Report
Asexual People's Human Rights
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Publish Date
October 30, 2026
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Asexual people face discrimination due to their sexual orientation, but these abuses are often invisible. This discussion paper is designed to call the attention of policymakers, human rights organizations, and queer movement leaders to these abuses and support discussions on how we can better address the specific needs and demands of asexual people.
This paper is informed by expert input from British asexual activist Yasmin Benoit and ten asexual advocates from Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, and Vietnam who participated in two online focus group discussions in June 2026.
Key Points
- Asexuality is an umbrella term used to describe people who experience little to no sexual attraction toward others, regardless of their gender.
- Asexual people face pathologization, discrimination, and violence linked to their sexual orientation. They are impacted by conversion practices, sexual violence, school bullying, workplace harassment, and healthcare discrimination.
- In some countries, laws that criminalize sexual and gender diversity also make asexuality illegal.
- Laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation rarely include clear protections based on asexuality. Asexual people are entitled to universal human rights protections, and legal protections based on sexual orientation should be understood to be inclusive of asexual people.
- There is a limited understanding of asexual people’s specific needs. Asexuality is largely invisible in research, policymaking, and movement-building for sexual and gender minorities.
- This paper invites policymakers, human rights organizations, donors, queer movements, asexual groups, and other stakeholders working on sexual and gender minorities to develop strategies to advance the inclusion of asexual issues in their work.
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