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Legal changes and major events since 1 January 2026 that affect a country's score in the GayOut Gay Travel Index. Scope: 2026 only, national level. Every dated row was checked against a primary or institutional source (courts, governments, HRW, Amnesty, Human Dignity Trust, ILGA, OHCHR, UNAIDS, TGEU) or a wire/newspaper report. No travel indexes or booking sites are used as sources. Items that could not be verified sit in their own section and are not to be scored. Events dated 2025 or earlier are out of scope and were removed.
Compiled 29 August 2026 · 4th pass · for release 2026.3 / 2026.4| Date | Country | What changed | Index effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Aug 2026 | Ecuador | Adoption reform law (passed 118–0) enters into force: on top of the existing bar on same-sex couples, it explicitly excludes single lesbian, gay and bisexual people from adopting, and makes a parent's "promotion" of gender-affirming care for a trans child grounds for losing parental rights. | Partnership / family ↓ · Anti-discrimination ↓ | HRW |
| 25 Jul 2026 | Germany | Van driven into the crowd on the fringe of Berlin CSD near Potsdamer Platz, followed by a machete attack: one woman killed, 29–31 injured. Event cancelled. Suspect (21, known Islamist, convicted in May 2026 of planning an attack but given a suspended sentence) shot dead by police the next day. Government treats it as an Islamist terrorist attack. | Enforcement / safety ↓ (event) — statute unchanged; note on Berlin city page | Berlin.dedeutschland.de (federal)Euronews |
| 30 Jun 2026 | United States | Supreme Court, Little v. Hecox / West Virginia v. B.P.J. (6–3, Kavanaugh): state laws limiting girls' and women's school sports to "biological sex" violate neither Title IX nor Equal Protection. Reverses the 4th and 9th Circuits; clears enforcement in 27 states. | Anti-discrimination ↓ (trans) · already in ↓ 2026 |
SCOTUSblogFoley Hoag |
| 11 Jun 2026 | Niger | New Criminal Code (Ordonnance 2026-09 of 16 Feb) enacted. Arts 390–393: 5–10 years and up to 100 million CFA for same-sex relations; 10–20 years for same-sex marriage, also for officiants, witnesses and organisers; up to 20 years for managing or financing an LGBTQ organisation. Art 394: no mitigating circumstances, no suspended sentences. First criminalisation in Niger's history. | Criminalisation ↓↓↓ · "Criminalized" tier · badge: NEWLY CRIMINALIZED 2026 |
Front Line DefendersHuman Dignity TrustAP / Washington Post |
| Mar–May 2026 | Russia | Courts in seven regions ban nine LGBT support groups as "extremist": Coming Out, LGBT Resource Centre, Parni Plus (22 Apr, Orel), Moscow Community Center, Irida, Russian LGBT Network (27 Apr), Kallisto, T9 NSK, Centre T. In late April journalist Vadim Vaganov becomes the first named individual labelled "extremist" under the LGBT designation. | Enforcement ↓↓ · supports "De facto criminalized" label | HRWILGA-Europe |
| 29 May 2026 | Ghana | Parliament passes the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill (voice vote): up to 3 years for same-sex relations, 3–5 years for promotion, sponsorship or support; duty to report; LGBTQ organisations to dissolve. Awaiting presidential assent — Mahama has said he will sign but raised quorum and procedural concerns. | Criminalisation ↓ only once signed · Enforcement ↓ now (chilling effect documented) | France 24Health Policy Watch (Mahama quotes)Human Dignity Trust |
| 2 / 15 Apr 2026 | Belarus | Upper house approves (2 Apr) and Lukashenko signs (15 Apr) Article 19.16 of the Administrative Code: "propaganda of homosexual relations, sex change, childlessness and paedophilia". Fines, community service or up to 15 days' arrest; stricter if accessible to minors. | Expression ↓ · Enforcement ↓ · badge already on table | OHCHRTGEUBelarusian Helsinki Committee |
| Mar 2026 | India | Parliament approves an amendment to the Transgender Persons Act replacing self-identification with mandatory medical-board examination.needs primary link | Gender recognition ↓ | ILGA World (June 2026 update) |
| 31 Mar 2026 | Senegal | President Faye signs the law. Article 319 now: 5–10 years and fines up to 10 million CFA for any same-sex sexual act; 3–7 years for glorifying or financing "homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality". First conviction under the new law on 13 April. | Criminalisation ↓↓ · Expression ↓ · badge: LAW CHANGE 2026 |
