Current Version
| Region | Samoa |
| Issue | LGBT discrimination |
| Status | Ambiguous |
| Start Date | 2007 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). However, Samoan customary law in village lands is not required to be constitutional to be registered, nor does it even need to be registered to be enforceable. Cases dealing with customary law can only be appealed to the Land and Titles Court while Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions do not have any binding authority. As an example, Samoan villages have banned people of certain ethnicities or religions from setting up stores or have even banished those groups entirely, despite national law officially forbidding discrimination based on ethnicity or religion. |
| Sources | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam175870.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam222836.pdf https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/35816 https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/5995 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/139300/samoan-village-expels-five-young-people-because-of-their-religious-beliefs |
| Federal Law | Yes |
Revision History (8)
edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Reverting to revision #63425:
Helpful?
0 | Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Illegal in some contexts | (REMOVED) |
| Special Status | Illegal in some contexts | Ambiguous |
edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Doesn’t change the status.
Helpful?
0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | (REMOVED) | Illegal in some contexts |
| Special Status | Ambiguous | Illegal in some contexts |
| Federal Law | No | Yes |
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). However, Samoan customary law in village lands is not required to be constitutional to be registered, nor does it even need to be registered to be enforceable. Cases dealing with customary law can only be appealed to the Land and Titles Court while Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions do not have any binding authority. | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). However, Samoan customary law in village lands is not required to be constitutional to be registered, nor does it even need to be registered to be enforceable. Cases dealing with customary law can only be appealed to the Land and Titles Court while Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions do not have any binding authority. As an example, Samoan villages have banned people of certain ethnicities or religions from setting up stores or have even banished those groups entirely, despite national law officially forbidding discrimination based on ethnicity or religion. |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam175870.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam222836.pdf | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam175870.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam222836.pdf https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/35816 https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/5995 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/139300/samoan-village-expels-five-young-people-because-of-their-religious-beliefs |
Show Difference | ||
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Illegal in some contexts | (REMOVED) |
| Special Status | Illegal in some contexts | Ambiguous |
| Description | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). However, Samoan customary law in village lands is not required to be constitutional to be registered, nor does it even need to be registered to be enforceable. Cases dealing with customary law can only be appealed to the Land and Titles Court while Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions do not have any binding authority. |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam175870.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/sam222836.pdf |
Show Difference | ||
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | Jan 1, 2013 | 2007 |
| Description | Only in Employment only. | Explicit legal protections under: -Mental Health Act (2007): sexual preference or sexual orientation. -Labour and Employment Relations Act (2013): sex, gender, sexual orientation. -Sentencing Act (2016): gender identity and sexual orientation (Aggravating factor). |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/mha2007128/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/laera2013332/ https://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/sa2016121/ | |
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | sexual orientation in employment only. | Only in Employment only. |