In 1984, there were 12 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 41 changes made and 18 in the following year. A total of 257 legal changes were made in the 1980s.
- November 19Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.In 1984, New Jersey provided for legal gender recognition but required proof of surgery.
- November 16
- November 14Same-sex marriage becomes banned.Article 234 of the 1984 Civil Code establishes that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. The Civil Code establishes that "homosexuality" is grounds for divorce, separation and annulment of marriage. The Constitution (1993) establishes that cohabitation is the stable union of a man and a woman (Article 5). On four occasions since 2016, the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) was ordered through judicial means to recognize and register same-sex marriages celebrated abroad, however, the RENIEC appealed all the rulings. In 2020, the Constitutional Court declared inadmissible the appeal for constitutional grievance filed by Óscar Ugarteche, so that the RENIEC would comply with registering his marriage certificate with his same-sex partner, which was celebrated in Mexico. In 2022, the Constitutional Court declared the constitutional grievance inadmissible on the grounds that the registration of same-sex marriages “collides with the notion of marriage contained not only in the Civil Code, but also in the Political Constitution of Peru.” Susel Paredes and Gracia Aljovín filed the lawsuit. In July 2023, the Fourth Constitutional Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima ordered RENIEC to register the marriage of a same-sex couple celebrated in Argentina. The Court decided not to apply Article 234 of the Civil Code in the specific case because it is contrary to the principle of equality and non-discrimination contained in the constitution and international agreements. The decision only applies to the plaintiff couple and does not affect the content or validity of Article 234.
- October 17Same-sex marriage becomes banned.The Republic of Congo Family Code (Law No. 073-84): Section II. Marriage. Article 127. - Definition. "Marriage is the public act by which a man and a woman establish between them a legal and lasting union, the conditions of formation, effects and dissolution of which are determined by this Code."
- OctoberSame-sex marriage becomes banned.In 1984, the Kuwaiti Personal Status Law (1984) came into effect, and Article 1 defined marriage as a contract between a man and a woman. From August 1990 until February 1991, Kuwait was under Iraqi control. As such, Iraq's Personal Status Law (1959) was in effect, and Article 3 also defined marriage as a contract between a man and a woman. After liberation from Iraq, Kuwait reinstated its 1984 Personal Status Law, which continues to define marriage in heterosexual terms.
- August 16
- May 11Equal age of consent becomes unequal.In 1984, New South Wales decriminalised homosexuality but while doing so, set the age of consent to 18 compared to 16 for heterosexual relations.
- Homosexual activity becomes legal.Homosexual activity between men was decriminalized in New South Wales on 11 May 1984 when the Crimes (Amendment) Act 1984 removed all parts of the Crimes Act 1900 that criminalized consensual sex between men. The Crimes (Amendment) Act 1984 was given assent on 31 May 1984 by NSW Governor Sir James Rowland, but the sections legalising homosexual activity came into effect 20 days earlier.
- January 6Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires medical diagnosis.Section 8(3) of the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act (1983) states: "If after registration of birth, the change in any other particular of a person not provided for in this section has occurred, he, if he is twenty-one years of age, or either of his parents or his guardian of he is under twenty-one years of age, may apply to the Registrar directly or through respective district registrar or assistant district registrar for alteration of such a particular in the births register. Thereupon the Registrar shall, if satisfied that the applicant is competent to make the application and on production of documentary proof (in case of change of sex of the child medical certificate from the medical practitioner shall be produced) and on payment of the prescribed fee, cause the said particular of the person to be altered in the original birth information form filed in his office, but without erasing the original entry, and shall instruct the registration officer of the district or sub-district in which the birth of the person was registered to make a similar inscription in his births register and duplicate birth information form filed in his office." The Act must be interpreted in accordance with the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act. Section 8(3) of the Act should be interpreted to provide for the change of sex or gender in the Register. The Act does not specify that ‘change of sex’ must happen in any specific way, nor does it require documentary proof only from a healthcare provider. Unlike most countries, Eswatini's law effectively makes it easier for legal gender change for minors than for adults. However, the law is largely viewed to not be trans-specific, and it is unclear if trans adults are able to legally change their gender under this law.
- January 1Equal age of consent becomes unequal.When the Northern Territory decriminalised homosexuality in 1984, it set the age of consent to 18 compared to 16 for heterosexuality.
- Homosexual activity becomes legal.Consensual same-sex activity has been legal in the Northern Territory since 1984.
- (date unknown)Equal age of consent becomes equal.
LGBT Organizations Founded in 1984
Queensland Council for LGBTI Health
Formerly Queensland AIDS Council, rebranding in progress. Foremost LGBGI advocate group in Queensland. Runs a major clinic and gender service in Tenerife, a suburb of Brisbane.Antinoo Arcigay Napoli