These are the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBTQ communities

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is being celebrated in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. However, the event is restricted to numerous countries where it is a 'crime' to be LGBTQ+. This year Uganda, a country in Africa, enacted the strictest anti-gay laws-Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023. Uganda has imposed a life sentence for engaging in "same-sex sexual acts". While the Uganda law drew international condemnation, LGBTQ remains heavily criminalised in several parts of the world.

Of the 193 countries in the United Nations, 64 still criminalise same-sex acts, according to International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans, and Intersex Association (IGLA)

Here's a list of countries where same-sex acts are considered illegal:

AFRICA:

Of the 52 countries, same-sex acts are considered illegal in 32 nations--Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST:

Countries where same-sex acts are considered illegal include--Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

AMERICA:

In the Americas, same-sex acts are prohibited in Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

ISLANDS:

Island countries where same-sex acts are prohibited include Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Kiribati.

PUNISHMENTS

Across the world, criminal sentences for same-sex acts range from fines to imprisonment. In Russia for example same-sex acts are legal since 1993 but the government has targeted LGBTQ communities through discriminatory propaganda and fines.

Death penalty on same-sex acts:

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Uganda, Nigeria, Iran, Brunei, Mauritania

Prison, fines, or whipping: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uganda, Oman, Malaysia, Kuwait, South Sudan, Brunei, Malawi

Countries that have decriminalised same-sex relationship:

India, Mozambique, Singapore, Angola, and Botswana.

Countries where same-sex marriages are legal:

South Africa, Andorra, Cuba, Slovenia, Taiwan

LGBTQ-friendly travel destinations in 2023:

Malta, Canada, Switzerland

Where not to go as a LGBTQ traveller:

Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan