LGBTQ rights in the Isle of Man | |
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Status | Legal since 1992, age of consent equal since 2006 |
Gender identity | Right to change legal gender since 2009 |
Military | UK responsible for defence |
Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation and "gender reassignment" protections (see below) |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | Civil partnerships since 2011; Same-sex marriage since 2016 |
Adoption | Full adoption rights since 2011 |
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man have evolved substantially since the early 2000s. Private and consensual acts of male homosexuality on the island were decriminalised in 1992. LGBTQ rights have been extended and recognised in law since then, such as an equal age of consent (2006), employment protection from discrimination (2006), gender identity recognition (2009), the right to enter into a civil partnership (2011), the right to adopt children (2011) and the right to enter into a civil marriage (2016).
While not part of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man has also followed the UK's example in incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into its own laws through the Human Rights Act 2001. In January 2023, it was reported that the Isle of Man "is the most LGBTQ legislative policy friendly place" in the world. [1] In 2024, it became the first British territory and the first part of the British Isles to ban conversion therapy. [2]
Prior to September 1992, same-sex sexual activity was a criminal offence. After decriminalisation, the age of consent was set at 21, which at that time was the same age as in the United Kingdom. In 2001, the age of consent for male homosexuals was lowered to eighteen by the Criminal Justice Act 2001 (c.4). [3] In 2006, by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2006 (c.3), the age of consent was lowered again to sixteen, becoming gender-neutral for all sexual conduct, regardless of gender and sexual orientation. [4] [5] [6]
Until 2021, Section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 1992 continued to apply the criminal law to some "unnatural offences" between men. Sub-sections (1) and (4) made "buggery" and "gross indecency" between men offences if one or both of the parties is under sixteen and also if the acts were committed "elsewhere than in private." The meaning of this was defined in Section 10: not in private meant that "more than two persons are present" or that the location is "any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise." [7] [8] In 2021, the "more than two persons are present" specification was deleted, and the language prohibiting "indecent exposure" and "sexual activity in a public place" was made gender-neutral. [9]
In July 2021, the Sexual Offences and Obscene Publications Act 2021 passed into law with royal assent. The legislation went into legal effect formally a year later since July 1, 2022 by proclamation. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] This law will pardon historical gay sex offences committed prior to 1992 and is explicitly based on the UK's Alan Turing law of 2017. [15] [16] "A ban on sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapy" was passed into law in 2020 as an amendment added to the very extensive sexual offences bill in the Legislative Council. [17] This came into effect in 2024. [2]
The Isle of Man's Chief Minister Howard Quayle has issued an "unqualified apology" to gay men convicted of same-sex offences under previous Manx laws. He made the comments as a bill, which will see men convicted of consensual homosexual offences pardoned, had its final reading in the House of Keys. Mr Quayle said he could not erase "past injustice" but hoped new legislation would "start to heal some of the pain". Gay rights campaigner Alan Shea said it was a "great day for the Isle of Man". "The families that have lost children have just received an apology. Maybe now we can all heal, but parents will never forget their children," he said. Homosexual acts were decriminalised on the Isle of Man in 1992, 25 years later than in England and Wales, and 12 years after Scotland. [18] In August 2022, on the 30th anniversary of homosexuality being decriminalised the police commissioner on the Isle of Man - also formally apologised for enforcement of the anti-gay laws up until 1992. [19]
Same-sex unions can be recognised through civil partnerships or marriage. The Isle of Man Parliament legalised civil partnerships in April 2011 and same-sex marriages in July 2016.
