LGBTQ rights in Jordan

Common card · No. 479189

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in Jordan face significant challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBTQ persons. Same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Jordan under the British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance (No. 74 of 1936) until 1951 when Jordan drafted its own penal code which did not criminalise homosexuality, after having gained independence in 1946. Despite the absence of explicit laws that criminalize same-sex relations, the combination of vague morality laws, public hostility, and the absence of legal protection, gives license to security forces and private individuals to target LGBTQ people with impunity. According to 2023 Human Rights Watch report, Jordan's "cybercrime" and "morality" laws have been used to persecute LGBTQ people. Security forces intimidated LGBTQ activists with threats of violence, arrest, and prosecution, forcing several activists to shut down their organizations, discontinue their activities, and in some cases...

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