LGBT rights in Cyprus

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Cyprus face legal challenges not experienced by non- LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Cyprus since 1998, and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015.

Traditionally, the socially conservative Greek Orthodox Church has had significant influence over public opinion and politics regarding LGBT rights. However, ever since Cyprus sought membership in the European Union, it had to change its human rights legislation, including its laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. Attitudes towards members of the LGBT community are evolving and becoming increasingly more accepting and tolerant, with recent opinion polls showing that a majority of Cypriots support legal recognition of same-sex couples in the form of civil unions.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Cyprus fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1571.

Although administered by the British Empire from 1878, Cyprus remained officially part of the Ottoman Empire until 1914, when it was annexed by the British Empire following the decision of the Ottoman Turks to side with Germany in the First World War. Even then, Cyprus was not officially claimed by the British Empire until 1925, following recognition of British ownership of the island by the newly created Republic of Turkey through the Treaty of Lausanne, signed by Britain and Turkey in 1923. Up until this time, Ottoman laws were technically in force on the island, albeit administered by local and British colonial officials, and in respect to homosexuality, Ottoman Turkish law had been liberalised in 1858, when it had ceased to be a criminal offence throughout the Ottoman Empire.

Although Britain assumed full legal ownership of Cyprus in 1925, Ottoman law was not formally replaced on the island until 1929, when Ottoman legal tolerance of homosexuality was finally ended, with the incorporation of the British '' Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885'' into Cyprus law. For the first time since 1858, this made male homosexuality a criminal act in Cyprus. Female homosexuality was not recognised or mentioned in the law.

With independence from Britain in 1960, Cyprus retained British colonial law on the island almost in its entirety, with the relevant parts of the ''Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885'' becoming articles 171 to 174 of Chapter 154 of the Cypriot Criminal Code. The articles were first challenged in 1993, when Alexandros Modinos, a Cypriot architect and gay rights activist, won a legal court case against the Government of Cyprus, known as ''Modinos v. Cyprus'', at the European Court of Human Rights. The Court ruled that section 171 of the Criminal Code of Cyprus violated Modinos's right to a private life, protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, an international agreement ratified by Cyprus in 1962.

Despite the legal ruling, Cyprus did not formally revise its Criminal Code to comply with the ruling until 1998. Even then, the age of consent for homosexual conduct was set at eighteen, while that for heterosexual conduct was at sixteen. Aside from the unequal age of consent, the revised Criminal Code also made it a crime to "promote" homosexuality, which was used to restrict the LGBT rights movement. In 2000, the discriminatory ban on "promoting" homosexuality was lifted, and the age of consent was equalised in 2002. Today, the universal age of consent is seventeen.

The Cyprus military used to ban homosexuals from serving on the grounds that homosexuality is a "mental illness". However, this ground of exclusion has since been removed.

In Northern Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot deputies passed an amendment on 27 January 2014, repealing a colonial-era law that punished homosexual acts with up to five years' imprisonment. It was the last territory in Europe to decriminalise sexual relations between consenting adult men. In response to the vote, Paulo Corte-Real from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, a rights advocacy group, said that "We welcome today's vote and can finally call Europe a continent completely free from laws criminalising homosexuality".

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The current law of Cyprus only recognises marriage as a union between one man and one woman. There is no official recognition of same-sex marriages. Since 2015, same-sex couples have been able to have their relationships recognised through civil unions.

On 26 November 2015, a civil union bill was passed by the House of Representatives with 39 in favour, 12 against and 3 abstentions. The law was published on 9 December 2015, and took effect that same day.

Discrimination protections

In 2004, Cyprus implemented an anti-discrimination law that explicitly forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment. The law, known as the ''Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Law 2004'' ( el, Ο Περί 'Ισης Μεταχείρισης στην Απασχόληση και την Εργασία Νόμος του 2004), was designed to comply with the European Union's Employment Framework Directive of 2000. Discrimination based on gender identity in general and discrimination based on sexual orientation in areas other than employment are not prohibited.

The Cypriot Penal Code has been amended to make violence against LGBT people an aggravating factor in sentencing. Article 99 of the code, entitled "Incitment to violence or hatred due to sexual orientation or gender identity", provides for imprisonment not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding 5,000 euros for any person who "intentionally, publicly or in manner which is threatening or insulting or offensive in nature, urges or incites, orally or in writing, violence or hatred against a group, person, or a member of a group of persons on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity".

Despite the provisions, reports of incitement to hatred or violence against LGBT people occasionally result in no action by police forces nor any legal penalties, most notably when committed by clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church. In February 2019, a gay man was attacked in Nicosia, but the police failed to establish whether it was a hate crime. Another incident, also in Nicosia, four months later also resulted in no police action.

In 2017, the Ministry of Education established the programme "HOMBAT-Combating Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying at Schools" to train and sensibilise teachers and professors to bullying and harassment directed at LGBT students.

As part of its Universal Periodic Review in 2019, Cyprus received seven recommendations pertaining to LGBT rights, including combating discrimination and violence, criminalising harassment, adopting an action plan against homophobia and transphobia, and adopting a gender recognition law. It accepted all seven recommendations.

Gender identity and expression

In November 2017, President Nicos Anastasiades met advocacy group Accept-LGBT Cyprus to discuss issues concerning transgender rights. A bill to allow transgender people to change their legal sex has been drafted, with the support of the President and the Justice Minister. On 10 June 2019, following months of stalling and delay, four parents of transgender children spoke in favor of the bill and urged for its "speedy adoption". The legislation would allow transgender people over 18 to right to change their legal gender on the basis of self-determination, without a diagnosis, hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery.

Living conditions

In 1996, a criminal trial against Father Pancratios Meraklis, who was accused of sodomy, caused serious rioting that stopped the proceedings. Meraklis had been regarded as a possible bishop, but was blocked by then Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos I of Cyprus, who believed Meraklis to be homosexual and that AIDS could be spread through casual conduct. These comments irked public health officials and more open-minded Cyprus citizens.

In 2003, a 28-year-old Cypriot man was barred from getting a driver's license because he was regarded as "psychologically unstable". The man had been discharged from the military for homosexuality, which the military then classified as a mental illness.

In April 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent instructions in all embassies, requesting that they support local LGBT activists. On 17 May, the International Day Against Homophobia, the ministry raised the rainbow flag, as did several Cypriot embassies throughout the world.

The ‘gay-scene’ continues to grow in Cyprus. Bars, clubs and other gay-friendly establishments are found in several cities, including Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia, although Paphos is the only city with the longest running gay bar called ‘Different Bar’ since 1993. Other cities have tried to open bars and clubs, but due to the narrow-minded locals (which does not apply to Paphos due to the large, gay touristic influence since the late 70s) have closed down or are not as busy as they should be.

LGBT rights movement in Cyprus

In 1987–88, the Cypriot Gay Liberation Movement (AKOK or ''Apeleftherotiko Kinima Omofilofilon Kiprou'') was created. As the first LGBT rights organisation in the nation, it has been successful in helping to repeal the civilian criminal prohibitions regarding homosexuality.

In 2007, Initiative Against Homophobia was established in Northern Cyprus to campaign for the rights of LGBT people in the north. On 25 April 2008, the group presented a proposal regarding the revising of criminal law to the head of parliament, Fatma Ekenoglu. In 2010, representatives of ILGA-Europe presented the proposal to the new head of parliament, Hasan Bozer

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