Since 2011, same-sex couples have been provided with civil partnerships. [20] A civil partnership bill passed all stages of both the House of Keys and the Legislative Council and was signed into law on 15 March 2011. The Civil Partnership Act 2011 (c. 2) took effect on 6 April 2011. [21] [22] [23] [24] It was decided in 2014 that same-sex marriages from England, Wales and Scotland as well as other relationships performed abroad would be treated as civil partnerships on the island, until same-sex marriage is legalised. [25]
On 9 June 2015, Chief Minister Allan Bell announced his intention to repeal the law barring same-sex marriage on the island. [26] Following public consultation on the issue, a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the Isle was introduced to House of Keys on 2 February 2016. [27] A public consultation and government response was concluded by 22 January 2016, [28] and the bill passed its third reading in the House on 8 March by a vote of 17–3. [29] [30] Following a number of technical amendments at the clauses stage, the bill passed its third reading in the Legislative Council on 26 April 2016 by a vote of 6–3. [31] [32] The House of Keys unanimously approved the amendments to the bill on 10 May, [33] and royal assent was granted on 19 July 2016. [34] The law went into effect on 22 July 2016. [35] [36] Lee Clarke-Vorster has been noted in Hansard as main campaigner for the same-sex marriage bill.
The first same-sex marriage to be registered on the Isle of Man was that of Marc and Alan Steffan-Cowell, who converted their civil partnership into a marriage on 25 July 2016. [37] The first same-sex marriage to be performed on the island occurred on 30 July, between Luke Carine and Zak Tomlinson. [38]
Since November 2023, certain churches have applied for marriage licences so they can legally perform same-sex marriage on the Isle of Man. [39]
By the Civil Partnership Act 2011 (c. 2), same-sex couples in the Isle of Man have been granted equal access to full joint or stepchild adoption since 6 April 2011.
Additionally, lesbian couples have access to artificial insemination. In August 2023, "community consultation" commenced to legally recognise same-sex couples as parents - just like the UK implemented since 2008. Currently on the Isle of Man same-sex couples are not recognised as parents on birth certificates from IVF and surrogacy, despite IVF access being available. No laws on the Isle of Man acknowledge surrogacy. [40] [41]
Under the Employment Act 2006 (c. 21), which took effect on 1 September 2006, the Isle of Man adopted legislation which made it unlawful to dismiss employees on the grounds of their sexual orientation. [42] [43] At the time, LGBT reports from the Isle of Man stated that the island's Government was "falling behind". [44]
In 2013, after a highly publicised case on the island involving a lesbian couple who were not allowed to rent a house by a church leader, Chief Minister Alan Bell announced that legislation to outlaw all forms of discrimination in goods and services would be introduced. [45] A draft bill, based on the British Equality Act 2010, would replace all existing anti-discrimination laws into one piece of legislation. [46] Consultation on the bill ended in November 2014. [47] In August 2015, the Government published its response to the consultation. [48] The measure had its first reading in the 11-member Legislative Council on 8 March 2016. [49] The bill passed its second reading by a vote of 6-3 on 22 March. [50] 12 amendments to the bill were proposed within the clauses stage and all passed. [51] [52] [53] The bill passed its third reading by a vote of 5-4 on 14 June 2016. [54] The legislation was approved by the House of Keys on 7 March 2017, with amendments. [55] On 28 March, the Legislative Council concurred with the amendments. [56] Royal assent was granted on 18 July 2017. [57] The Equality Act 2017 was phased in, with much of the law having come into force on 1 January 2019. [58] [59]
The Equality Act 2017 (Manx : Slattys Cormid 2017) lists age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation as protected characteristics and grounds of non-discrimination. [59] Sexual orientation is defined as "a person's inherent romantic or sexual attraction towards persons of the same sex, persons of the opposite sex, or persons of either sex". In addition, "not being romantically or sexually attracted to persons of either sex is also a sexual orientation". [59]
In July 2022, community consultation progressed that would soon introduce a hate crime bill within the Isle of Man - that explicitly includes "sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status and gender reassignment". [60]
Transgender persons are allowed to change their legal gender and to have their new gender recognised as a result of the Gender Recognition Act 2009 (c.11). [61] [62]
In August 2022, it was reported by the BBC that the Isle of Man government would formally reform the blood donation policy by introducing a bill, that would legally allow monogamous gay and bi men to donate blood - to be inline with the UK by early 2023. A review of blood donation policies was conducted back in 2014 on the Isle of Man, however no action was taken. [63] [64] Since 1 June, 2023 monogamous gay and bi men can donate blood - non-monogamous individuals who have anal sex regardless of sexuality are banned from donating blood for periods of three months after their last sexual contact. [65]
