LGBTQ rights in Oceania

Like other regions, Oceania is quite diverse in its laws regarding LGBTQ rights. This ranges from significant rights, including same-sex marriage – granted to the LGBTQ community in New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Easter Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands – to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in six countries.^[1] Although acceptance is growing across the Pacific, violence and social stigma remain issues for LGBTQ communities.^[2] This also leads to problems with healthcare, including access to HIV treatment in countries such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where homosexuality is criminalised.^[3]

Legal statusLegal, with an equal age of consent, in 8 out of 14 countries
Legal, with an equal age of consent, in all 12 territories

Gender identityLegal in 3 out of 14 countries
Legal in 7 out of 12 territories

MilitaryAllowed to serve openly in 2 out of 6 countries having an army
Allowed in all 12 territories

Discrimination protectionsProtected in 7 out of 14 countries
Protected in 8 out of 12 territories

Quick facts Legal status, Gender identity ...

LGBTQ rights in Oceania
Marriage performed   Recognition of marriages performed elsewhere in country (American Samoa)   No recognition of same-sex couples   Constitutional limit on marriage (Palau)   Unenforced ban on same-sex sexual activity
Legal status	Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 8 out of 14 countries Legal, with an equal age of consent, in all 12 territories
Gender identity	Legal in 3 out of 14 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories
Military	Allowed to serve openly in 2 out of 6 countries having an army Allowed in all 12 territories
Discrimination protections	Protected in 7 out of 14 countries Protected in 8 out of 12 territories
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Recognized in 2 out of 14 countries Recognized in 8 out of 12 territories
Restrictions	Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned in 2 out of 14 countries
Adoption	Legal in 2 out of 14 countries Legal in 2 out of 12 territories

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The United Kingdom introduced conservative social attitudes and anti-LGBTQ laws throughout the British Empire, including its colonies throughout the Pacific Ocean.^[4] This legacy persists in anti-LGBTQ laws found in a majority of countries in the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations. Opponents of LGBTQ rights in Oceania have justified their stance by arguing it is supported by tradition and that homosexuality is a "Western vice", although anti-LGBTQ laws themselves are a colonial British legacy.^[4] Several Pacific countries have ancient traditions predating colonization that reflect a unique local perspective of sexuality and gender, such as the faʻafafine in Samoa, fakaleitī in Tonga, or māhū in Hawaiʻi.^[4][5]

However, six other countries and territories currently have unenforced criminal penalties for "buggery".^[6] These are Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu.