Adoption by LGBT people in Europe differs in legal recognition from country to country. Full joint adoption or step-child adoption or both is legal in 23 of the 56 European countries, and in all dependent territories.
Full joint adoption by same-sex couples is legal in 23 European countries, namely Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. San Marino and Czech Republic (eff. 1/1/25) permits step-child adoption in which the registered partner can adopt the biological and, in some cases, the adopted child of his or her partner. In Italy stepchild adoption has been recognized by courts since 2016 after the Supreme Court of Cassation stated that a couple in a civil union can adopt their partner’s child.
In dependent territories, joint adoption by same-sex couples is legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Isle of Man and Jersey. Several countries are currently considering permitting full joint or step-child adoption by same-sex couples.
Jurisdiction | Entry into force | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
[1] | ![]() | 25 December 2014 | |
[2] | ![]() | 1 January 2016 | |
[3] | ![]() | 30 June 2006 | |
[4] | ![]() | 26 May 2022 |
|
[5] | ![]() | 1 July 2010 |
|
[8] | ![]() | 1 January 2016 |
|
[9] | ![]() | 1 March 2017 | |
[10] | ![]() | 18 May 2013 |
|
[11] | ![]() | 1 October 2017 | |
[12] | ![]() | 16 February 2024 | |
[13] | ![]() | 27 June 2006 | |
[14] | ![]() | 6 May 2016 | |
[15] | ![]() | 1 June 2023 | |
[16] | ![]() | 1 January 2015 | |
[17] | ![]() | 17 April 2014 | |
[18] [19] | ![]() | 1 April 2001 |
|
[20] | ![]() | 1 January 2009 | |
[21] | ![]() | 1 March 2016 | |
[22] [23] | ![]() | 8 July 2022 |
|
[24] | ![]() | 3 July 2005 | |
[25] | ![]() | 1 February 2003 | |
[26] [27] | ![]() | 1 July 2022 | |
[28] [29] | ![]() | 7 November 2002 |
Non-European Territories: |
Jurisdiction | Entry into force | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 1 January 2025 | ||
![]() | case law since 2016 |
| |
![]() | 11 February 2019 |
|
![]() | This article needs to be updated.(February 2016) |
According to pollster Gallup Europe, women, younger generations, and the highly educated are more likely to support same-sex marriage and adoption rights for gay people than other demographics. [41]
Country | Pollster | Year | For | Against | Don't Know/Neutral/No answer/Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2023 | 65% [42] | 30% | 5% |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 72% [43] | 21% | 7% |
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2006 | 12% [44] | 68% [44] | 20% [44] |
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2006 | 10% [44] | 86% [44] | 4% [44] |
![]() | CVVM | 2019 | 47% [45] | 47% | 6% |
![]() | Pew Research Center | 2017 | 75% [46] | - | - |
![]() | HumanrightsEE | 2023 | 47% [47] | 44% [47] | 9% [47] |
![]() | Taloustutkimus | 2013 | 51% [48] | 42% [48] | 7% [48] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 62% [43] | 29% | 10% |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 69% [43] | 24% | 6% |
![]() | KAPA Research | 2023 | 53% [49] | 41% [49] | 6% [49] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 59% [43] | 36% | 5% |
![]() | Red C Poll | 2011 | 60% [50] | - | - |
![]() | Eurispes | 2023 | 50.4% [51] | 49.6% | 0% |
![]() | SKDS | 2023 | 27% [52] | 23% [52] | 46% [52] |
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2006 | 12% [44] | 82% [44] | 6% [44] |
![]() | Politmonitor | 2013 | 55% [53] | 44% [53] | 1% [53] |
![]() | Misco | 2014 | 20% [54] | 80% [54] | - |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 83% [43] | 12% | 5% |
![]() | YouGov | 2012 | 54% [55] | 34% [55] | 12% [55] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 33% [43] | 58% | 10% |
![]() | Pew Research Center | 2017 | 59% [56] | 28% [56] | 13% [56] |
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2006 | 8% [44] | 82% [44] | 10% [44] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 23% [43] | 67% | 10% |
![]() | Civil Rights Defenders | 2020 | 22.5% [57] | - | - |
![]() | Eurobarometer | 2006 | 12% [44] | 84% [44] | 4% [44] |
![]() | Delo Stik | 2015 | 38% [58] | 55% [58] | 7% [58] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 77% [43] | 17% | 6% |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 79% [43] | 17% | 4% |
![]() | Pink Cross | 2020 | 67% [59] | 30% [59] | 3% [59] |
![]() | Gay Alliance of Ukraine | 2013 | 7% [60] | 68% [60] | 12% 13% would allow some exceptions [60] |
![]() | Ipsos | 2021 | 72% [43] | 19% | 9% |
On 15 April 2021, the European Court of Justice found that a member state is required to grant citizenship to the child of a same-sex couple regardless of the legality of same-sex marriages in that state. A married lesbian couple was living in Spain when they had their first child in December 2019. One woman had Bulgarian citizenship, and the other had British. The Spanish birth certificate designated one mother as “Mother A” and the other as “Mother.” When the Bulgarian woman applied for citizenship for her daughter in Bulgaria, she was denied because Bulgaria does not recognize same-sex unions and registrations. Article 46 of the Bulgarian Constitution reads, “Marriage is a voluntary union between a man and a woman,” hence not allowing for same-sex relationships. [61] However, it was unclear whether their status as a same-sex couple should interfere with the citizenship of their child. The European Court of Justice found that despite Bulgaria’s constitutional objection to homosexual marriages, they could not deny the child their Bulgarian nationality, regardless of whether the child was the legal or biological child of the applicant. Therefore, the child was issued a Bulgarian birth certificate and granted citizenship to Bulgaria. The couple was protected by Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which ensures members’ rights to move freely between countries. [61] The Bulgarian woman’s new residence in Spain did not destroy her child’s right to Bulgarian citizenship.
