LGBT rights in Guinea-Bissau
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Guinea-Bissau face legal challenges not experienced by non-
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.


Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

The Penal Code which remained in force after the independence from Portugal was repealed in 1993 with the enactment of a new Code (Law-decree No. 4/93) which contains no provisions criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults. In December 2008, Guinea-Bissau became one of 66 nations to sign the "United Nations Statement on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity", which supports decriminalization of homosexuality and transgender identity.


Recognition of same-sex relationships

The U.S. Department of State's 2011 Human Rights Report found that, "the law (in 2011) only recognized heterosexual married couples as entitled to larger government housing."


Adoption and family planning

According to a website of the French government, single and married people are eligible to adopt children. The website does not say whether LGBT people are disqualified.


Living conditions

Of 19 African countries surveyed in 2010, Guinea-Bissau was one of the most tolerant about homosexual behavior. Nine percent in Guinea-Bissau said that homosexual behavior was morally acceptable, with fifteen percent saying it was not an issue. The U.S. Department of State's 2012 human rights report found that,
There are no laws that criminalize sexual orientation. Antidiscrimination laws do not apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. There were no reported violent incidents or other human rights abuses targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation or identity. There was no official discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment or access to education and health care. However, according to government guidelines for civil servants' housing allowances, only heterosexual married couples were entitled to family-size housing, while same-sex couples received the single person allotment. Social taboos against homosexuality sometimes restricted freedom to express sexual orientation, yet society was relatively tolerant of consensual same-sex conduct, according to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center.
In 2018, a local NGO director stated that there were some cases of violence targeting people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and stressed that Guinea-Bissau lacks legal protections for LGBTI people.Garrido, Rui, "Recent SOGI Developments in Angola and an Overview on Other African Lusophone Countries By Rui Garrido" in Mendos, Lucas Ramón,
State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019
' (Geneva; ILGA, March 2019), p. 91.


Summary table


See also

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Human rights in Africa Contributing to the establishment of human rights system in Africa are the United Nations, international law and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive h ...
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LGBT rights in Africa With the exception of South Africa and Cape Verde, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa are limited in comparison to the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Out of the 55 states recognised ...


References

{{Africa topic, LGBT rights in Human rights in Guinea-Bissau Guinea Bissau Gender in Guinea-Bissau Law of Guinea-Bissau Politics of Guinea-Bissau