Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bosnia and Herzegovina may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a secular country composed of mainly Muslims and Christians (Catholic and Orthodox). While officially secular, religion plays an important role in Bosnian society. As such, attitudes towards members of the LGBTQ community tend to be quite conservative. Some LGBTQ events, most notably the Queer Sarajevo Festival 2008, have ended in violence, when "a combination of football fans and religious extremists" stormed the festival while shouting death threats and religious phrases. According to a 2015 survey, 51% of LGBT Bosnians and Herzegovinians reported some form of discrimination directed against them, including verbal abuse, harassment, and physical violence.
Nevertheless, attitudes are changing. In 2016, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, banning discrimination on account of one's sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. More and more gay bars and venues have opened, especially in the capital city of Sarajevo.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federation consisting of two entities, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996 and in the Republika Srpska in 1998, by those two entities adopting their own criminal laws. The Brčko District followed suit and legalized homosexuality in 2003, making it legal nationwide since then. The age of consent is equal and set at 14 years, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation (having sexual relations with a person under 14 is considered statutory rape).
Recognition of same-sex relationships
thumb|Bosnian [[Köçek (male effeminate dancer)]]
Ottoman Empire
In 1858, the Ottoman Empire legalized same-sex sexual intercourse.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples on a national or subnational level. The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains silent on gender eligibility for a marriage, and on a subnational scale, both entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, as prescribed by their respective family codes.
On 19 October 2018, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) adopted a request for the legalisation of civil unions. "The said item was on the session agenda and it was adopted in the same form as it was proposed," FBiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalić said. The Government will now form a working group to analyse the proposal, which will need to be later adopted by the Parliament. The working group was established in January 2020 and was due to start working in April 2020, but the start was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Protections against discrimination
Article 12 of the Law on Equality of Sexes (), adopted in early 2003, prohibits discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is not explicitly defined, however.
The labour law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) also explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, as does Brčko District's labour law.
The Law Against Discrimination () was adopted in 2009, prohibiting discrimination based on sex, gender expression and sexual orientation. Furthermore, the law forbids harassment and segregation on the basis of sexual orientation. Article 2 of the law states as follows:
In July 2016, the Bosnian Parliament adopted a bill amending anti-discrimination laws to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.
Hate crime laws
In April 2016, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved amendments to its Criminal Code by outlawing hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The law was published in the official gazette on 15 June 2016. Similar bans already existed in Republika Srpska and the Brčko District.
Gender identity and expression
Transgender people may change their legal gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina after having undergone sex reassignment surgery and other medical treatments.
Activism
thumb|First Pride parade held in Sarajevo, September 2019.
thumb|[[BIH Pride March, September 2019.]]
thumb|[[Pride parade|Gay pride in Sarajevo, 2023]]
Quite a few organizations have been working on LGBTQ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Organisation Q () was the first LGBTQ organization to register in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Organization Q works for "the promotion and protection of culture, identities and human rights of queer persons", and was founded in September 2002. It formally registered in February 2004.
The festival, organised by Organization Q, opened in the Academy of Fine Arts in the centre of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The attacks forced the organizers to make the rest of the festival a private event and to cancel it a couple of days later. Although Organization Q had organized public events before, this festival was the first cultural event of this kind in history of Sarajevo. The festival continued the following day, with no incident, and with the full protection of the police force. An estimated 2,000 people marched in the first pride parade of Bosnia and Herzegovina, making the country the last former Yugoslav nation to hold a pride event.
In March 2023, activists at the offices of Transparency International, claimed that they were attacked by a group of men after a local event was banned by police. According to the activists, a few dozen men chased them through the streets. The attack came after LGBTQ film screenings and discussions were cancelled by police for security concerns and after Republika Srpska President, Milorad Dodik, called LGBTQ people harassers and stated that they should be prevented from gathering. Banja Luka's mayor, Draško Stanivuković, where the attack took place, stated that the LGBTQ community should stay in Sarajevo and away from smaller cities like Banja Luka.
Public opinion
A 2015 survey found 48% of Bosnians would try to cure their child if they came out as gay. Another 16% stated that they would stop communicating with their child altogether. It also found 19% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's population supported granting same-sex couples some rights associated with marriage, such as economic and social rights.
According to a poll published in 2019, before the first gay pride parade in Sarajevo, 24% of respondents supported the parade, with 72% against. 14% of respondents stated that they supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage, with 81% opposed. The poll was conducted in Sarajevo Canton, not covering the rest of the country.
According to a 2021 study, the first LGBT+ Pride parade in Sarajevo led to increased support for LGBT activism in Sarajevo. It did not however diffuse nationwide.
Summary table
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Same-sex sexual activity legal
| 15px|Yes (Since 2003, nationwide)
|-
| Equal age of consent (14)
| 15px|Yes (Since 2003, nationwide)
|-
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment only
| 15px|Yes (Since 2003)
|-
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services
| 15px|Yes (Since 2003)
|-
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)
| 15px|Yes (Since 2009)
|-
| Hate crimes laws include sexual orientation and gender identity
| 15px|Yes (Since 2016, nationwide)
|-
| Same-sex marriages
| 15px|No
|-
| Recognition of same-sex couples
| 15px|No
|-
| Recognition of adoption for single people regardless of sexual orientation
| 15px|Yes
|-
| Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples
| 15px|No
|-
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples
| 15px|No
|-
| Gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to serve openly in the military
| 15px|Yes
|-
| Right to change legal gender
| 15px|Yes
|-
| Access to IVF for lesbians
| 15px|No
|-
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
| 15px|No
|-
|-
| MSMs allowed to donate blood
| 15px|Yes
|}
See also
- LGBT rights in Europe
- LGBT history in Yugoslavia