India’s Supreme Court has overturned Section 377 of its Penal Code, which had criminalized any sexual acts “against the order of nature,” including consensual sex between adults of the same gender. Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the law was “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.”
Repealing the Colonial-era law is a major win for the LGBT community in India, where lawyers argued the law helped perpetuate a culture of fear and repression. Prosecution under Section 377 was rare, and mostly leveled only against gay men, but it was long used to blackmail, harass and sexually assault LGBT Indians, the New York Times reports.
The United Nations welcomed the ruling: “The UN in India sincerely hopes that the court’s ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI persons. We also hope that the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons in all areas of social, economic, cultural and political activity, thereby ensuring a truly inclusive society.”
Per an International LGBTI Association report this summer, there are still more than 70 countries around the world that criminalize same-sex sexual activity. Out of the estimated 48 former British colonies that criminalize homosexuality, 30 still have laws based on the original colonial anti-LGBT legislation, according to the 2017 ILGA “State-Sponsored Homophobia” report.
