Gay papua new guinea
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We want to be sure you know how and why we use your data. Only such acts between men are criminalised by this law. Attempts to commit this offence are subject to a penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment. These provisions carry a maximum penalty of fourteen years’ imprisonment. This was the only known prosecution since at least 2011.
It’s time to decriminalise homosexuality… To me the issue is about adult consenting sexual behaviour in private.
Discrimination and Violence
2021
Human Rights Watch’s world report stated that the criminalising provisions are sometimes used by police to extort money from LGBT people.
2020
The US Department of State report stated that there were reports of societal violence against LGBT people, which police were disinclined to investigate, as well as discrimination.
We must remove the stigma.
Dr Gilbert Herdt is a cultural and clinical anthropologist, and an international expert on sexuality and culture, sexual and gender identity development, adolescent sexual orientation, and the emergence of sexual, gender and reproductive rights in US and global policy. Previously he was a professor at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and SFSU, and a visiting professor at The University of Amsterdam, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Washington.
Together, we can bring this number down. It was further reported that gay asylum seekers in the detention centres were regularly sexually harassed and assaulted, but they fear going to the police because same-sex sexual conduct is illegal in Papua New Guinea, and have been told by camp authorities that they will be jailed.
References
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Papua New Guinea recognizes gender diversity in the palopa, which may describe those who are gay, transgender, and/or of a cultural third gender.
*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.
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Gil is writing his account of how Sambia sexual culture has changed over decades of fieldwork, including recent research (2010-12), The Singers Are Gone. In 2021, the capital city of Port Moresby hosted its first Pride parade, a significant milestone for LGBTIQ communities. Not only does Papua New Guinea criminalise same-sex sexual activity, it also fails to properly protect other vulnerable groups, such as women and children, from sexual offences.
Enforcement
2022
In November 2022, two men were arrested and charged with committing an unnatural offence following reports that they were having sex inside a health centre at night.
2021
The Australian NGO, Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation, reported that there had been no known prosecutions since 2015 (see below)
2020
The US Department of State report found that there were no reports of prosecutions against LGBT people during the year.
Dr. Herdt founded the new PhD Program in Human Sexuality at the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco, the first such program in the Western United States, where he continues to teach.
Criminal Code 1974, Section 212 Indecent Practices Between Males
Section 212 prohibits acts of ‘gross indecency’ between men, or the procurement or attempted procurement thereof, with a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.
Same-sex intimacy between men is criminalized under Section 210 of the Papua New Guinea Penal Code, which prohibits acts of “sexual penetration against the order of nature” and “gross indecency” with a penalty of up to 14 years of imprisonment. Although the Australian states began a two-decade process of decriminalisation in 1975, Papua New Guinea gained its independence that same year and so retained the provision and continues to criminalise same-sex sexual activity today.
There is limited evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with the only known prosecution occurring in 2015 and 2022.
Sexual Offence Law Assessment
We’ve also assessed Papua New Guinea’s sexual offence laws against international human rights standards. Reports indicate that police have perpetrated violence against gay men and transgender people, contributing to a climate of fear and marginalization.
Despite these challenges, there have been some positive developments toward visibility and acceptance.
Penalty: Imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years. Accept
Last updated: 16 July 2025
Types of criminalisation
- Criminalises LGBT people
- Criminalises sexual activity between males
Summary
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1974, which criminalises acts of ‘sexual penetration against the order of nature’ and ‘gross indecency’.