Human Dignity TrustAfricanews |
| 31 Mar 2026 | United States | Supreme Court, Chiles v. Salazar (8–1, Gorsuch): Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors, as applied to talk therapy, regulates speech by viewpoint and must meet strict scrutiny. Reversed and remanded; puts the ~25 state bans in doubt where they cover talk therapy. | Anti-discrimination ↓ · sub-national variance ↑ | Supreme Court opinion (PDF)SCOTUSblog |
| 15 Mar 2026 | Kazakhstan | New constitution approved by referendum (87% on 73% turnout), signed 17 March, in force 1 July. Defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman — a constitutional bar on any same-sex recognition — and removes the primacy of international treaties over domestic law. Follows the December 2025 "propaganda" ban. | Partnership ↓ (constitutional bar) · Enforcement ↓ · badge: LAW CHANGE 2026 (replace "clampdown") |
FIDHChatham House |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Senegal | National Assembly passes government bill 135–0 (3 abstentions) doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex acts to 10 years and criminalising "promotion" and financing. | Criminalisation ↓ (pending assent) | DW via AllAfrica |
| 24 Feb 2026 | Russia | St. Petersburg court designates Coming Out an "extremist organisation" in a closed hearing — first LGBT organisation formally banned since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling. | Enforcement ↓ | HRW |
| 4–9 Feb 2026 | Senegal | Police in Dakar arrest 12 men, including TV presenter Pape Cheikh Diallo, on same-sex-relations and HIV-transmission charges; 60+ detained by early April. Refugee flows to Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo. | Enforcement ↓↓ | The New HumanitarianFrance 24 |
| 21 Jan 2026 | Russia | Justice Ministry lists ILGA World as an "undesirable" foreign organisation (with eight other US and European groups). Any cooperation by Russian citizens or entities becomes a criminal offence, up to six years. | Enforcement ↓ · freedom of association | ILGA WorldILGA-Europe |
| 2 Jan 2026 | Indonesia | Revised Criminal Code enters into force. Articles 411–412 criminalise sex and cohabitation outside marriage. No explicit same-sex ban, but same-sex couples cannot marry, so the provisions can be applied to them; raids on bars, clubs and saunas continue. | Criminalisation ↓ (de facto) · Enforcement ↓ | Human Dignity TrustHRW (on the code) |
| Date | Country | What changed | Index effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2026 | Cuba | Civil Registry Law 180/2025 enters into force: legal gender change by administrative request with a CENESEX multidisciplinary report — no surgery, no court order.confirm in-force date on minjus.gob.cu | Gender recognition ↑ | Thomson Reuters FoundationLaw 180/2025 — minjus.gob.cu (link to add) |
| Mar / 7 Aug 2026 | Bolivia | A constitutional chamber rules in March that the civil registry must record a lesbian couple's union as a civil marriage; the wedding takes place in Santa Cruz on 7 August — Bolivia's first. The ruling binds only this couple; Article 63 of the constitution still defines marriage as woman and man. The Plurinational Constitutional Court will review, which could set a precedent. | Partnership ↑ (case-specific) · keep "civil union"; badge: FIRST MARRIAGE 2026 |
HRWMercoPress |
| 25 Jun 2026 | Spain | Congress passes (178–32, 138 abstentions) a Penal Code reform making conversion practices a crime: six months to two years' prison plus professional disqualification, even with consent. Previously an administrative offence under the 2023 trans law. Goes to the Senate. | Anti-discrimination ↑ once in force | PúblicoThe Objective |
| 16 Jun 2026 | Netherlands | Senate passes the Act on the Criminalisation of Conversion Acts 57–75 (lower house 9 Sep 2025): intrusive or systematic conversion practices become a crime, up to two years and €27,500. | Anti-discrimination ↑ | JURISTNL Times |
| 12 Jun 2026 | Israel | First full Tel Aviv Pride parade since 2023 (cancelled 2025 during the Iran war; rally-only 2024). Municipality reports 100,000+; police impede some anti-government marchers. | Scene / Pride ↑ · enforcement note on political-slogan restrictions | Times of IsraelJerusalem Post |
