LGBT rights in the Pitcairn Islands

LGBT rights in Pitcairn Islands

Pitcairn Islands

Status| Legal since 2001
Military| LGBT people allowed to serve openly (British responsibility)
Discrimination protections| Sexual orientation since 2010
Family rights
Recognition of relationships| Same-sex marriage since 2015
Adoption| Legal since 2015
Part of a series on

LGBT rights
in the United Kingdom
By location

United Kingdom

|  |  Scotland

|

|  Northern Ireland

Crown dependencies

|  |  Guernsey

|

|  Jersey
|  Isle of Man

Overseas Territories

|  |  Anguilla

|

|  Akrotiri and Dhekelia
|  Bermuda
|  British Virgin Islands
|  Cayman Islands
|  Falkland Islands
|  Gibraltar
|  Montserrat
|  Pitcairn Islands
|  Saint Helena, Ascension and
Tristan da Cunha
|  Turks and Caicos Islands

Same-sex marriage by territory

|  |  United Kingdom

|

|  Scotland
|  Northern Ireland
|  Guernsey
|  Jersey
|  Isle of Man
|  Akrotiri and Dhekelia
|  Bermuda
|  British Antarctic Territory
|  British Indian Ocean Territory
|  Cayman Islands
|  Falkland Islands
|  Gibraltar
|  Pitcairn Islands
|  Saint Helena, Ascension and
Tristan da Cunha
|  South Georgia and the
South Sandwich Islands

Policy aspects

Sexual orientation

* Adoption
* Age of consent
* Blood donation
* Christian nation
* Civil partnership
* History of violence
* HIV/AIDS
* Military policy
* Same-sex marriage

Gender identity, sex and intersex

* Transgender rights
* Intersex rights
* NHS Gender Identity Development Service
* Gender Recognition Panel

Legislation

Criminality

* Buggery Act 1533
* Offences Against the Person Act 1828
* Offences Against the Person Act 1861
* Labouchere Amendment
* Wolfenden report
* Sexual Offences Act 1967
* Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980
* Homosexual Offences Order 1982
* Section 28
* Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
* Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
* Sexual Offences Act 2003
* Policing and Crime Act 2017
* Alan Turing law
* Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017
* Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018

Protection and recognition

* Public Order Act 1986
* Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999
* Adoption and Children Act 2002
* Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
* Civil Partnership Act 2004
* Gender Recognition Act 2004
* Equality Act 2006
* Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007
* Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
* Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
* Equality Act 2010
* Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
* Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014
* Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019
* Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019

Litigation

* Corbett v Corbett (1969)
* X v United Kingdom (1978)
* Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981)
* R v Brown (1993)
* Sutherland v United Kingdom (1994)
* Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (1999)
* Goodwin & I v United Kingdom (2002)
* HJ and HT v Home Secretary (2010)
* National AIDS Trust v NHS Service Commissioning Board (2016)
* Bell v Tavistock (2021)
* AB v CD and others (2021)

Culture

By city

* Brighton
* Cardiff
* London
* Liverpool
* Leeds
* Manchester

Gay villages

* Birmingham Gay Village
* The Calls
* Canal Street (Manchester)
* Old Compton Street
* Pride Quarter, Liverpool
* Vauxhall

Gay male

* Polari
* Saunas
* Cruising

Organisations

LGBT advocacy & support

* Stonewall
* Hall–Carpenter Archives
* Black Gay Men's Advisory Group
* Akt
* Naz and Matt Foundation
* FFLAG
* LGBT Foundation
* LGBT Network
* Outright Scotland
* Switchboard (UK)
* NUS LGBT
* LGBT+ Liberal Democrats
* LGBT+ Conservatives
* LGBT+ Labour
* Labour Campaign for Trans Rights
* Mermaids
* Press for Change
* The Gender Trust

Pride events

* BiCon (UK)
* Big Gay Out
* Birmingham Pride
* Bourne Free
* Brighton Pride
* Bristol Pride
* Doncaster Pride
* GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival
* Glasgay! Festival
* Homotopia (Liverpool)
* Leeds Pride
* Leicester Pride
* LGBT History Month
* BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival
* Manchester Pride
* Mr Gay UK
* Mr Gay Wales
* Northern Pride
* Nottinghamshire Pride
* Pride Cymru
* Pride Glasgow
* Pride in Hull
* Pride in Liverpool
* Pride in London
* Pride Scotia
* Reading Pride
* Swansea Pride
* Worthing Pride