Two French women who had been living together since 1989 joined a civil partnership agreement in 2002. In 2000, one of the women traveled to Bulgaria for an artificial insemination treatment. Upon birth, only the biological mother was granted parental custody of the child. The other mother applied for a simple adoption in order to obtain joint parental custody and was denied. Article 365 of the French Civil Code clarifies that a simple adoption is available to married couples specifically, but Article 144 prohibited same-sex marriage. [63] Therefore, they could not achieve the legal status required for simple adoption. The women appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that they were discriminated against based on sexual orientation, claiming that their right to a private family life (Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights) and their right to equity under the law (Article 14) had been violated. [62] The court held in a 6-1 decision that the women had experienced no legal violation of Articles 8 and 14, so no simple adoption for joint custody would be allowed. [64]
Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child.
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Denmark since 15 June 2012. A bill for the legalization of same-sex marriages was introduced by the Thorning-Schmidt I Cabinet, and approved by the Folketing on 7 June 2012. It received royal assent by Queen Margrethe II on 12 June and took effect three days later. Denmark was the fourth Nordic country, after Norway, Sweden and Iceland, the eighth in Europe and the eleventh in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the first country in the world to enact registered partnerships, which provided same-sex couples with almost all of the rights and benefits of marriage, in 1989.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Hungary face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is legal in Hungary for both men and women. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex is banned in the country. However, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the same legal rights available to heterosexual married couples. Registered partnership for same-sex couples was legalised in 2009, but same-sex marriage remains banned. The Hungarian government has passed legislation that restricts the civil rights of LGBT Hungarians – such as ending legal recognition of transgender Hungarians and banning LGBT content and displays for minors. This trend continues under the Fidesz government of Viktor Orbán. In June 2021, Hungary passed an anti-LGBT law on banning "homosexual and transexual propaganda" effective since 1 July. The law has been condemned by seventeen member states of the European Union. In July 2020, the European Commission started legal action against Hungary and Poland for violations of fundamental rights of LGBTQI people, stating: "Europe will never allow parts of our society to be stigmatized."
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bulgaria face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex relationships are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015. In July 2019, a Bulgarian court recognized a same-sex marriage performed in France in a landmark ruling. For 2020, Bulgaria was ranked 37 of 49 European countries for LGBT rights protection by ILGA-Europe. Like most countries in Central and Eastern Europe, post-Communist Bulgaria holds socially conservative attitudes when it comes to such matters as homosexuality and transgender people.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Republic of Ireland are among the most advanced in Europe. Ireland is notable for its transformation from a country holding overwhelmingly conservative attitudes toward LGBT 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.
Danish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. In 2023, ILGA-Europe ranked Denmark as the third most LGBT-supportive country in Europe. Polls consistently show that same-sex marriage support is nearly universal amongst the Danish population.
The legal status of same-sex marriage has changed in recent years in numerous jurisdictions around the world. The current trends and consensus of political authorities and religions throughout the world are summarized in this article.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Norway have the same legal rights as non-LGBT people. In 1981, Norway became one of the first countries in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law explicitly including sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage, adoption, and assisted insemination treatments for lesbian couples have been legal since 2009. In 2016, Norway became the fourth country in Europe to pass a law allowing the change of legal sex for transgender people based on self-determination. On 1 January 2024, conversion therapy became legally banned within Norway.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are widely diverse in Europe per country. 22 of the 38 countries that have legalised same-sex marriage worldwide are situated in Europe. A further 11 European countries have legalised civil unions or other forms of more limited recognition for same-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Faroe Islands are relatively similar to that of Denmark. The progress of LGBT rights has been slower, however. While same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the Faroe Islands since the 1930s, same-sex couples never had a right to a registered partnership. In April 2016, the Løgting passed legislation legalizing civil same-sex marriage on the Faroes, recognizing same-sex marriages established in Denmark and abroad and allowing same-sex adoption. This was ratified by the Folketing in April 2017. The law went into effect on 1 July 2017.
Several countries in the Americas grant legal recognition to same-sex unions, with almost 85 percent of people in both North America and South America living in jurisdictions providing marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are complex and diverse in the Americas, and acceptance of LGBT persons varies widely.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2008.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, with an equal age of consent, and there are some anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people. Same-sex couples had access to registered partnerships, which provided them with nearly all of the rights provided to married opposite-sex couples, from 1996 to 2016. On 1 April 2016, a law repealing the registered partnership act and allowing for same-sex marriages to be performed came into effect.
Debate has occurred throughout Europe over proposals to legalise same-sex marriage as well as same-sex civil unions. Currently 33 of the 50 countries and the 8 dependent territories in Europe recognise some type of same-sex union, among them most members of the European Union (24/27). Nearly 43% of the European population lives in jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Greenland since 1 April 2016. Same-sex marriage legislation passed the Inatsisartut unanimously on 26 May 2015. Approval by the Folketing followed on 19 January 2016, and the law received royal assent on 3 February. The first same-sex marriage was performed in Nuuk on 1 April.
Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.
LGBT rights in the European Union are protected under the European Union's (EU) treaties and law. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in all EU member states and discrimination in employment has been banned since 2000. However, EU states have different laws when it comes to any greater protection, same-sex civil union, same-sex marriage, and adoption by same-sex couples.
The second-parent adoption or co-parent adoption is a process by which a partner, who is not biologically related to the child, can adopt their partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first legal parent's rights. This process is of interest to many couples, as legal parenthood allows the parent's partner to do things such as: make medical decisions, claim dependency, or gain custody in the event of the death of the biological parent.
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