LGBT rights in East Timor
Encyclopedia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in East Timor may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in East Timor
, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
or gender identity
. There was a clause against discrimination based on sexual orientation included in the original draft of the Timorese Constitution
but it was voted out by 52 out of 88 MPs before the constitution took effect in 2002.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Discrimination protections
There is no legal protection based on sexual orientationSexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
or gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
. There was a clause against discrimination based on sexual orientation included in the original draft of the Timorese Constitution
Constitution of East Timor
The Constitution of East Timor entered into force on 20 May 2002, and was the country's first constitution after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and from Indonesia, which invaded East Timor on December 7, 1975 and left in 1999 following a UN-sponsored referendum.The Constitution was...
but it was voted out by 52 out of 88 MPs before the constitution took effect in 2002.