Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (

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 is a ...

) people in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

enjoy similar rights to non-LGBT people.

Partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

s, which grant many of the benefits of marriage, have been recognised since 2004. In June 2014, the Luxembourgish Parliament passed a law enabling

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

rights, which took effect on 1 January 2015. Additionally, discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and "change of sex" in employment, healthcare and the provision of goods and services is outlawed, and transgender people are allowed to change their legal gender on the basis of self-determination. Luxembourger society is noted as tolerant of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and same-sex relationships. Polling in 2019 from the

Eurobarometer Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...

found that 87% of Luxembourgers believed gay, lesbian and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people, one of the highest in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In 2021,

ILGA-Europe ILGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, at the European level. I ...

ranked Luxembourg third in the European Union for LGBT rights protection.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1794 (when the country was a French possession). Article 372 of the Penal Code sets the age of consent to 16, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. This was increased to 18 for same-sex sexual activity in 1971 by the addition of article 372 to the Penal Code, which was repealed in 1992.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

s have been available in Luxembourg since 2004. Partnerships, called ''partenariat'' in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and ''Partnerschaft'' in

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, are based on the French PACS model. The law which permits these unions was enacted on 1 November 2004. In 2009, the Government of Luxembourg announced its intention to legalise

. However, after much delay, a final vote was not held until June 2014, when it passed by 56 votes to 4 and took effect on 1 January 2015.

Adoption and family planning

After a parliamentary vote in June 2014, a law granting full adoption rights to same-sex couples came into effect on 1 January 2015. Additionally, lesbian couples can access

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) fr ...

and medically assisted insemination treatments. A same-sex parenting case has been tested through the courts. After their twin boys were born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

via

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

, a same-sex couple sought citizenship for their children. In May 2017, Justice Minister

Félix Braz Félix Braz (born 16 March 1966) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as Second Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 2018 to 2019. A member of the Greens, Braz also served as Minister of Justice in the Bettel-Schneider coalition governme ...

granted Luxembourgish citizenship to one of the boys, but in December refused to grant citizenship to the other child. The couple filed suit. In January 2019, the Administrative Court of Luxembourg reversed the decision of the Minister of Justice. The judges considered that the complaint was well founded. As both parents are recorded on California birth documents, the judges concluded that Braz was wrong to grant citizenship to one child and to deny citizenship to the other—even if one of the applicants is not the biological father.

Discrimination protections

Luxembourgish law prohibits discrimination (both direct and indirect) based on sexual orientation and "change of sex" (within the definition of sex) in employment, education, social security, healthcare, and the provision of goods and services. In addition,

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

legislation also refers to these characteristics and they are recognised as aggravating factors. Article 1 of the anti-discrimination law, commonly referred to as the ''Law of 28 november 2006 on equal treatment'' (french: Loi du 28 novembre 2006 sur l'égalité de traitement; lb, Gesetz vum 28. November 2006 zu der Gläichbehandlung; german: Gleichbehandlungsgesetz vom 28. November 2006), reads as follows: Luxembourgish nationals are allowed to serve in the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

regardless of sexual orientation. As part of its LGBT Action Plan 2018–2023, Luxembourg has pledged to ensure inclusive educational opportunities for LGBT students, combat violence, harassment and discrimination, guarantee equal treatment in access to health care services and employment, and assure the equality of transgender and intersex individuals.

Transgender rights

In the past, Luxembourg legally required transgender people to undergo

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

, sterilization and divorce before a change of gender on identification documents. However, on 12 May 2017, the

Council of Government The Council of Government of Monaco is the Prince's governing body. It consists of six members: Minister of State, who chairs the council, and the five members (four counsellors and one delegate); he also has voting rights, and has control of ...

approved a bill to regulate the procedure of legal sex changes. An adult person would need to submit an application to the Ministry of Justice to change their legal sex. No

, sterilization,

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

or other

medical treatment A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

would be required. Minors would be able to apply for a sex change with the consent of their legal guardians. On 31 May, the bill was submitted to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, and was approved in a 57–3 vote on 25 July 2018. On 27 July 2018, the Council of State gave its consent to skip the second vote. It was promulgated by the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

on 10 August and published in the official journal on 12 September. The law took effect on 16 September 2018.

Blood donation

Since January 2021, donors who have had sexual relations with

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...

(MSM) are allowed to donate plasma, regardless of gender. After 12 months of not having sexual contact with MSM, donors are allowed to donate blood.

LGBT rights movement in Luxembourg

Luxembourg's main LGBT rights group is Pink Luxembourg ( lb, Rosa Lëtzebuerg). It was founded on 26 June 1996 and had 220 members by 2004. Its aims are to promote the civil rights of LGBT people, to fight against discrimination, to work in terms of social, cultural and legal matters for full equality, and to organise social and cultural activities. It organizes annual

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

demonstrations, known as the Gaymat Festival. Intersex & Transgender Luxembourg (ITGL) campaigns for transgender and intersex rights.

Public opinion

survey published in December 2006 showed that 58% of Luxembourgers surveyed supported same-sex marriage and 39% supported adoption by same-sex couples. The EU-wide average in this survey was 44% and 33%, respectively. Support for same-sex marriage had increased to 75% by 2015 according to the same pollster. The 2019 Eurobarometer showed that 87% of Luxembourgers believed gay and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people, and 85% supported same-sex marriage.

Summary table

References

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