LGBT rights in Mongolia
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people, though there have been substantial improvements since the 1990s.
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 ...
was criminalised in Mongolia in 1961 through its Criminal Code. Following the
Mongolian Revolution of 1990 The Mongolian Revolution of 1990, known in Mongolia as the 1990 Democratic Revolution ( mn, 1990 оны ардчилсан хувьсгал, ), was a peaceful democratic revolution which led to the country's transition to a multi-party syste ...
and the peaceful transition to a democracy, homosexuality was legalised and awareness about LGBT people has become more prevalent.
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 ...
s 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
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
result in additional legal penalties.
Hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
based on these two categories has been outlawed in the country since 1 July 2017. Households headed by same-sex couples are, however, not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. The LGBT Centre (active since 2007) states "advocacy for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Mongolia" to be its mandate. It is the main engine behind the policy and legislative changes in the country around LGBT rights. Historically, the first gay men's human rights organisation was established in March 1999, and was called Tavilan (meaning "destiny" in Mongolian).


Legality of same-sex sexual acts

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
banned homosexual acts in the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
and made them punishable by death, hoping to expand the Mongolian population which was about 1.5 million at the time, while the rival
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, which dominated today's central
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, was 100 million strong. The
Khalkha Mongols The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans ...
, like many early Siberian peoples, placed a high regard on heterosexual fertility, love, and intercourse and therefore viewed homosexual affairs as a sort of abomination. In the very last years of the 17th century, the Khalkha Mongols came under the control of the
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
and therefore inherited its anti-homosexuality law, which punished homosexual acts with a year in prison and 100 strikes with heavy bamboo. After being criminalized in 1961, all mentions of homosexuality were removed from the Mongolian Criminal Code in 1993, effectively legalising private and consensual same-sex sexual activity. The age of consent is 16, regardless of sexual orientation.


Recognition of same-sex relationships

Article 16 (11) of the Mongolian Constitution defines marriage as being "based on the equality and mutual consent of a man and a woman who have reached the age determined by law. The State protects the interests of the family, motherhood, and the child." Same-sex relationships are not recognized under Mongolian law.


Discrimination protections and hate crime laws

Until recently, violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Mongolia were fairly common and often not reported to the police. In 2001, a lesbian woman was raped, abducted and stabbed by two men. In 2009, an ultra-nationalist
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
group kidnapped three transgender women and sexually assaulted them. None of these crimes was reported to the police for fear of victimization. In February 2014, a gay man was sexually assaulted by a neo-Nazi group. Following public outcry from the LGBT community and civil society organizations, the Government of Mongolia announced in May 2014 that it would consider anti-discrimination legislation to protect LGBT people. On 3 December 2015, the
Mongolian Parliament The State Great Khural, ; "State Great Assembly" is the unicameral parliament of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, Foreign Service office of Montsame News Agency, , p. 40 It is located in the Government Palace. History ;1 ...
adopted a new Criminal Code covering
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 ...
s, with the protected grounds including sexual orientation, gender identity and health status, making Mongolia one of the first Asian countries to have this level of protections for LGBT people. The Criminal Code's coming into force was planned for 1 September 2016; however, the newly elected Cabinet postponed the date to 1 July 2017. As of August 2018, the LGBT Centre was training more than 300 police officers, prosecutors and judges on what hate crimes are and how to properly handle them. Despite this, local reports and LGBT activists say that the police continue to disregard and do not take complaints of hate crimes against LGBT people seriously, and that these attacks often result in no punishment.


Gender identity and expression

An amendment made in June 2009 to Article 20(1) of the ''Civil Registration Law'' ( mn, Улсын бүртгэлийн ерөнхий хууль) allows transgender people to change their legal gender on birth certificates or citizen identification cards following
sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
. In addition, hate speech on the basis of gender identity is outlawed in the country. Crimes committed on the basis of the victim's gender identity, known as hate crimes, will result in additional legal penalties.


Sex education

Mongolia's sex education curriculum introduced in 1998 includes discussion on LGBT and sexual health issues, though teachers may choose whether to cover these topics. Several LGBT students have reported discrimination and bullying at schools.


Living conditions

In 2009, after more than 10 failed attempts, the Mongolian Government registered the LGBT Centre ( mn, ЛГБТ төв), the sole non-governmental LGBT human rights organisation. Initially, the State Registration Agency refused to register the organization because it "conflicts with Mongolian customs and traditions and has the potential to set a wrong example for youth and adolescents." A 2013 report by the LGBT Centre revealed that over 73% of LGBT Mongolians had considered suicide due to social unacceptance and intolerance. The
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By ...
has been celebrated in Mongolia since 2011, with events organised by the LGBT Centre. In 2013, the first Pride week was organised by members of the LGBT community. Since 2014, the LGBT Centre has been organising "Equality and Pride Days" annually to promote non-discrimination and equality. The 2018 pride march attracted more than 200 people. There are several gay bars in
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
, one being called D.D./H.Z.. Multiple LGBT groups have emerged over the years. The first gay group, Tavilan ( mn, тавилан), was founded in 1999 and successfully registered as an NGO, then had its license revoked in 2000 and continued to operate informally. The first lesbian rights organisation, MILC, was established in December 2003 following the failure on the part of the founders of Tavilan to redraft its bylaws to include other sub-communities within the LGBT community. The organisation Zaluus Eruul Mend was established in 2003 to continue the HIV work of Tavilan. There are no religious barriers to homosexuality, as the dominant religion,
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, is silent on homosexuality. Indeed, homophobia is regarded as a form of nationalism, as many Mongolians believe homosexuality to be a product of the West. In December 2018, the LGBT Centre held a social experiment in Ulaanbaatar, placing three LGBT persons (one gay man, one lesbian and one transgender man) on the side of the road and watching bystanders' reactions. Online reactions were mixed, ranging from death threats to negative comments to positive ones, and showed that the public were more welcoming of the lesbian and the transman than of the gay man. Solongo Batsukh is an openly transgender model, make-up artist and beauty queen. In 2018, she participated in Miss Universe Mongolia.


United Nations

Mongolia has supported landmark LGBT reforms at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. In 2011, it signed the " joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity" at the United Nations, condemning violence and discrimination against LGBT people. In 2016, it supported the appointment of an independent expert to identify what causes violence and discrimination against LGBT people and to find ways to protect them.Mongolia backs UN watchdog for LGBT rights
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Summary table


See also

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Human rights in Mongolia Since its turn towards democracy in 1990, Mongolia has in principle acknowledged the concept of human and civic rights. “Human rights law,” according to one human-rights organization, “is a rapidly expanding area in the Mongolian legal syste ...
*
LGBT rights in Asia Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Asia are limited in comparison to many other areas of the world. Same-sex sexual activity is outlawed in at least twenty Asian countries. While at least eight countries have enacted protect ...


References


External links

* * {{Asia topic, LGBT rights in LGBT in Mongolia
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
Law of Mongolia Politics of Mongolia