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LGBTQ+ Travel

The Worst & Safest Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel

Instead of relying on hearsay and anecdotes from other travelers, Asher and Lyric, a website promoting safe, healthy travel, took a deep look at LGBTQ+ rights, country by country. They’ve gathered data from a variety of trusted international sources to create a “LGBTQ+ Danger Index” that will help you find the worst (and safest) countries for LGBTQ+ travel.

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The index takes the 150 countries with the most international tourists to see which are the worst and safest for queer folk based on eight factors: legalized same-sex marriage, worker protections, protections against discrimination, criminalisation of hate crimes, adoption recognition, whether it’s a good place to live if same-sex relationships are illegal and if there are propaganda and morality laws in place.

These are the top 10 most dangerous destinations for LGBTQ+ people:

  1. Nigeria
  2. Qatar
  3. Yemen
  4. Saudi Arabia
  5. Tanzania
  6. Iran
  7. Sudan
  8. Barbados
  9. Malaysia
  10. Malawi

The top 10 safest are:

  1. Sweden
  2. Canada
  3. Norway
  4. Portugal
  5. Belgium
  6. United Kingdom
  7. Finland
  8. France
  9. Iceland
  10. France

 

There are some places on the planet where it’s perfectly ordinary to kiss or hold hands with a same-sex partner in public, but in other places, that action could result in fines, imprisonment, hard labor, whipping, or, in some cases, death. These countries where homosexuality is illegal are also often severe human rights violators, usually penalizing male/male sexuality and/or trans women most harshly.

Unfortunately, some countries where it’s illegal to be gay or trans also happen to be popular vacation spots. For instance, it’s illegal to be gay in Jamaica; the “buggery law,” which is leftover from the colonial era, allows for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, including hard labor. Jamaica was called “the most homophobic place on Earth” by Time magazine in 2006. That label has clung to Jamaica ever since, and with good reason. In a 2013 survey of 71 LGBTQ+ people conducted by Human Rights Watch, more than half said they had been victims of homophobic violence.

Non-violent discrimination is even more pervasive, with bullying and exclusion faced in education, healthcare, and within local communities. Although there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Jamaica since there are signs that it’s moving toward reform.

Those looking for trans- and gay-travel-safe countries should reconsider popular vacation destinations like Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Myanmar, and Egypt as well as some of the more popular beaches in the Caribbean, like Saint Lucia and Barbados.

As of now, 27 countries have marriage equality (which will soon be 28 once it becomes legal in Costa Rica), and 11 countries provide civil unions or partnerships. Two countries — Bulgaria and Israel — do not allow marriage equality for their citizens but formally recognize marriages overseas (Armenia will as well soon). See a list of same-sex-marriage countries and their laws to see when those laws were enacted and how each country’s laws work.

Countries with marriage equality laws are often great spots for LGBT+ vacations, but be aware that gay travel to rural or fundamentalist communities can be dangerous in almost any country — definitely don’t make assumptions when visiting smaller towns and communities.

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