In 1861, there were 5 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 4 changes made and 1 in the following year. A total of 16 legal changes were made in the 1860s.
- November 1Homosexual activity becomes illegal (up to life in prison as punishment).The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 lowered the maximum penalty to life imprisonment. Subsequent laws, such as The Labouchere Amendment (Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885) redefined the offence and allowed for other punishments, for example Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labour in 1895, and in 1952 Alan Turing was chemically castrated. Female homosexuality and sexual acts were not addressed in the law, and therefore, they technically would have been legal, though the law often applied the law towards women.
- January 1Homosexual activity becomes illegal (imprisonment as punishment).Under colonial era statutes, homosexuality is illegal in Myanmar with up to 20 years in prison. Torture and vigilante executions are also common.
- (date unknown)
- Homosexual activity becomes male illegal, female legal.Male homosexuality is technically punishable with life imprisonment but is rarely enforced.