By Hugo Greenhalgh
LONDON, Jan 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – From the United States to Japan, the list of countries mulling legislation that impacts LGBT+ rights in 2021 is lengthy, encompassing issues from gay sex to so-called conversion therapy to same-sex marriage.
Conversion therapy will be a major theme in 2021 with potential national bans being considered in Britain, Israel and Mexico.
Gay sex is still illegal in 69 U.N. member states, according to LGBT+ rights group ILGA World, but advocates hope countries such as Kenya and Singapore will follow the lead of Bhutan and Gabon last year in decriminalising same-sex relations.
LGBT+ advocates also hope that U.S. president-elect Joe Biden will overturn a ban on new transgender military personnel, brought in under President Donald Trump.
Here are 10 of the main issues likely to be faced in 2021:
- Marriage equality
Rights activists expect to see same-sex civil partnerships or marriages enacted in countries such as Mexico, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Venezuela this year.
Switzerland’s parliament passed a bill to approve same-sex marriage in December, but the small Federal Democratic Union party has requested the vote be put to a nationwide referendum.
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has also called for a similar national vote to test the mood on same-sex marriage.
- European Union (EU) sanctions on Hungary and Poland
Calls are growing for the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, to impose further sanctions on Hungary and Poland.
In July, the EU said it would withhold funding from a town-twinning scheme to so-called LGBT-free zone towns in Poland, prompting the nationalist government to threaten a legal challenge.
In May, Hungary banned trans people from changing their gender on identity documents.
Last month, the country’s constitution was amended to effectively ban adoption by same-sex couples and mandate that children be raised with “values based on our Christian culture”.
