"As of June 2023, 35 countries recognize same-sex marriage."
Learn the history of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, including key events and figures.
LGBTQ+ Identity: Understanding the concepts of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, and how they relate to LGBTQ+ individuals.
Stonewall Riots: The 1969 protests in New York City after a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, which is commonly viewed as the catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Pre-Stonewall History: A look at the LGBTQ+ community's history before the Stonewall Riots, including the impact of the medical profession, laws related to sodomy, and the persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Decriminalizing Homosexuality: The repeal of laws criminalizing homosexuality around the world.
Same-Sex Marriage: The movement toward allowing same-sex marriage and the legal challenges that resulted in landmark cases like Obergefell v. Hodges.
LGBTQ+ Family Rights: The rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to have and raise children, including adoption, surrogacy, and fostering.
HIV/AIDS Crisis: The role that the HIV/AIDS crisis played in the LGBTQ+ community and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Transgender Rights: Understanding the challenges faced by transgender individuals and recent advancements in transgender rights legislation.
Employment Discrimination: Efforts to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace, including both governmental policies and corporate initiatives.
Hate Crimes: Protective laws or initiatives designed to prevent, prosecute, and punish hate crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals.
Stonewall Riots: A series of spontaneous demonstrations by the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969. Often considered a turning point for LGBTQ+ rights.
Gay Liberation: A political and social movement that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s to fight for full legal and social equality for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.
AIDS Crisis: A period of high mortality rates and social stigmatization of gay men due to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Lawrence v. Texas: A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down laws prohibiting consensual same-sex sexual activity in private.
Marriage Equality: The legal recognition of same-sex marriage, which began gaining traction in the early 2000s and was achieved in many countries.
Transgender Rights: The political and social movement for the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, which gained significant visibility and momentum in the 21st century.
Conversion Therapy and Anti-Discrimination Laws: The movement to ban conversion therapy, a practice that aims to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, and to enforce laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
International LGBTQ+ Rights: The global movement for LGBTQ+ rights and safety, which has seen advancements and setbacks in different countries and regions.
"Iran and Afghanistan are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts."
"LGBT people face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya."
"Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020."
"Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery."
"This is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country)."
"In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights."
"The report documented violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes, criminalization of homosexual activity, and discrimination."
"The United Nations urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights."
"A 2022 study found that LGBT rights were correlated with less HIV/AIDS incidence among gay and bisexual men independently of risky sexual behavior."
"The Nordics, Uruguay, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States are ranked among the best for LGBT rights."
"Yemen, Brunei, Afghanistan, Somalia, Mauritania, Palestine, and Iran are ranked among the worst."