LGBT Rights in Prizren District

Prizren is governed by federal Kosovo law. Learn more
    Homosexuality
    ✔ Legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✖ Unrecognized
    Censorship
    ✔ No censorship
    Changing Gender
    ✖ Legal, but requires surgery
    Gender-Affirming Care
    ✖ Legal, but restricted for minors
    Non-Binary Gender Recognition
    ✖ Not legally recognized
    Discrimination
    ✔ Illegal
    Employment Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Housing Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Adoption
    ✖ Single only
    Intersex Infant Surgery
    ✖ Not banned
    Military
    ✖ Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
    Donating Blood
    ✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
    Conversion Therapy
    ✖ Not banned
    Age of Consent
    ✔ Equal
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Public Opinion

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History

Homosexual activity in Prizren

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Homosexual activity in Prizren is legal.

Current status
Since Jul 22, 1994
Legal
On July 14, 1994, Parliament of Serbia repealed paragraph 3 of article 110 of Criminal Code and thus decriminalized male homosexuality on its entire territory, including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo & Metohija.
Since the self-proclaimed independence of 2008, homosexuality has been legal in the Republic of Kosovo.
Jul 1, 1977–Jul 21, 1994
Male illegal, female legal
On June 28, 1977, the Socialist autonomous province of Kosovo (as part of SR Serbia in then SFRY) passed Criminal Law that criminalized consentual male homosexuality. "Unnatural fornication" between persons of the male sex was punishable by imprisonment for up to one year (Article 81 (3)).
The same sentence remained after reintegration into the legal system of Serbia in 1989.
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Jul 1, 1951–Jun 30, 1977
Male illegal, female legal
The Criminal Code of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia adopted on February 27, 1951 criminalized consensual sexual intercourse between men throughout its territory, including Serbia and its two provinces Vojvodina and Kosovo & Metohija.
Article 186: for unnatural fornication between persons of the male sex, the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment for up to two years.
The 1959 amendment reduced the prison sentence to up to one year.
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Jan 1, 1930–Jun 30, 1951
Illegal (imprisonment as punishment)
The Criminal Code for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia as of October 3, 1929) adopted on January 27, 1929 criminalized "unnatural fornication" without specifying the definition of the mentioned term.
Paragraph 285: for unnatural fornication between persons, the perpetrator shall be punished with strict imprisonment, unless the act turns into a more serious crime.
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Aug 31, 1913–Dec 31, 1929
Male illegal, female legal
Kosovo Vilayet was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia in 1913. The Penal Code of the Kingdom of Serbia passed on March 29, 1860 criminalized sex between men.
Paragraph 206: Unnatural fornication between persons of the male sex to be punished by imprisonment from six months to four years and loss of civil honor.
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Aug 9, 1858–Aug 30, 1913
Legal
In 1858, the Ottoman Empire, then in control of Kosovo, legalized same-sex intercourse.
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Same-sex marriage in Prizren

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Same-sex marriage in Prizren is unrecognized.

Current status
Since Feb 16, 2006
Unrecognized
Aricle 14 of the Kosovo Family Law adopted on January 20, 2006: "Marriage is a legally registered community of two persons of different sexes..."
Constitution from 2008 does not have definition of marriage. Article 28: "Based on free will, everyone enjoys the right to marry and the right to have a family as provided by law. Marriage and divorce are regulated by law and are based on the equality of spouses".
Bearing in mind the fact that the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, the President of the Constitutional Court said in 2014 that Kosovo de jure allows same-sex marriage but that due to political reasons the issue is unclear.

Censorship of LGBT issues in Prizren

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Censorship of LGBT issues in Prizren is no censorship.

Current status
No censorship
LGBT Organizations And Statements About/Around The Community Are In No Apparent Way Affected By Censorship.
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Right to change legal gender in Prizren

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Right to change legal gender in Prizren is legal, but requires surgery.

Current status
Since Jan 1, 1989
Legal, but requires surgery
Change legal gender is possible but requires sterilization
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Gender-affirming care in Prizren

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Gender-affirming care in Prizren is legal, but restricted for minors.

Current status
Since 1979
Legal, but restricted for minors
In 1979, Kosovo adopted the ICD-9 classification, which included codes allowing for the diagnosis of transsexualism in adults.
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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Prizren

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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Prizren is not legally recognized.

Current status
Not legally recognized
Neither non-binary gender nor intersex are recognized in Kosovo
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LGBT discrimination in Prizren

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LGBT discrimination in Prizren is illegal.

Current status
Since Jul 11, 2015
Illegal
On May 28, 2015, Parliament of Kosovo passed new Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which prohibits, among other categories, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all areas.
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Sep 19, 2004–Jul 10, 2015
Illegal in some contexts
Law on Prohibition of Discrimination adopted on February 19, 2004, prohibited, among other categories, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in all areas.
Also, Kosovo Constitution from 2008 prohibits discrimination
based on sexual orientation (Article 24 (2)).

LGBT employment discrimination in Prizren

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LGBT employment discrimination in Prizren is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Jul 11, 2015
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Employment discrimination has been illegal for both sexual orientation and gender identity since the adoption of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination from 2015 (Article 2).
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Sep 19, 2004–Jul 10, 2015
Sexual orientation only
The Law on Prohibition of Discrimination from 2004 prohibited discrimination in Employment on the basis of sexual orientation (Articles 2 and 4).
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LGBT housing discrimination in Prizren

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LGBT housing discrimination in Prizren is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Jul 11, 2015
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Housing discrimination has been illegal for both sexual orientation and gender identity since the adoption of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination from 2015 (Article 2).
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Sep 19, 2004–Jul 10, 2015
Sexual orientation only
The Law on Prohibition of Discrimination from 2004 prohibited discrimination in Housing on the basis of sexual orientation (Articles 2 and 4).
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Same-sex adoption in Prizren

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Same-sex adoption in Prizren is single only.

Current status
Since Feb 16, 2006
Single only
Joint and stepchild adoption are not legal, but there are no restrictions against single LGBT individuals.
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Intersex infant surgery in Prizren

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Intersex infant surgery in Prizren is not banned.

Current status
Not banned
There is no official ban on unnecessary sex reassignment operations in infants in Kosovo.
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Serving openly in military in Prizren

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Serving openly in military in Prizren is lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned.

Current status
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are allowed to serve openly in the military, transgenders aren’t. However, they may face discrimination by peers when serving openly.
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Blood donations by MSMs in Prizren

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Blood donations by MSMs in Prizren is banned (indefinite deferral).

Current status
Banned (indefinite deferral)
According to a 2018 guideline for "Blood Donation Week", those who have "intimate relationships with the same sex" cannot donate blood.
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Conversion therapy in Prizren

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Conversion therapy in Prizren is not banned.

Current status
Not banned
Conversion therapy is not banned in Kosovo.
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Equal age of consent in Prizren

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Equal age of consent in Prizren is equal.

Current status
Since Apr 6, 2004
Equal
Kosovo has an equal age of consent (16 years) for both heterosexual and homosexual sexual activity.
Jul 22, 1994–Apr 5, 2004
Unequal
The age of sexual consent was 18 years old for anal intercourse between men and 14 years for other sexual practices.