Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT people.

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s have been open to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples since 29 April 2017. 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 ...

is constitutionally banned. Additionally, attitudes are largely positive; a public consultation found that 90% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage. In April 2017, a pride event was held in the capital city of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, a first for the islands.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Prior to 1989, same-sex sexual activity was a criminal offence. The

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

was equalised at 16 in 2005.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

The Falkland Islands was initially reluctant to allow for any formal recognition of same-sex relationships in local law. On 13 May 2015, the Attorney General recommended that the Executive Council consider the legalisation of same-sex marriage or civil partnership. On 13 January 2016, following a public consultation, the Council instructed the Attorney General to prepare an amendment to the island's ''Marriage Ordinance 1996'', in order to allow same-sex marriage. The public consultation found that 90% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage and 94% were in favour of civil partnerships for all couples. The Attorney General's draft amendment was considered by the Executive Council on 22 February 2017. The Council, considering whether to approve a bill to legalise same-sex marriage and create civil partnership for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, instructed the Attorney General to publish it in the official

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

, thereby commencing the legislative process as a first reading, as well as to prepare further legislation necessary to its implementation. On 30 March 2017, the Legislative Assembly approved a same-sex marriage bill by a 7 to 1 vote. The bill allows same-sex couples to marry and also allows both same-sex and opposite-sex couples the right to access a

. The bill received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Colin Roberts on 13 April 2017. The new law, known as the ''Marriage (Amendment) Act 2017'', went into effect on 29 April 2017. A community event to celebrate same-sex marriage becoming legal took place that same day. Sections 3A and 3B of the

''Marriage Ordinance 1996'' as amended in 2017 state:

Adoption and family planning

The 2017 law reform relating to

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and

included a new provision to the island's ''Marriage Ordinance'' stating that "a parent in a civil partnership...has the same rights and responsibilities towards a child as a parent to a child in a marriage". The official reasons attached to the amendments to the ordinance included a note stating that "...parents to a child may be two mothers or two fathers". There are no known IVF/

assisted reproductive technology Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes o ...

services available for same-sex couples.

Discrimination protections

Article 16 of the 2008 Constitution bans

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

based on

:
:''In this section, the expression "discriminatory" means affording different treatment to different persons on any grounds such as sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.'' The ''Crimes Ordinance 2014'' provides for fines or imprisonment of up to 7 years for a person who "uses threatening words or behaviour, or displays any written material which is threatening, and intends by doing so to stir up religious hatred, or hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation". The ''Criminal Procedure and Evidence Ordinance 2014'' allows courts to treat an offence committed on the basis of the victim's sexual orientation as an aggravative factor. Moreover, the ''Prisons Ordinance 2017'' requires prison staff to treat all prisoners equally without distinction to, among other categories, sexual orientation, and the ''Communications Ordinance 2017'' forbids the distribution of material which incites hatred or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Gender identity and expression

Although the UK's ''

Gender Recognition Act 2004 The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows people who have gender dysphoria to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005. Operation of the law The Gender Recognition Act ...

'' does not extend to the Falkland Islands, the ''Criminal Procedure and Evidence Ordinance 2014'' states that "at law, the gender of an individual is his or her gender as registered at birth, unless the person possesses a gender recognition certificate issued under section 9 of the UK Gender Recognition Act 2004, in which case the person's gender is the acquired gender."

Summary table

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Rights In the Falkland islands Falkland Law of the Falkland Islands