Former groups

* OutRage!
* Campaign for Homosexual Equality
* Homosexual Law Reform Society
* Gay Liberation Front
* Gay Rights Working Party
* Order of Chaeronea

History

Topics

* Timeline
* List of politicians
* First LGBT officeholders
* Violence against LGBT people
* HIV/AIDS crisis
* Death penalty

Timeline

|  342|  MSM activity made illegal

|

1533|  Death penalty introduced for MSM activity
1543|  Buggery Act extended to Wales
1828 |  Offences Against the Person Act 1828
1835|  James Pratt and John Smith executed
1861|  Death penalty for buggery abolished
1885|  Labouchere Amendment introduced
1889|  Cleveland Street scandal
1895|  Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency
1912|  The Cave of the Golden Calf opens
1921|  Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated
1936|  Mark Weston transitions
1952|  John Nott-Bower begins crackdown
1954|  Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned
1954|  Alan Turing commits suicide
1957|  Wolfenden report released
1967|  MSM activity made legal (England & Wales)
1972|  First British Gay Pride Rally
1976|  Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader
1981|  MSM activity made legal (Scotland)
1981|  First case of AIDS reported in the UK
1982|  MSM activity made legal (NI)
1983|  Gay men barred from donating blood
1984|  Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP
1987|  Operation Spanner begins
1988|  Section 28 comes into force
1989|  Stonewall UK forms
1994|  Age of consent for MSM becomes 18
1997|  Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP
1998|  Bolton 7 found guilty
1998|  Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord
1999|  Admiral Duncan bombing
2000|  Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces
2001|  Age of consent equalised to 16
2001|  MSM activity involving multiple men legal
2002|  Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt
2003|  Section 28 repealed
2004|  Civil partnerships introduced
2004|  Gender Recognition Act 2004
2006|  Discrimination made illegal
2008|  Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples
2008|  Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime
2009|  Public apology to Alan Turing
2010|  Equality Act 2010
2011|  Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral)
2013|  Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP
2013|  Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
2014|  First same-sex marriages take place
2016|  MSM activity not grounds for military discharge
2017|  Turing law implemented
2017|  Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI)
2019|  MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI
2020|  Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI
2020|  Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI)
2021|  Blood donation deferral equalised

* LGBT portal
* UK portal

* v
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, discrimination based on sexual orientation is constitutionally outlawed and same-sex marriage has been legal since 14 May 2015.

## Legality of same-sex sexual activity

[edit]

Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the Pitcairn Islands since 2001.[1]

## Recognition of same-sex partnerships

[edit]

Main article: Same-sex marriage in the Pitcairn Islands

Same-sex marriage became legal in the Pitcairn Islands on 14 May 2015; however, none of the c. 50 Pitcairn Islanders currently residing in the territory is known to be in a same-sex relationship.[2][3] An ordinance to legalise such marriages was unanimously approved by the Island Council on 1 April 2015, and was signed by Governor Jonathan Sinclair on 5 May. It was published on 13 May 2015.[4][5][6] The law, known as the Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015, also provides for the recognition of a registered civil partnership performed outside of Pitcairn. The move to legalise same-sex marriage was widely published on international media. Deputy Governor Kevin Lynch said that the change had been suggested by British authorities. A local resident said the law "wasn't even a major point of discussion until the outside world began catching up on the news".[7]

## Discrimination protections

[edit]

The Pitcairn Islands Constitution Order 2010 bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, among other categories,[8] reading:

[T]he expression "discriminatory" means affording different treatment to different persons on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, age, disability, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.

