Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Angola have seen improvements in the early half of the twenty-first century. In November 2020, the National Assembly approved a new penal code, which legalised consenting same-sex sexual activity. Additionally, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned, making Angola one of the few African countries to have such protections for LGBT people.
Some NGOs in Angola, that are involved in HIV/AIDS education, are beginning to work with the LGBT community, and there are no reports of LGBT people being specifically targeted for harassment in Angola by police or vigilante groups. Additionally, two specific LGBT groups operate in Angola. However, only one of these groups has received official and legal recognition.
Laws regarding sexual activity
The region known today as Angola and the modern country has a somewhat complicated history with homosexuality. This is due to the long period of occupation by independent African tribes followed by the influence of Christianity brought to the region by the Portuguese Empire. Prior to the 2020 decriminalisation, the previous legal code allowed penalties of up to 3 years in labor camps or jail for same-sex sexual activity.
Pre-colonial attitudes among ethnic groups
In the 1920s, a German anthropologist named Kurt Falk published his research on African ethnic groups, which included some acceptance of homosexuality and bisexuality. Falk reported that homosexual and cross-dressing practices were commonplace among the Ovimbundu people. Ovimbundu men who behave, act and dress as women are known as or , and historically would marry other men. Similar individuals exist in neighbouring ethnic groups; they are known as among the Ambundu, among the Kongo and among the Lovale people. Same-sex sexual acts were regarded as having medical effects in these societies. Indeed, such acts were viewed as a remedy for impotence, to improve soil fertility or as a transfer of knowledge. Sexual practices between men were also part of initiation rituals.
In the 18th century, the Khoikhoi people recognised the terms , which refers to a man who is sexually receptive to another man, and , which refers to same-sex masturbation usually among friends. Anal intercourse and sexual relations between women also occurred, though more rarely.
Among the Herero people, erotic friendships (known as ) between two people, regardless of sex, were common, and typically included anal intercourse ().
Portuguese Angola
With the formation and expansion of Portuguese Angola came the expansion of Christianity into the region and therefore the Christian morality that strongly condemned homosexual acts. It was eventually decriminalized in 1852, but was re-criminalized in 1886 with Articles 70 and 71 of the Penal Code of 1886 that contained a vaguely worded prohibition against public immorality and acts considered "against nature". This would remain the legal status for the rest of Portuguese Angola's existence and was not repealed upon Angolan independence in 1975.
Legalisation
In February 2017, the Angolan Parliament preliminarily approved a draft of a new penal code in a unanimous 125–0 vote with 36 abstentions. The new Penal Code does not contain provisions outlawing same-sex sexual activity in private. A final vote on the bill was planned for 28 June 2017, but was postponed, due to controversy surrounding abortion (the Penal Code would have legalised abortions in the case of rape). Multiple public debates and consultations were held, though same-sex sexual activity was hardly, if ever, an issue. On 18 May 2018, the Parliament approved the draft in a second vote by a 186–3 vote with six abstentions. It was approved in its final vote on 23 January 2019. After the President João Lourenço vetoed some provisions of the new Code and demanded tougher anti-corruption measures, the National Assembly approved a revised version of the new Penal Code (Law 38/20) on 4 November 2020. The president signed the reform into law on 6 November 2020 along with the new Code of Criminal Procedure (Law 39/20) which also replaced a 1929 Portuguese code and was approved by the Assembly on 22 July 2020. The laws were published on 11 November 2020 and took effect after ninety days, i.e. on 9 February 2021.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples in Angola.
In general, significant social pressure is put on people to marry a suitable partner of the opposite sex and have children.
In 2005, the unofficial commitment ceremony of a same-sex couple was treated as "shameless" and "abominable" in the national news magazines.