Same-sex sexual activity legal | (Since 1992) |
Equal age of consent (16) | (Since 2006) |
Gay sex criminal offences expungement or pardon scheme | (Since 2022) [13] [16] |
Anti-discrimination laws in employment | (Since 2006) |
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | (Since 2019) [59] |
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | (Since 2019) |
Anti-discrimination laws concerning gender identity | (Since 2019 - Equality Act 2017 refers to "gender reassignment" and "transgender person") [59] |
Recognition of same-sex couples | (Since 2011) |
Same-sex marriages | (Since 2016) |
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | (Since 2011) |
Joint adoption by same-sex couples | (Since 2011) |
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military | (Since 2000) |
Right to change legal gender | (Since 2009) |
Access to IVF for lesbian couples | (Since 2009) |
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | (Banned for heterosexual couples as well) |
MSMs allowed to donate blood | (Since 2023) [65] [66] |
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2005.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the Republic of Ireland are regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe and the world. Ireland is notable for its transformation from a country holding overwhelmingly conservative attitudes toward LGBTQ issues, in part due to the opposition by the Roman Catholic Church, to one holding overwhelmingly liberal views in the space of a generation. In May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage on a national level by popular vote. The New York Times declared that the result put Ireland at the "vanguard of social change". Since July 2015, transgender people in Ireland can self-declare their gender for the purpose of updating passports, driving licences, obtaining new birth certificates, and getting married. Both male and female expressions of homosexuality were decriminalised in 1993, and most forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation are now outlawed. Ireland also forbids incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation. Article 41 of the Constitution of Ireland explicitly protects the right to marriage irrespective of sex.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Africa have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. South Africa has a complex and diverse history regarding the human rights of LGBTQ people. The legal and social status of between 400,000 to over 2 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex South Africans has been influenced by a combination of traditional South African morals, colonialism, and the lingering effects of apartheid and the human rights movement that contributed to its abolition.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights within the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1993 and the age of consent was equalised to 16 in 2012. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar ruled in April 2013 that same-sex couples have the right to adopt. Civil partnerships have been available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples since March 2014, and in October 2016, Gibraltar voted to legalise same-sex marriage with the Civil Marriage Amendment Act 2016 passing unanimously in Parliament. The law received royal assent on 1 November and took effect on 15 December 2016.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Scotland are generally in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, which have evolved extensively over time and are now regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe. In both 2015 and 2016, Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality".
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Wyoming may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Wyoming since 1977, and same-sex marriage was legalized in the state in October 2014. Wyoming statutes do not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. In addition, the cities of Jackson, Casper, and Laramie have enacted ordinances outlawing discrimination in housing and public accommodations that cover sexual orientation and gender identity.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Isle of Man since 22 July 2016. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples passed the House of Keys on 8 March 2016 and the Legislative Council on 26 April. It received royal assent on 13 July and took effect on 22 July. The Isle of Man was the first Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom to legalise same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Queensland have advanced significantly from the late 20th century onwards, in line with progress on LGBTQ rights in Australia nationally. 2019 polling on gay rights consistently showed that even in regional areas, Queensland is no more conservative about the subject than any other states.