The term "gender identity" is mentioned only twice in Pitcairn law. Firstly, the Marriage Ordinance states that "'marriage' means the union of two people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity".[9] Secondly, the Sentencing Ordinance requires courts to take into account certain individual factors when dealing with an offender, including if the offence was committed on the basis of the victim's gender identity. Sexual orientation is also mentioned.[10]

## Adoption and parenting

[edit]

The 2015 same-sex marriage legislation includes a provision stating that same-sex couples may be parents to a child.[2] The Adoption of Infants Ordinance states that married couples, unmarried couples and single people may jointly apply to adopt children.[11]

According to a 2006 UK government report, there have been 9 adoptions in the Pitcairn Islands since 1954, the latest being in 1979.[12]

## Military service

[edit]

LGBT individuals may legally serve in the British Armed Forces, as defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.[13]

## Summary table

[edit]

Same-sex sexual activity legal  |  (Since 2001)

|

Equal age of consent |  (Since 2001)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment  |  (Since 2010)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services  |  (Since 2010)
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)  |  (Since 2010)
Recognition of same-sex unions (e.g. civil union)  |  (Since 2015)
Same-sex marriage  |  (Since 2015)
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples  |  (Since 2015)
Joint adoption by same-sex couples  |  (Since 2015)
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military  |  (Since 2000; UK responsible for defence)
Right to change legal gender  |
Access to IVF for lesbians  |
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples  |  (Banned for heterosexual couples as well)
MSMs allowed to donate blood |

## See also

[edit]

* LGBT rights in Oceania
* LGBT rights in the United Kingdom

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2015 State-Sponsored Homophobia report" (PDF). International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
2. ^ a b "Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
3. ^ "Pitcairn Island, population 48, passes law to allow same-sex marriage". The Guardian. Associated Press. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
4. ^ "Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
5. ^ "Pacific's tiny Pitcairn Island legalises same-sex marriage". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
6. ^ "Same sex marriage legalised in Pitcairn". Radio New Zealand. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
7. ^ "Pitcairn Island, population 48, passes law to allow same-sex marriage". The Guardian. Associated Press. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
8. ^ "The Pitcairn Constitution Order 2010" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
9. ^ "Marriage Ordinance" (PDF). government.pn.
10. ^ "Sentencing Ordinance" (PDF). government.pn.
11. ^ ADOPTION OF INFANTS ORDINANCE
12. ^ UNITED KINGDOM OVERSEAS TERRITORIES AND CROWN DEPENDENCIES, "This report sets out the progress made in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1999, OHCHR
13. ^ "LGBT Rights in Pitcairn Islands". Equaldex. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.

* v
* t
* e

LGBT rights in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Associated states
of New Zealand|

* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
and other territories|

* American Samoa
* Christmas Island
* Clipperton Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Easter Island
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Tokelau
* Wallis and Futuna

* v
* t
* e

Same-sex marriage in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Associated states
of New Zealand|

* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
and other territories|

* American Samoa
* Christmas Island
* Clipperton Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Easter Island
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Tokelau
* Wallis and Futuna

* v
* t
* e

LGBT unions and rights in the territories of the United Kingdom

* Timeline

Same-sex
marriage|

| United Kingdom|

Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom

*     * Performed: in England and Wales
* Scotland
* Northern Ireland

|

Crown Dependencies|

* Performed: in Guernsey (Alderney and Sark)
* Isle of Man
* Jersey

British Overseas
Territories|

* Performed: in Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* British Antarctic Territory
* British Indian Ocean Territory
* Falkland Islands
* Gibraltar
* Pitcairn Islands
* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Not performed: in Anguilla
* British Virgin Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Montserrat
* Turks and Caicos Islands

Also see: Recognition of same-sex unions in the British Overseas Territories

Same-sex
unions|

| United Kingdom|

* Civil partnership in the United Kingdom

|

Crown Dependencies|

* Performed in Isle of Man
* Jersey
* Recognised: in Guernsey

British Overseas
Territories|

* Performed: in Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Bermuda
* Cayman Islands
* Falkland Islands
* Gibraltar
* Not performed: in
* Anguilla
* British Antarctic Territory
* British Indian Ocean Territory
* British Virgin Islands
* Montserrat
* Pitcairn Islands
* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Turks and Caicos Islands

LGBT rights|

| United Kingdom|

LGBT rights in the United Kingdom

*     * LGBT rights in Scotland
* LGBT rights in Northern Ireland

|

Crown Dependencies|

* Guernsey
* Isle of Man
* Jersey

British Overseas
Territories|

* Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Anguilla
* Bermuda
* British Antarctic Territory
* British Indian Ocean Territory
* British Virgin Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Falkland Islands
* Gibraltar
* Montserrat
* Pitcairn Islands
* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Turks and Caicos Islands

*[MSM]: Men who have sex with men
*[NI]: Northern Ireland
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