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LGBT Rights in Belarus

    Homosexuality
    ✔ Legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✖ Not legal
    Censorship
    ✖ State-enforced
    Changing Gender
    ✖ Legal, but requires medical diagnosis
    Non-binary gender recognition
    ✖ Not legally recognized
    Discrimination
    ✖ No protections
    Employment Discrimination
    ✖ No protections
    Housing Discrimination
    ✖ No protections
    Adoption
    ✖ Illegal
    Military
    ✖ Don't Ask, Don't Tell
    Donating Blood
    ✔ Legal
    Conversion Therapy
    ✖ Not banned
    Age of Consent
    ✔ Equal

Public opinion polls in particular regions of Belarus have found that homophobic beliefs persist.

Belarus Surveys

Orthodox Christian Support for Church's Position of Refusing to Perform Same-Sex Marriage

82%
Support
10%
Oppose

History

Homosexual activity in Belarus

?

Homosexual activity in Belarus is legal.

Current status
Since Mar 1, 1994
Legal
Only form of homosexuality that is illegal is non-consensual homosexual intercourse
Added by vviet93  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Same-sex marriage in Belarus

?

Same-sex marriage in Belarus is not legal.

Current status
Since Nov 26, 1996
Not legal
Article 32 of the constitution defines marriage to be between a man and a woman.
Added by vviet93  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Censorship of LGBT Issues in Belarus

?

Censorship of LGBT Issues in Belarus is state-enforced.

Current status
State-enforced
No laws restricting but Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule has similar legislation to Putin’s Russia
Added by equaldex  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Right to change legal gender in Belarus

?

Right to change legal gender in Belarus is legal, but requires medical diagnosis.

Current status
Since Jan 1, 2004
Legal, but requires medical diagnosis
Permit for the operation by which a man's body changed to female or vice versa, get about four a year.
In Belarus, such permission shall issue a specially created interdepartmental commission on medical, psychological and social rehabilitation of persons with the syndrome of denial of sex. It is composed of 15 experts of the ministries of Health, Defense, Interior, Justice, Education. The Commission refers the patient to a mental health and psycho-sexological examination. A year later, after a thorough examination by psychiatrists, sexologists, urologists, gynecologists, endocrinologists and geneticists, the board makes a decision - to change this person or not.
Added by gaybynet  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Belarus

?

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Belarus is not legally recognized.

Current status
Not legally recognized
Belarus does not recognize non-binary gender identities and it is not likely to recognize them in the near future.
Added by JohnQuebec98  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

LGBT discrimination in Belarus

?

LGBT discrimination in Belarus is no protections.

Current status
Since Aug 25, 1991
No protections
Even though article 22 states all citizens are equal, sexual orientations and gender identities are not included in the forms of discriminations covered.
Added by vviet93  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

LGBT employment discrimination in Belarus

?

LGBT employment discrimination in Belarus is no protections.

Current status
No protections
The country has no legislation that would protect people from dismissal from work because of their sexual orientation.
Added by gaybynet  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Aug 25, 1991–Sep 9, 2018
No protections
No discrimination protections exist.
Added by Ausyk  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

LGBT housing discrimination in Belarus

?

LGBT housing discrimination in Belarus is no protections.

Current status
Since Aug 25, 1991
No protections
No protection
Sources:
minjust.gov.by
Added by Ausyk  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Same-sex adoption in Belarus

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Same-sex adoption in Belarus is illegal.

Current status
Illegal
Adoption of children by same-sex couples are not spelled out in the legislation, however, when considering an application for adoption, homosexuality is considered a ground for refusal.
Added by gaybynet  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Serving openly in military in Belarus

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Serving openly in military in Belarus is don't ask, don't tell.

Current status
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Open homosexuals can not serve in the armed forces. When injected into the army, homosexuals may be victims of violence from colleagues. The Constitution and laws do not restrict the service of homosexuals in the military.
Added by gaybynet  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Blood donations by MSMs in Belarus

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Blood donations by MSMs in Belarus is legal.

Current status
Legal
No particular limitation for homosexuals. All the procedures and requirements are the same for all donors.
Added by gaybynet  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Conversion therapy in Belarus

?

Conversion therapy in Belarus is not banned.

Current status
Not banned
Unknown.
Added by Ausyk  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Equal age of consent in Belarus

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Equal age of consent in Belarus is equal.

Current status
Since Mar 1, 1994
Equal
The age of consent in Belarus is 16 years, as stated in Articles 168 and 169, which read: "Sexual intercourse, sodomy, lesbian intercourse or other sexual acts committed by adults who have reached eighteen years of age, with a person who is obviously not reached sixteen years of age, with no signs of crimes envisaged by Articles 166 and 167 of this Code, shall be punished by restriction of liberty from two to four years, or imprisonment for a term of two to five years. "and" indecent assault, committed by a person under eighteen years of age, in relation to a person who obviously has not attained the age of sixteen, in the absence of evidence of the crimes stipulated in Articles 166, 167 and 168 of this Code, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to six months or imprisonment for a term of one to three years "
Added by gaybynet  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log


LGBT Rights by Region

View the LGBT laws in each individual region of Belarus.