The Australian state of Victoria is regarded as one of the country's most progressive jurisdictions with respect to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people. Victoria is the only state in Australia, that has implemented a LGBTIQA+ Commissioner.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Australian state of South Australia are advanced and well-established. South Australia has had a chequered history with respect to the rights of LGBT people. Initially, the state was a national pioneer of LGBT rights in Australia, being the first in the country to decriminalise homosexuality and to introduce a non-discriminatory age of consent for all sexual activity. Subsequently, the state fell behind other Australian jurisdictions in areas including relationship recognition and parenting, with the most recent law reforms regarding the recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption and strengthened anti-discrimination laws passing in 2016 and going into effect in 2017.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT people. Marriage and civil partnerships have been open to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples since 29 April 2017. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is constitutionally banned. Additionally, attitudes are largely positive; a public consultation found that 90% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Crown dependency of Guernsey have improved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity for both men and women is legal in Guernsey. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2 May 2017 in Guernsey, and since 14 June 2018 in its dependency, Alderney. Legislation approving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in its other dependency, Sark was given royal assent on 11 March 2020. Guernsey is the only part of the British Isles to have never enacted civil partnership legislation, though civil partnerships performed in the United Kingdom were recognised for succession purposes. Since April 2017, same-sex couples can adopt in the entire Bailiwick. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 2004. Transgender people have been able to legally change gender since 2007.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Australian state of Tasmania have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Tasmania has a transformative history with respect to the rights of LGBTQ people. Initially dubbed "Bigots' Island" by international media due to intense social and political hostility to LGBTQ rights up until the late 1990s, the state has subsequently been recognised for LGBTQ law reforms that have been described by activists such as Rodney Croome as among the most extensive and noteworthy in the world. Tasmania's criminal penalties for homosexual activity were the harshest in the Western world when they were repealed in 1997. It was the last Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise homosexuality after a United Nations Human Rights Committee ruling, the passage of federal sexual privacy legislation and a High Court challenge to the state's anti-homosexuality laws. Following decriminalisation, social and political attitudes in the state rapidly shifted in favour of LGBTQ rights ahead of national trends with strong anti-LGBTQ discrimination laws passed in 1999, and the first state relationship registration scheme to include same-sex couples introduced in 2003. In 2019, Tasmania passed and implemented the world's most progressive gender-optional birth certificate laws. In July 2023, the Tasmanian government officially included and also added "asexual or asexuality".
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Australia's Northern Territory have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. The liberalisation of the rights of LGBTQ people in Australia's Northern Territory has been a gradual process. Homosexual activity was legalised in 1984, with an equal age of consent since 2003. Same-sex couples are recognised as de facto relationships. There was no local civil union or domestic partnership registration scheme before the introduction of nationwide same-sex marriage in December 2017, following the passage of the Marriage Amendment Act 2017 by the Australian Parliament. The 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, designed to gauge public support for same-sex marriage in Australia, returned a 60.6% "Yes" response in the territory. LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination by both territory and federal law, though the territory's hate crime law does not explicitly cover sexual orientation or gender identity. The territory was the last jurisdiction in Australia to legally allow same-sex couples to adopt children.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is one of Australia's leading jurisdictions with respect to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The ACT has made a number of reforms to territory law designed to prevent discrimination of LGBTQ people; it was the only state or territory jurisdiction in Australia to pass a law for same-sex marriage, which was later overturned by the High Court of Australia. The Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Queensland and both South Australia and New South Wales representing a population of 85% on Australia – explicitly ban conversion therapy practices within their jurisdictions by recent legislation enacted. The ACT's laws also apply to the smaller Jervis Bay Territory.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) rights in the British Crown dependency of Jersey have evolved significantly since the early 1990s. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1990. Since then, LGBTQ people have been given many more rights equal to that of heterosexuals, such as an equal age of consent (2006), the right to change legal gender for transgender people (2010), the right to enter into civil partnerships (2012), the right to adopt children (2012) and very broad anti-discrimination and legal protections on the basis of "sexual orientation, gender reassignment and intersex status" (2015). Jersey is the only British territory that explicitly includes "intersex status" within anti-discrimination laws. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Jersey since 1 July 2018.
The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland with a population in 2015 estimated to be approximately 88,000. It enjoys a high degree of domestic, legislative and political autonomy through its ancient Parliament Tynwald. By convention, the United Kingdom Government is responsible for the conduct of the international relations and defence of the island. The Isle of Man does not have a written constitution, or a Bill of Rights which sets out its Human Rights. These rights are addressed in the Human Rights Act 2001. The island has also ratified a number of international treaties.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2016.