Country Overview
Vanuatu
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?
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After becoming an independent state in 1980, Vanuatu enacted its first criminal code that decriminalized same-sex sexual acts in 2007, amending the Penal Code Act of 2006. Vanuatu does not have comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBTIQ people, but it does provide legal protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation, sexual preference, and sexual life under the Teaching Service Act of 2013, the Right to Information Act of 2016, the Harmful Digital Communications Act of 2024, and the Data Protection and Privacy Act of 2024.
However, in November 2024, the parliament passed an amendment to the Marriage Act to ban religious, civil, and traditional marriages between two people of the same sex. In addition, in 2024, Vanuatu’s Ministry of Justice and Community Services instructed a committee to develop a national policy to ban all forms of LGBTQIA+ advocacy, promotion, and funding related to the LGBTQIA+ community.
*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.
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