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factoids

De jure: Rajm>Death by stoning (for married men; in No official recognition. |Sex reassignment surgery is illegal}}| recognition_of_relationships = No recognition of same-sex unions| adoption = No| military = No | discrimination_protections = No protections}}Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Brunei face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of homosexuality are illegal in Brunei. Sexual activity between men is liable to capital punishment, with lesser penalties of imprisonment and whipping applied; sex between women is punishable by caning or imprisonment. The sultanate applied a moratorium on the death penalty in 2019, which was still in effect {{As of|2023|05|alt=as of May 2023}}. The moratorium could be revoked at any time.WEB, HRW Letter to President Joe Biden Re: Human Rights and the US-ASEAN Special Summit,weblink Human Rights Watch, en, 9 May 2022, NEWS, Tan, Yvette, Brunei implements stoning to death under anti-LGBT laws,weblink BBC News, 3 April 2019, NEWS, Robertson, Holly, Brunei enacts Islamic laws to punish gay sex with stoning to death — here's what you need to know,weblink ABC News (Australia), ABC News, 2 April 2019, en-AU, NEWS, Walden, Max, Robertson, Holly, Brunei won't impose death penalty for gay sex — but it's still illegal: Why has Brunei suddenly backflipped on death penalty for gay sex?,weblink ABC News (Australia), ABC News, 8 May 2019, en-AU, OutRight Action International has described Brunei as "the country that has the most worrisome state of rights for LGBT people in Southeast Asia". LGBT Bruneians feel the need to remain very discreet about their sexual orientation.The Brunei Project, established in 2015, seeks to promote human rights, including religious freedom, free speech, and LGBT rights in Brunei through social media. The group organised a private community event in 2016, celebrating Brunei's first "International Day Against Homophobia" event.Welcome to IDAHOT Newbies!

