LGBTQ rights in Solomon Islands | |
|---|---|
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| Legal status | Illegal[1] |
| Penalty | Up to 14 years imprisonment (not enforced, legalisation proposed) |
| Gender identity | No |
| Military | No armed forces |
| Discrimination protections | No |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | No |
| Adoption | No |
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender andqueer (LGBTQ) people inSolomon Islands face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal, punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment, but the law isnot enforced.
Same-sex sexual activity has been illegal since its criminalization in the 1880s.[1][2] Engaging inanal sex ororal sex with another person, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment under Section 160, Chapter 26 of the Penal Code ofSolomon Islands. Attempting anal or oral sex can be punished by up to seven years imprisonment. Acts of "gross indecency", even in private, can be punished with five years imprisonment.[1] However, theUnited States Department of State reported that there were no reports in 2010,[3] 2011,[4] 2012,[5] or 2013[6] of arrests or prosecutions directed at LGBT people.
It is advisable that gay and lesbian citizens and travelers avoid public displays of affection, which could be categorized by the Solomon Islands penal code as an act of gross indecency, a felony, liable to imprisonment for 5 years.[7] The Law Reform Commission proposed legalizing gay and lesbian sexual activity in December 2008, but the move was strongly opposed.[8] The government told theUnited Nations in 2011 that it had no intention of decriminalising homosexuality.[9]
Solomon Islands does not recognise same-sex unions in any form.
In 2017, in a speech to a local church group,Prime MinisterManasseh Sogavare stated his opposition to same-sex marriage. In June 2018,Governor GeneralFrank Kabui, while acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people in Solomon Islands and stating that "It is not wrong to [be] born with gay or lesbian inclination, it is said to be biological and is beyond individual control", reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage. He condemned any attempt to change the laws, justifying his position with reference to the criminal code that prohibits same-sex sexual activity and to theBible on Christian religious grounds.[10][11]
Solomon Islands is currently reforming its Constitution. In the first draft of 2009 of the new Constitution of the proposed Federal Democratic Republic of Solomon Islands, "sexual orientation" was explicitly and newly included as a prohibited ground of discrimination. In the 2011 draft and the 2013 draft, there was no mention of "sexual orientation". In the latest second 2014 draft (published on 6 May 2014), "sexual orientation" was not put as a prohibited ground of discrimination.[12] As of 2019, the constitutional reform is still in the process.
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| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  (Illegal. Not enforced, legalization proposed) |
| Equal age of consent | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment only | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (Incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | |
| Hate crime laws include sexual orientation and gender identity | |
| Same-sex marriages | |
| Recognition of same-sex couples | |
| Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | |
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples | |
| LGBTQ people allowed to serve openly in the military | Has no military |
| Right to change legal gender | |
| Conversion therapy banned | |
| Access to IVF for lesbians | |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | |
| MSMs allowed to donate blood | |
