Country Overview
Kyrgyzstan
At a glance
Same-sex Relations for Men Legal Throughout the Country?
Same-sex Relations for Women Legal Throughout the Country?
Legal Gender Recognition Possible?
LGBTI Orgs Able to Register?
View more for this country:
In Kyrgyzstan, consensual same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1998, aligning the age of consent for both different-sex and same-sex sexual acts at 16. Despite this legal progress, the nation still does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions, and a 2016 constitutional amendment explicitly bans same-sex marriage. Transgender individuals are unable to change their legal gender markers due to amendments in 2020 to the Law on Civil Status.
In 2023 and 2024, Kyrgyzstan adopted two discriminatory laws targeting the LGBTI community and restricting the activities of LGBTI organisations. In 2023, the government amended the Child Protection Law to ban the sharing of information on diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, considered “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations.” In April 2024, a “foreign agents” law was adopted, introducing reporting requirements for foreign-funded NGOs, severely hampering their operations and threatening media freedom. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported in 2020 that “[h]ate-fuelled rhetoric and attitudes towards the LGBTIQ community were rampant” and included incitement to violence by members of parliament.
There is no law that protects LGBTIQ people from anti-LGBTIQ hate crimes, which are common and often go unreported for fear of secondary victimization. In 2021 alone, ILGA Europe reported over a hundred cases of hate-based crimes against LGBTIQ people.
*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.
Global Impact
Sub-Saharan Africa
Outright supports LGBTIQ organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and works with mainstream human rights organizations to respect human rights and influence positive changes in laws, policies, attitudes and beliefs that cause discrimination against LGBTIQ people.
United Nations
Our work at the United Nations centers around advocating for the advancement of the rights of LGBTIQ people.
View this regionAsia
Our work in Asia promotes acceptance of sexual and gender diversity at all levels of society.
View this regionSouthwest Asia and North Africa
In the Southwest Asia and North Africa, we partner with local groups in various countries as part of our international solidarity work. We also work with our local partners on different topics through capacity building, advocacy, research and holistic security.
Europe and Central Asia
Outright International partners with activists to fight for an end to human rights violations based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in Europe and Central Asia, where most of our work involves emergency responses to harassment, discrimination, violence, and most recently, Russia’s brutal and expanded invasion of Ukraine.
Americas
Our work in the Americas continues to build on the fundamental and positive transformation of human rights protections in recent years. We partner with groups in the Caribbean that focus on ending gender-based violence and eradicating discrimination against trans people.
Pacific
Our work in the Pacific aims to increase the visibility of activists, respond to human rights emergencies, and actively bridge local, regional, and international activism to achieve equality and justice.
Global
View this region
Human Rights Research
Since 1990, we have partnered with activists from all over the world to produce hundreds of groundbreaking reports.
Read Our Reports