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

{{wikisource|Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013}}Same-sex sexual activity became illegal in Brunei in 1906 when the sultanate became a British Protectorate. Straits Settlements (British territories in southeast Asia) law was applied by the 1906 Courts Enactment, which was repealed and updated by the Courts Enactment 1908.{{multiref2|1=JOURNAL, Mansurnoor, Iik A., Re-establishing Order in Brunei: The Introduction of the British Legal System during the Early Residential Period, Islamic Studies, 2013, 52, 2, 155–182,weblink 0578-8072, ASEAN Law Association – Legal system historical overview|2=BOOK, Han, Enze, 3 May 2018, British Colonialism and the Criminalization of Homosexuality, Routledge, 9781351256186, 34, |3=BOOK, Tarring, Charles James, 1913, Chapters on the Law Relating to the Colonies, Stevens and Haynes, 136, }}Homosexual activity remained illegal after Brunei gained independence in 1984. Before the 2019 implementation of the {{not a typo|}} Penal Code Order (SPCO), homosexual acts were punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, even if they were private and consensual. From 2014, Brunei began a staged implementation of Sharia () law. Provisions of the SPCO dealing with adultery and sodomy, prescribing death by stoning and corporal punishments, were scheduled to come into force on 3 April 2019.NEWS, LGBT+ people to be stoned or whipped to death in Brunei under new sex law, Tom, Barnes, The Independent, 28 March 2019, 2 April 2019,weblink Following widespread international condemnation and media attention, which includedNEWS, Brunei to punish gay sex and adultery with death by stoning, CNN News, 27 March 2019,weblink 2 April 2019, Ben, Westcott, NEWS, George Clooney, Clooney, George, George Clooney: Boycott Sultan of Brunei's Hotels Over Cruel Anti-Gay Laws, 28 March 2019,weblink Deadline Hollywood, 28 March 2019, an open letter from American actor George Clooney calling for the boycott of the Sultan of Brunei's luxury hotels—The Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air among them—the Brunei government extended its moratorium on the death penalty to encompass the SPCO in May 2019. Under the moratorium, the code's death by stoning penalty provisions are not enacted, for as long as the moratorium continues.NEWS,weblink Brunei backs down on gay sex death penalty after international backlash, 6 May 2019, 6 May 2019, CNN News, NEWS, Mahtani, Shibani, Brunei backs away from death penalty under Islamic law,weblink Washington Post, 6 May 2019,weblink 8 May 2019, NEWS, Brunei death penalty moratorium applied to new Shariah laws,weblink AP NEWS, Associated Press, 6 May 2019, en, The moratorium could be lifted at any time by the sultanate, allowing such death-by-stoning punishments to commence.REPORT, Office of International Religious Freedom, United States Department of State, 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Brunei,weblink United States Department of State, June 2, 2022, A 2019 de facto moratorium on the death penalty remained in place., As the sultan is an absolute monarch with full executive power, removing the moratorium and reinstating capital punishment would require minimal process and could occur without warning.When the move to Sharia law was announced, the United Nations urged Brunei to review its laws in this area, which has been described by media outlets as "medieval", and "uncivilized".NEWS,weblink Brunei's LGBT Community Faces Terrifying Future, Dominique, Mosbergen, The Huffington Post, 15 October 2015, 2 April 2019, NEWS,weblink Brunei Returns to the Stoning Age, Jay, Michaelson, Jay Michaelson, The Daily Beast, 22 April 2014, 2 April 2019, Their implementation was delayed until April 2019, after the Sultan declared that these laws should be regarded as "special guidance" from God. LGBT people, as well as the Christian and Buddhist minorities, have been advised by international human rights activists to remain discreet in the country. Anyone convicted of "tarnishing the image of Islam" may be heavily punished.Under the SPCO, the de jure penalty for same-sex sexual relations between men is death by stoning, if married, provided they admit to the acts or four male adult Muslim eyewitnesses testify to the acts. If the evidentiary standards are not met, the maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment and a whipping of thirty strokes.REPORT, ((ILGA World)), Lucas Ramon Mendos, Kellyn Botha, Rafael Carrano Lelis, Enrique López de la Peña, Ilia Savelev, Daron Tan, State-Sponsored Homophobia report: 2020 global legislation overview update, 14th, Death penalty: Brunei, 42−45, en, 14 December 2020,weblink ILGA, Geneva, 15 December 2020,weblink This is also the de facto penalty while the moratorium on the death penalty continues. For unmarried men, one year in prison or 100 lashes is the penalty. Sexual relations between women is punishable by a combination of any two of three stipulated penalties: a caning of forty lashes, a maximum prison term of 10 years, and a fine of up to B$40,000.NEWS, Brunei introduces stoning to death for gay sex, adultery,weblink Yahoo News, Agence-France Presse, 4 April 2019, en-AU, WEB,weblink Country Profile: Brunei, Human Dignity Trust, 18 February 2019,

Gender identity and expression

Brunei does not allow changing one's name or gender on official documents.WEB, ILGA Trans Legal Mapping Report 2017,weblink 2021-03-07, Sex reassignment surgery is not allowed.WEB,weblink LGBTIQ Rights in Southeast Asia - Where We Stand and Pathway Forward, mmoneymaker, 2017-06-20, OutRight, en, 2019-07-23, 3 April 2019,weblink dead, On 11 March 2015, a civil servant was fined B$1,000 under the {{not a typo|}} Penal Code Order for cross-dressing.NEWS, Bruneian civil servant fined $1,000 for cross-dressing, Ak Md Khairuddin Pg Harun, 11 March 2015, 2 April 2019, Brunei Times,weblink dead, 13 March 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150313161723weblink">weblink

Living conditions

The LGBT community in Brunei is very hidden and secret. Bruneian society tends to associate homosexuality with "effeminate men".In 2011, academics at the University of Brunei made a formal study of gay people in Brunei. The study illustrated how they chose to remain silent and discreet about their sexual orientation. The researchers were only able to find 29 LGBT respondents, some of whom were foreigners.Gay Life in Brunei The country had a total population of 460,345 as of 2020.WEB,weblink Department of Economic Planning and Development - Population, www.depd.gov.bn, en-US, 2017-12-12,

