 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "LGBTQ rights in the Republic of the Congo" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
LGBTQ rights in the Republic of the Congo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legal status | Legal since 1940,[1] unequal age of consent |
| Gender identity | - |
| Military | - |
| Discrimination protections | Limited protection based on sexual orientation. |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | No |
| Adoption | No |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in theRepublic of the Congo face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Homosexuality is legal in the Republic of the Congo, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections as opposite-sex couples, with reports of discrimination and abuse towards LGBTQ people.
Same-sex relationships have been legal in the Republic of the Congo since 1940. The text of the 1940 Penal Code, as amended in 2006, only prohibits same-sex sexual behaviour with a person younger than 21 years. There is an unequal age of consent, with it being 18 for opposite-sex sexual activity.[1]
There is no legal recognition of same-sex unions.[citation needed]
There is no broad legal protection againstdiscrimination based onsexual orientation orgender identity. However, some limited protections based on sexual orientation regarding personal data are in place.
TheU.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that,[5]
There was not a large openly gay or lesbian community due to the social stigma associated with homosexuality ... There were no known cases of violence or discrimination against gays, lesbians, or transgendered individuals during the year. While discrimination may exist due to the social stigma surrounding homosexuality, no such cases were reported to the NGOs or covered by the media.
| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  (Since 1940) |
| Equal age of consent |  (Since 1947)[6] |
| Anti-discrimination laws in hate speech and violence | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | |
| Same-sex marriage | |
| Recognition of same-sex couples | |
| Step-child adoption by same-sex couples | |
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples | |
| Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military | |
| Right to change legal gender | |
| Conversion therapy made illegal | |
| Access to IVF for lesbians | |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | |
| MSMs allowed to donate blood | |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)