organize and campaign in Laos, and are under state-supervision. Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, has said,[8] "The Laotian government has never really been very friendly towards NGOs, and has forced them as well as other development partners sent by the UN to cooperate with state-controlled organizations. The Laotian leadership does place much value on transparency or dialogue with civil society." "Proud To Be Us Laos" (Lao: ພູມໃຈທີ່ເປັນເຮົາ) was founded in 2012 as the country's first LGBT association. Founded by Anan Bouapha, then aged 25, the group organized the first LGBT Pride in Laos in June 2012.[9][10] The group has begun to receive officials and government members attending their events.[9]

Culture, events and media

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Gay foreigners visiting Laos in the 1990s sometimes reported the existence of a taboo associated with foreigners that made it hard to interact with Laotians, except discreetly at night. The Government of Laos has blocked access to LGBT themed webpages in the past and discussions about LGBT issues in the media are "rare", beyond transsexuals who are visible in the culture as entertainment. It does generally tolerate, or simply ignore, LGBT people unless they campaign for LGBT rights or are judged to be too publicly "immodest or indecent".[11] In 2014, a decree was issued prohibiting criticism of all government policies.[12]

The first public LGBT Pride in Laos was held in June 2012 on the sports field of the U.S. embassy in Vientiane, with 100 participants; the guests of honor were U.S. Ambassador to Laos Karen Stewart and Dr. Bounpheng Philavong, director of the Center for HIV/AIDS/STI (CHAS) at the Lao Ministry of Health. The event was organized by Laotian and intergovernmental organizations, including the Purple Sky Network, Lao Positive Health Association, Population Services International, the Burnet Institute, Family Health International, the Vientiane Youth Center for Health and Development, and UNFPA.[13]

In 2015, Proud to be Us Laos marked the first International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) in Laos with support from the European Union.[14] Lattavanh Sengdala became the first transgender advocate to appear on national television speaking of her experience as a trans woman in Laos. The IDAHOT celebration was reported on Lao National Television, a governmental TV channel.[9][15] In 2016, the European Union supported the organising of the second IDAHOT celebration, where more diplomatic and civil society partners participated. Proud to be Us Laos partnered with one of the UK's leading LGBT rights organisation, Stonewall.[15][16]

In 2017, the British, Australian, American and Canadian embassies, in partnership with Proud to be Us Laos, hosted a reception in Vientiane. Chargé d'Affairs of the Canadian Embassy Lee-Anne Hermann said, "Today, let us unite in this global celebration of diversity and community. A coming together to share experiences and stories to deepen our understanding and appreciation of LGBTI persons and their contributions to society." The event was attended by some representatives from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[17][18]

In 2018, 4 more embassies participated in the advocacy campaign, namely France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The Australian embassy wrote a Facebook post about LGBT issues in Laos. The U.S. embassy organised a panel discussion with partners and Lao audience at the American Centre.[19]

IDAHOT 2019 was organised at the Australian embassy in Vientiane on 17 May. The event was attended by 15 embassies, staff from local Lao civil society organizations, international NGOs, and others.[20]

In August 2019, Anan Bouapha, Founder/President of Proud To Be Us Laos, was named as one of the Grand Marshals of the Montreal Pride along with: LGBTQ+ activist and athlete Val Desjardins, advocate and M. Cuir Montréal 2011 Dany Godbout, author and activist Ma-Nee Chacaby, creator of the trans flag Monica Helms, actor and advocate Wilson Cruz.[21][22][23] They were welcomed by Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.[24]

On 19 December 2019, "Being LGBT At Work (A STUDY OF LGBTI PERSONS IN THE WORKPLACE IN LAO PDR)", conducted by the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the National University of Laos, the Law and Development Partnership and Proud to Be Us Laos, was officially presented at the Annual Legal Research Forum 2019.[25]

Summary table

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Same-sex sexual activity legal Yes (Always legal)
Equal age of consent (15) Yes (Always equal)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only No
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services No
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) No
Same-sex marriages No
Recognition of same-sex couples No
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples No
Joint adoption by same-sex couples No
Adoption by single people regardless of sexual orientation No
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military No
Right to change legal gender Yes
Access to IVF for lesbians No
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No
MSMs allowed to donate blood No

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 2008 Human Rights Report: Laos
  2. ^ Inc, Gallup (28 June 2024). "Almost Half of the World Sees Their Area as Gay-Friendly". Gallup.com. Retrieved 2 July 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Age of Consent in Laos, ageofconsent.net
  4. ^ "ສິດທິຂອງກຸ່ມຄົນ ປະເພດ 2 ຫຼື LGBT ຢູ່ລາວ". rfa.org (in Lao). 12 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Laos Constitution (version 2015)". axl.cefan.ulaval.ca (in French and English).
  6. ^ a b https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/lao_people039s_democratic_republic/session_35_-_january_2020/report_of_the_working_group_lao_english.pdf Archived 28 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ a b "In Laos, An Invisible Minority Is Finding Its Voice". J&C Services. 20 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Laos is not a cozy place for NGOs". Deutsche Welle. 14 November 2014.
  9. ^ a b c ""ÊTRE LGBTI N'EST PAS UNE INFLUENCE OCCIDENTALE, C'EST UNE RÉALITÉ HUMAINE"". SciencesPro (in French). 9 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Laos holds first gay pride event". The Telegraph. 27 June 2012.
  11. ^ Richard Ammon. "Gay Laos: Lost and Found". GlobalGayz.com.
  12. ^ Adam Bemma (3 October 2018). "Overcoming a government crackdown on social media in Laos". Reuters.
  13. ^ "Laos holds first gay pride event". The Telegraph. 27 June 2012.
  14. ^ "IDAHOT EVENTS 2015: LAOS CELEBRATED IDAHOT FOR THE FIRST TIME". may17.org. 5 June 2015.
  15. ^ a b "EU celebrated IDAHO Day in Vientiane". European External Action Service. 18 May 2016.
  16. ^ "CELEBRATING IDAHOT FOR THE FIRST TIME: INSIGHT INTO A MILESTONE EVENT". may17.org. 20 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Diplomatic and Business Community Mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia". U.S. Embassy in Laos. 18 May 2017.
  18. ^ "IDAHOT 2017 COUNTRY PAGE: LAOS". may17.org. 13 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Participation de l'Ambassade de France au Laos à la Journée Mondiale de Lutte contre l'Homophobie et la Transphobie". Ambassade de France à Vientiane (in French). Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  20. ^ "LAOS COUNTRY PAGE 2019". may17.org. 26 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Your guide to Montreal Pride 2019". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  22. ^ "30 years after coming out, two-spirit elder hopes to inspire others to do the same | CBC News".
  23. ^ "Grand Marshals". Fierté Montréal. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  24. ^ Grillo, Matt (18 August 2019). "Trudeau, Legault join thousands of revelers at annual Pride Parade". Montreal. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. ^ ""Being LGBT At Work (A STUDY OF LGBTI PERSONS IN THR WORKPLACE IN LAO PDR)"". Facebook. 19 December 2019.