2017 United States Department of State report

In 2017, the United States Department of State reported the following, concerning the status of LGBT rights in Brunei:REPORT, ((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)), 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Brunei,weblink 2017, United States Department of State, Section 6. DISCRIMINATION, SOCIETAL ABUSES, AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, {{PD-notice}} {{blockquote|Secular law criminalizes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". In July Chapter 22 of the Penal Code Order was amended to increase the minimum sentence for such carnal intercourse to between 20 and 50 years' incarceration. The amendment was primarily applied in cases of rape or child abuse wherein both attacker and victim are male, because existing law covers only assault of a woman by a man. The SPC [Sharia Penal Code] bans {{transliteration|ar|liwat}} (anal intercourse) between men or between a man and a woman who is not his wife. If implemented, this law would impose death by stoning. The SPC also prohibits men from dressing as women or women dressing as men "without reasonable excuse" or "for immoral purposes". There were no known convictions during the year. Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community reported unofficial and societal discrimination in public and private employment, housing, recreation, and in obtaining services including education from state entities. LGBTI individuals reported intimidation by police, including threats to make public their sexuality, to hamper their ability to obtain a government job, or to bar graduation from government academic institutions. Members of the LGBTI community reported the government monitored their activities and communications. Events on LGBTI topics were subject to restrictions on assembly and expression. The LGBTI community reported that the government would not issue permits for such events.}}

Summary table

{| class="wikitable"| Same-sex sexual activity legal15px|No) Penalty (de facto): For men, up to 7 years in prison and 30 lashes; lower penalties exist for unmarried men. For women, maximum 10-year imprisonment or 40 lashes.(File:Skull and crossbones.svg|15px|No) Penalty (de jure, under moratorium): Death by stoning (in abeyance). Lesser penalties for women and unmarried men. Moratorium may be lifted at any time.Several sources:

• REPORT, Office of International Religious Freedom, United States Department of State, 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Brunei,weblink United States Department of State, June 2, 2022, A 2019 de facto moratorium on the death penalty remained in place.,
• NEWS, Kelleher, Patrick, 11 countries where LGBTQ+ people still face death penalty urged to abolish it,weblink PinkNews, 17 May 2022, According to Human Dignity Trust, the death penalty is implemented in Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, and remains a "legal possibility" in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar and UAE.,
• NEWS, Yee, Claudia, What explains Brunei's expansion of the death penalty in 2019?,weblink ELEOS, Monash University, en, 31 August 2021,
• NEWS, Patto, Kasthuri, ASEAN Summit Should Draw Attention to Brunei's Appalling Human Rights Record,weblink The Diplomat: Know the Asia-Pacific, 29 October 2021, The moratorium is still in place, but the human rights situation in Brunei remains appalling.,

| Equal age of consent15px|No)| Anti-discrimination laws in employment15px|No)| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services15px|No)| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)15px|No)| Same-sex marriage(s)15px|No)| Recognition of same-sex couples15px|No) | Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples15px|No) | Joint adoption by same-sex couples15px|No) | Adoption by single people regardless of sexual orientation15px|No)| LGBT people allowed to serve in the military15px|No) | Right to change legal gender15px|No) Laws against men dressing as women and vice versa.| Access to IVF for lesbians15px|No) | Automatic parenthood for both spouses after birth15px|No)| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples15px|No) Men who have sex with men>MSMs allowed to donate blood15pxTITLE=MESSAGE BY THE HONOURABLE DATO SERI SETIA, DR HAJI ZULKARNAIN, BIN HAJI HANAFI, MINISTER OF HEALTH, ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY. THEME: 'WHAT CAN YOU DO? GIVE BLOOD. GIVE NOW. GIVE OFTEN' PUBLISHER=WWW.MOH.GOV.BN, 14 June 2017,

See also

• LGBT rights in Asia
• Caning in Brunei
• Capital punishment in Brunei
• Capital punishment for homosexuality
• Criminalization of homosexuality
• Prince Azim of Brunei

References

{{reflist|25em}}

External links

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190127183017weblink">The Brunei Project

{{Brunei topics}}{{Asia in topic|LGBT rights in}}