LGBT Rights in Latvia

Homosexuality: ⚢
✔ Legal
Gay Marriage: ⚭
✖ Civil unions (limited rights)
Censorship: ✔ No censorship
Changing Gender: ✖ Legal, but requires surgery
Gender-Affirming Care: ✔ Legal
Non-Binary Gender Recognition: ✖ Not legally recognized
Discrimination: ✖ Illegal in some contexts
Employment Discrimination: ✖ Sexual orientation only
Housing Discrimination: ✖ No protections
Adoption: ✖ Single only
Intersex Infant Surgery: ✖ Not banned
Military: ✖ Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
Donating Blood: ✔ Legal
Conversion Therapy: ✖ Not banned
Age of Consent: ✔ Equal

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Public Opinion

Suggest Public Opinion Data

Recent studies in Latvia show a discernible level of opposition to LGBTQ+ rights among the population.

OPPOSE

SUPPORT

Percentage of the LBGTIQ population who have experienced a conversion practice (EU) (2023)

Ranked #1 of 30 regions

Question: Have you experienced any of the interventions to change your sexual orientation and/or gender identity including: intervention by family members; prayer, religious ritual or religious counselling; psychological or psychiatric treatment; medication; physical violence (such as beatings); sexual violence; verbal abuse or humiliation; other?

Source: FRA - EU Agency for fundamental rights, June-Avgust 2023

Yes

29%

27.7%

study avg.

Comfort with having the highest elected political position be gay, lesbian or bisexual (EU) (2015)

Ranked #24 of 28 regions

Question: And using a scale from 1 to 10, please tell me how you would feel having a person from each of the following groups in the highest elected political position in (OUR COUNTRY). '1' means that you would feel "not at all comfortable" and '10' that you would feel totally comfortable". A gay, lesbian, or bisexual person

Source: Eurobarometer, May 30th to June 8th 2015

Total Uncomfortable (1-4)

51%

28.1%

study avg.

Total Comfortable (7-10)

21%

46.3%

study avg.

Comfort working with a gay, lesbian, or bisexual colleague (EU) (2015)

Ranked #24 of 28 regions

Question: Regardless of whether you are actually working or not, please tell me, using a scale from 1 to 10, how comfortable you would feel if one of your colleagues at work belonged to each of the following groups? '1' means that you would feel "not at all comfortable" and '10' that you would feel "totally comfortable".A gay, lesbian or bisexual person?

Source: Eurobarometer, May 30th to June 8th 2015

Total Uncomfortable (1-4)

34%

18.2%

study avg.

Total Comfortable (7-10)

37%

56.9%

study avg.

Show 21 More

Orthodox Christian Support for Church's Position of Refusing to Perform Same-Sex Marriage

(Pew Research Center, 2017)

84%

Support

10%

Oppose

Perception of LGBTQ+ People

Rate This Region

Survey results from 9 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Latvia.

Overall
Overall

Perceived Safety*
Feel safe being open
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment
Treatment by peers
Treatment by family
Treatment at work
Treatment at school
Treatment by general public
Treatment by businesses
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation
Inclusion in education
Representation in entertainment
Representation in news
Political support
Out public figures

Culture
Pride/events
Nightlife
Dating life
Interest groups and clubs

Services
Health and wellness
Gender-affirming care
Support and social services
Advocacy and legal

History

Homosexual activity in Latvia

Homosexual activity in Latvia is legal.

Current status

Since 1992

Legal

Article 124.1 that prohibits male-male sex was repealed in 1992

LGBT Rights in Latvia

Public Opinion

Perceptions of local area as a "good place" for gay and lesbian people (2023)

Hide being LGBTIQ at work 'often’ or ‘always' (EU) (2023)

Percentage of the LBGTIQ population who have experienced a conversion practice (EU) (2023)

Belief that LGBTI+ is “an immoral and decadent ideology” (2023)

Acceptance of LGBTI+ people’s rights (2023)

Justifiability of homosexuality (2022)

Acceptance of homosexuals as neighbors (2022)

Support for the right of gay and lesbian people to live freely (2020)

Acceptance of having a close gay family member (2020)

Perceived prevalence of discrimination against sexual orientation (European Union) (2019)

Acceptance of same-sex relationships (European Union) (2019)

Support for transgender people changing legal gender (European Union) (2019)

Perceived prevalence of discrimination against transgender people (European Union) (2019)

Acceptance of having a close gay family member (2018)

Support for the right of gay and lesbian people to live freely (2018)

Support for same-sex marriage in Central and Eastern Europe (2016)

"Should society accept homosexuality?" (Eastern/Central Europe) (2016)

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people (EU) (2015)

There is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex (EU) (2015)

Support for same-sex marriage (EU) (2015)

Comfort with having the highest elected political position be gay, lesbian or bisexual (EU) (2015)

Comfort working with a gay, lesbian, or bisexual colleague (EU) (2015)

Perceptions of local area as a "good place" for gay and lesbian people (2013)

Support for the right of gay and lesbian people to live freely (2008)

Perceptions of local area as a "good place" for gay and lesbian people to live (2007)

Acceptance of homosexuals as neighbors (1999)

Justifiability of homosexuality (1999)

Orthodox Christian Support for Church's Position of Refusing to Perform Same-Sex Marriage

Perception of LGBTQ+ People

Overall

Perceived Safety*

Equal Treatment

Visibility & Representation

Culture

Services

History

Homosexual activity in Latvia

Same-sex marriage in Latvia

Censorship of LGBT issues in Latvia

Right to change legal gender in Latvia

Gender-affirming care in Latvia

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Latvia

LGBT discrimination in Latvia

LGBT employment discrimination in Latvia

LGBT housing discrimination in Latvia

Same-sex adoption in Latvia

Intersex infant surgery in Latvia

Serving openly in military in Latvia

Blood donations by MSMs in Latvia

Conversion therapy in Latvia

Equal age of consent in Latvia

LGBT Rights by District

Equality Rank

Top Contributors

Latvia LGBT Organizations

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