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1992 in LGBT Rights

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In 1992, there were 56 recorded legal changes made affecting LGBT people. In the previous year, there were 37 changes made and 31 in the following year. A total of 409 legal changes were made in the 1990s.

  • December 8
    LGBT discrimination becomes no protections.
    Discrimination is systemic. As well homosexuality is currently illegal.
  • LGBT housing discrimination becomes no protections.
    Unknown...
  • LGBT employment discrimination becomes no protections.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes no protections.
    The anti-discrimination provision in the constitution does not even mention "and all other reasons", allowing discrimination based on sexual orientations and gender identities altogether.
  • November 24
    Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Australia responsible for defence.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    LGBTQ+ people are allowed to serve in the Australian army.
  • October 25
    Same-sex marriage becomes banned.
    Constitutionally banned since 1992. A bill that would have allowed civil unions with limited rights for same-sex couples would have been discussed soon in the Parliament but that was taken off the schedule. A court in 2023 stated that a same-sex couple who married abroad cannot register their marriage.
  • October 10
    Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Under federal jurisdiction.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Under federal jurisdiction.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Under federal jurisdiction.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Under federal jurisdiction.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Covered by federal law, Ontario has no provincial military.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Under federal jurisdiction.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Douglas v. Canada (1992) lifts national ban on LGBT involvement in military.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    LGBT soldiers are permitted to serve in the Canadian military.
  • September 24
    Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    Sodomy law remains in the Kentucky statutes but is not enforceable due to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
  • September
    Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    Homosexuality was decriminalised by the Sexual Offences Act 1992.
  • August 10
    Equal age of consent becomes equal.
    Age of consent is equal and is set at 16.
  • June 20
    LGBT housing discrimination becomes no protections.
    No protection is afforded for neither gender identity or sexual orientation
  • LGBT employment discrimination becomes no protections.
    No protection is afforded specifically for sexual orientation or gender identity
  • June 5
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, but requires surgery.
    The first sex change operation in Serbia was performed in 1989 by prof. Dr. Sava Perović, the founder of this branch of medicine in Serbia. The first case of legal gender change was recorded on June 5, 1992, when the Municipal Secretariat for the General Administration of the Municipality of Savski Venac in Belgrade issued a decision approving the correction of the registered gender "from female to male" for a female person in the birth register.
  • May 18
    LGBT housing discrimination becomes no protections.
    Homosexuality is illegal there.
  • Same-sex marriage becomes unrecognized.
    Marriage is not recognized. However, it is implied to be illegal for male as male homosexuality is illegal.
  • May 17
    Serving openly in military becomes lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned.
    Code pénal suisse. Code pénal militaire (Infraction contre l'intégrité sexuelle): Modification du 21 juin 1991 pp 63-78. Switzerland has yet to allow Trans people to serve in the military
  • May 7
    Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    Homosexual activity has been legal in Estonia since its independence from the USSR.
  • April 6
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, no restrictions.
    The first transgender person to change their legal gender in independent Estonia did so on 6 April 1992. This followed a decision by a medical expert committee convened to assess her case. Her birth certificate was corrected on this date, this was viewed as a pre-requisite to any surgery, which would have otherwise been considered mutilation under the law. While gender-affirming surgery was later carried out, it was not a pre-requisite for legal gender recognition. The state of affairs was not regulated by law, but others were known to have been given authorization by the same medical expert committee to change their legal data. This was ended in around 1994, since the Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of the Interior could not agree on whether surgery should be a pre-requisite for legal gender recognition. During that time, legal gender recognition was not possible. This stand-off eventually resulted in the 1997 decree not requiring surgery for legal gender recognition, in exchange for the relevant minister signing off on every transgender person requesting such recognition.
  • March 30
    LGBT discrimination becomes illegal in some contexts.
    Since 1992, sexual orientation has been recognized for data collection about hate crimes in Michigan. In August 2021, a court in Michigan declared that gender identity is implicitly included within the 1992 hate crime laws of Michigan - under the “gender” interpretation.
  • February 13
    Homosexual activity becomes illegal (up to life in prison as punishment).
    Sections 9 and 12 of Chapter 154 of the Sexual Offences Act criminalized homosexuality. Section 9 of the Act made buggery a criminal offence, punishable upon conviction by imprisonment for life. Section 12 of the Act made it an offence for a person to commit an act of serious indecency on or towards another person, or to incite another person to commit such an act with them or with someone else, punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
  • Equal age of consent becomes n/a.
    From 1992 to 2022, homosexuality was illegal, so there was no age of consent.
  • (date unknown)
    Gender-affirming care becomes legal, but restricted for minors.
    In 1992, Philippines adopted the ICD-9 classification, which included codes allowing for the diagnosis of transsexualism in adults.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes no protections.
    In the areas administrated by the palestinian authority and the gaza strip, there is no protections for lgbt personel. For Israeli citizens in the Occupied West Bank; Employment, Hate Speech and Good & Services Discriminations covered.
  • Equal age of consent becomes unequal.
    The Sexual Offences Act 1992 decriminalised homosexual activity but set the age of consent for same sex male couples to 21, which was reduced to 18 in 2001 by the Criminal Justice Act 2001, compared to 16 for heterosexual couples.
  • January 1
    Right to change legal gender becomes legal, no restrictions.
    No surgery required since 2018. Missing non binary options on documents.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes no protections.
    Homosexuality is illegal. As well physical and violent homophobic attacks against LGBT people are common, often encouraged by the media and religious and political leaders. Reports of young gay people being kicked out of their homes are also common. Discrimination in state employment only.
  • Same-sex adoption becomes single only.
    Legalization pending.
  • LGBT housing discrimination becomes gender identity only.
    For transgender people only
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Nationwide.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
  • LGBT employment discrimination becomes no protections.
    Discrimination protections pending.
  • Serving openly in military becomes legal.
  • Serving openly in military becomes don't ask, don't tell.
    No other laws in place.
  • LGBT housing discrimination becomes sexual orientation and gender identity.
    Full discrimination protection.
  • LGBT employment discrimination becomes sexual orientation and gender identity.
    Under Hates Crimes.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
  • (date unknown)
    LGBT employment discrimination becomes sexual orientation only.
    Gender identity is not spelled out in the BC Human Rights Code
  • LGBT employment discrimination becomes sexual orientation only.
    In 1992, employment discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was outlawed.
  • Homosexual activity becomes legal.
    Article 124.1 that prohibits male-male sex was repealed in 1992
  • Equal age of consent becomes equal.
  • Same-sex marriage becomes banned.
    Constitutional ban since 1992.
  • January 1
    LGBT discrimination becomes illegal in some contexts.
    There are legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation in: employment (1992), the provision of goods and services (2000), health (2004) and education (2014). The Student Rights Law (2014) include "gender identity" among the protected grounds of discrimination.
  • (date unknown)
    Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Homosexuals can serve openly in all branches of the military.
  • January 1
    Serving openly in military becomes legal.
    Technically, homosexuals can serve openly in the military. There are no laws protecting them against discriminations though.
  • LGBT discrimination becomes illegal in some contexts.
    Illegal (housing discrimination) for transgender people
  • (date unknown)
    Equal age of consent becomes equal.
    Consensual age is Switzerland is 16 years old, unless the difference in age between the persons involved is not more than 3 years.

LGBT Organizations Founded in 1992