Same-sex sexual activity legal? Legal since 1975 Recognition of
relationships No | Discrimination protections No | |
 | ||
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in East Timor may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in East Timor, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Contents
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
The age of consent in East-Timor is 14, per Article 177.
Discrimination protections
There is no legal protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity. There was a clause against discrimination based on sexual orientation included in the original draft of the Timorese Constitution but it was voted out by 52 out of 88 MPs before the constitution took effect in 2002.
However, since 2009, bias on the basis of sexual orientation is considered to be an aggravating circumstance in the case of crimes (alongside ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, etc.).