Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Lesotho face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

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. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

, but female same-sex sexual activity is legal.

Laws regarding same-sex sexual acts

Male same-sex sexual acts are illegal in Lesotho—a sharp contrast to South Africa, which completely surrounds the country.

Discrimination protections

There is no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation

Sexual 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...

.

Living conditions

The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that "it was unknown whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons faced discrimination in employment, housing, access to health care, access to education, or other areas. Homosexual conduct is taboo in society, and is not openly discussed. There were no reports of violence against LGBT persons during the year."