| May 2026 | Poland | First same-sex marriage concluded in another EU state registered in Poland, implementing the CJEU's November 2025 ruling; Interior Minister instructs registry offices to comply. Civil partnerships still not available domestically (see Pending). | Partnership ↑ (partial) — recognition of foreign marriages only | AP / PBSEuronews |
| Apr 2026 | Hungary | Orbán defeated in the April election by Péter Magyar (Tisza). Police find "no grounds for a ban" on Budapest Pride, held 27 June. Parliament passed retroactive two-term limits in June. The 2025 assembly-law amendment and constitutional change remain on the books; the justice minister has said they must be revisited, nothing repealed yet.secondary sources | Enforcement ↑ · statute unchanged · label: "restricted · easing 2026" | TheColu.mn (AFP)Budapest Pride (organisers) |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Botswana | Government notice deletes paragraphs (a) and (c) of Section 164 ("Unnatural Offences") from the Penal Code, six years after the 2019 High Court ruling. Only bestiality remains under the section. | Criminalisation ↑ (statute clean, not just unenforced) · badge already on table | UNAIDSCIVICUS |
| 20 Mar 2026 | Greece | Council of State plenary, decision 392/2026: Law 5089/2024 (marriage equality and joint adoption) is constitutional and compatible with the ECHR; challenges by church-aligned groups dismissed. Six justices dissented. | No score change — legal certainty; remove "NEW 2024" risk note if any | I·CONnect (analysis)Greek Reporter |
| 12 Mar 2026 | EU / Bulgaria | CJEU, Shipova (C-43/24): a member state must allow a national who has exercised free-movement rights to amend gender data in the civil register; Bulgaria's 2023 Supreme Court ban is incompatible with EU law. Also bears on Hungary and Slovakia, which bar legal gender recognition. | Gender recognition ↑ (Bulgaria; pressure on HU, SK) | ILGA-EuropeTGEU |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Ecuador | Constitutional Court (decision of 5 Feb, published 10 Mar; second ruling in April): the Civil Registry may not automatically refuse a gender-marker change to people under 18 solely on age. Partly offset by the August adoption law above. | Gender recognition ↑ | HRW |
| Date | Country | Status | If it lands | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (ongoing) | Hong Kong | Court of Final Appeal's October 2025 deadline for a same-sex partnership framework lapsed after LegCo rejected the bill (Sept 2025). New LegCo seated 1 Jan 2026; no new bill tabled. Government in technical breach of the 2023 Sham Tsz Kit ruling. | Partnership stays "No"; rule-of-law note | Hong Kong Free PressUSALI (NYU) |
| 29 May – Jul 2026 | Poland | Sejm passes the civil partnership ("closest person") law on 29 May; President Nawrocki vetoes it in July. Dead this term unless overridden. | No change — partnership stays "No" domestically | dpa |
| 14–15 Jul 2026 | Botswana | Selelo & Kumile challenge to the Marriage Act heard by a full High Court bench. Outcome not yet published. | Partnership ↑↑ if successful | CIVICUS |
| 8 Jul 2026 | Trinidad & Tobago | Privy Council hears Jones v Attorney General, the final appeal against the March 2025 Court of Appeal decision that re-criminalised same-sex intimacy (max 5 years buggery / 2 years gross indecency). Judgment pending; no evidence of enforcement. | Criminalisation ↑↑ if allowed · keep "in appeal" | Human Dignity TrustJamaica Observer |
| 25 Jun 2026 → | Spain | Conversion-practices Penal Code reform awaiting Senate (see Advances). | Anti-discrimination ↑ on promulgation | Público |
| Feb → May 2026 | Kenya | Court of Appeal again adjourned the constitutional challenge to Penal Code ss. 162 and 165; hearing pushed to May. Outcome not yet published. | Criminalisation ↑ if struck down | Human Dignity Trust |
| 29 May 2026 → | Ghana | Presidential assent pending (see Regressions). | Criminalisation ↓↓ on signature | Health Policy Watch |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Japan | Supreme Court's Third Petty Bench refers six marriage-equality appeals to the 15-justice Grand Bench (five high courts found the ban unconstitutional; Tokyo High Court, 28 Nov 2025, did not). Ruling expected early 2027. | Partnership ↑↑ if unconstitutional | Japan Times |
