Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Myanmar are subject to official persecution and discrimination, with LGBT people facing severe challenges not experienced by others. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and section 377 of Myanmar's Penal Code 1861, enacted in 1886, subjects same-sex sexual acts (regardless of whether they were consensual or done in private) to a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years in prison. Heterosexual anal intercourse and oral sex are also illegal. Transgender people are subject to police harassment and sexual assault, and their gender identity is not recognised by the state. During the country's long military dictatorship under the authoritarian State Peace and Development Council between 1988 and 2011, it was difficult to obtain accurate information about the legal or social status of LGBT Burmese citizens. Following the 2011–2015 Myanmar political reforms, improvements in media and civil freedoms have allowed LGBT people to gain more visibility and support in the country. Despite the 2015 electoral victory of the National League for Democracy, which promised improved human rights and whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi had once called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, there have been no changes to anti-LGBT laws. Nevertheless, LGBT activists have noted a growing climate of societal acceptance and tolerance toward LGBT people, in line with worldwide trends.
Legality of same-sex sexual activity
Section 377 of the Penal Code prohibits sodomy, whether heterosexual or homosexual. Alongside fines, the prescribed punishment is up to 20 years, although the law has not been strictly enforced. In 2001, an exile group, the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, voted to have the law repealed. This was seen as a victory by the Committee for Lesbigay Rights in Burma, although such a change was considered unlikely to occur given the prevailing political climate against change. In 2013, then-Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on the country to decriminalise homosexuality, stating that it was hampering efforts to combat HIV in Myanmar. After her party came to power in 2015, it did not change the laws.
LGBT people are also targeted under the "shadow law" or "darkness law" in section 35(c) of the Police Act (), which allows police to detain anyone they consider behaving suspiciously after sunset. In November 2018, gay activist Aung Myo Htut, also knows as "Addy Chen" was arrested under the country's sodomy law.
Other provisions of the Penal Code can also be used against LGBT people: Sections 269 and 270 make it a crime for a person to negligently spread a sexually transmitted disease. Section 290 makes it a crime to commit "a public nuisance", not specified in the code, with fines up to two hundred rupees. Sections 292, 293, and 294 make it a crime to make, sell, or distribute "obscene" material or songs to adults or minors and to engage in any obscene acts in public. Section 372 prohibits buying or selling a prostitute under the age of eighteen or using a prostitute to engage in illicit sexual relations. Section 377 prohibits carnal intercourse with any man, woman, or animal and provides imprisonment varying between life and a term not less than 2 years, but may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine that shall not be less than four hundred rupees but may extend to one thousand rupees. Section 469 prohibits engaging in any marriage ceremony absent of a legal marriage. Section 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act ( ) prohibits anything that might affect the morality of an individual, society, or the public in a negative way.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Myanmar does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. In 2014, a Burmese same-sex couple drew widespread media attention for holding an unofficial wedding ceremony after having lived together for 10 years. It also triggered a backlash from social conservatives, who queried why the anti-homosexuality laws were not being enforced against them.
Gender identity and expression
Myanmar does not allow transgender people to change the gender assigned to them at birth. Transgender people in Myanmar are subject to rape, mistreatment, or extortion by police, and are often targeted using the "shadow law" in section 35(c) of the Police Act. Generally, there are only three "respectable" career options open to transgender Burmese: beautician, fashion designer, or nat kadaw ("spirit wife" or spirit medium). As a nat kadaw, transgender Burmese people can be afforded respect and veneration otherwise denied to them by Burmese society.
Occult is a local term for the transgender community in Myanmar.