| Feb 2026 | Turkey | Anti-LGBT articles (Art 225: 1–3 years for behaviour "contrary to biological sex and general morality" or its promotion; up to 4 years for same-sex ceremonies) were dropped from the 11th Judicial Package before the vote; Justice Ministry reported to be preparing them as a standalone bill. Not enacted as of this compilation. | Criminalisation ↓↓ if enacted — "Criminalized" tier | HRWAmnestyTurkish Minute |
| 22 Jan 2026 | Ukraine | Draft revised Civil Code submitted to the Rada defining family as a man and a woman and annulling a marriage on legal sex change. Draft only.needs primary link | Partnership ↓ if adopted; keep isHostileCountry() = false |
Wikipedia (pointer only) |
| Mar → TCP | Bolivia | Plurinational Constitutional Court review of the Santa Cruz marriage ruling could turn a one-couple order into a precedent. | Partnership ↑↑ if generalised | HRW |
Items from the second-pass list that could not be confirmed against a primary or wire source in this sweep. Each needs one link before it moves up. Where the search found something different, it says so.
| Claimed date | Country | Claim | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | United States | Federal ruling on ACA essential benefits; administration asks SCOTUS on military trans ban; Texas drag law struck | Not checked. Federal-court skirmishes, not final law. Note in US profile narrative only. |
| Jun 2026 | United Kingdom | Government publishes draft bill criminalising conversion practices, up to 5 years | Not found. A draft is not law; UK score unchanged either way. |
| Jun 2026 | Kyrgyzstan | Parliament passes at first reading a bill banning legal gender recognition and allowing non-consensual surgery on intersex children | Not found. First reading only; watch. |
| Apr 2026 | Mexico (Querétaro) | Decree allowing self-determined gender-marker change | Not checked; state-level, same as above. |
| Apr 2026 | Uganda | Court of Appeal upholds closure of an organisation for "promoting homosexuality" | Not found in this sweep. Would not change Uganda's tier (already "death penalty possible"). |
| Mar 2026 | Brazil | National law banning children and adolescents from Pride marches enters into force | Conflicts with ILGA, which describes local (municipal/state) laws, not a federal one. Do not score as national. |
| Mar 2026 | Mexico (Guerrero) | Supreme Court strikes the age-18 requirement for gender recognition in Guerrero | Not checked; state-level. Mexico already "Partial" — no score change. |
| Mar 2026 | Portugal | Several bills to limit gender recognition, education, health and services | ILGA confirms bills exist; none reported passed. Watch only. |
| Feb 2026 | Ireland | Government announces scheme to disregard historic convictions for same-sex acts before 1993 | Not checked. Would be gov.ie / Department of Justice. Small positive. |
| Feb 2026 | Australia (Victoria) | Law banning deferrable medical interventions on intersex people unable to consent | Not checked. State-level; Victoria already legislated in 2025 per earlier reporting — confirm commencement date. |
| Feb 2026 | Malaysia | Blocking of dating-app websites linked to the community | ILGA mentions it without a date. Needs MCMC or news source. |
| Feb 2026 | Philippines | Bills filed to recognise some rights of same-sex couples (health, property) | Bills only; not scoreable until passed. |
| Jan 2026 | Kenya | Court of Appeal lets a filmmaker appeal a ban on a film over "promotion of lesbianism" | Not found. Likely the Rafiki line of cases; needs Kenya Law citation. |
The index scores at national level and already flags US sub-national variance. Kansas veto override (19 Feb), South Dakota HB 1184 (20 Mar), Louisiana HB 808 (May, in force 1 Aug), New Hampshire laws (Jul–Aug), California SB 934 (20 Aug): none of these change the US legal composite; they belong in the US country profile as examples of the state divergence the "Legal · varies" label describes. Not verified here.
Compiled from primary sources for the GayOut Gay Travel Index. Rows marked with a flag need one more link before publication. Next sweep: 1 December 2026 (release 2026.4). ← Gay Travel Index · Methodology