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LGBTQ rights in Chad
LGBTQ rights in Chad
	Chad
Status	Illegal since 2017
Penalty	3 months to 2 years imprisonment, with fines of 50,000 to 500,000 FCFA. (Penal Code, Chapter 2, Article 354)
Gender identity	No
Military	No
Discrimination protections	No
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No
Adoption	No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Chad face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in the country. Before the new penal code took effect in August 2017, homosexual activity between adults had never been criminalized. There is no legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Chad since 2017. Previous to that there were no restrictions.^[4] A bill introduced in 2014 aimed to impose up to 20 years imprisonment for consensual same-sex acts (proposed Article 361bis).^[4] However, on 12 December 2016, the National Assembly passed an updated penal code criminalizing both male and female same-sex sexual activity by a vote of 111 to 1 (with 4 abstentions), but classing acts between consenting adults as a misdemeanor offence.^[5] On 8 May 2017, the new penal code was enacted by the President Idriss Deby.

In supporting the law, the former Prime Minister Delwa Kassiré Coumakoye argued a religious motivation: "Homosexuality is condemned by all religions. We do not have to forgive something that God himself rejects because Westerners have said this or that."^[6] His comment was criticized by some LGBTQ historians who controversially maintain that homophobia was brought to Chad by colonialism, despite the existence of Islamic law in the nation prior to imperial rule. These historians believe that homosexuality was quite commonplace and accepted before the arrival of the Europeans.^[7] The US-based Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights called on the President of Chad not to enact the changes to the law, which is linked to a rise in homophobia in Africa in response to the increased visibility and assertiveness of gay lifestyles and politics in Africa, and the engagement of fundamentalist Christians. This includes the financing of anti-gay campaigns by American evangelical churches.^[8]^[9]

It became law on 1 August 2017.^[2]

Chapter II on "Other offenses against decency" of Title VII (relating to sexual offences) of the Penal Code, provides as follows:

Article 354. Everyone who has sex with persons of the same sex is liable to imprisonment for three months to two years and a fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 francs.^{[Note 1]}

Chapter III on "Offenses of a sexual nature committed against minors" of Title VIII (relating to offenses against the person or the status of the child) of the Penal Code, provides as follows:

Article 360. Anyone who, without violence, maintains a sexual relationship or practices sexual touching on a person of the same sex aged less than eighteen (18) years will be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years and a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 francs.^{[Note 2]}

Sexual orientation

Article 350(i) of the Penal Code provides imprisonment of ten to twenty years when the rape is committed because of the sexual orientation of the victim.^[1]

Recognition of same sex relationships

There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples.

Living conditions

The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that "there were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations. There were few reports of violence or discrimination against LGBTQ persons, in large part because most such persons were discreet about sexual orientation due to social and cultural strictures against homosexuality."^[3]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal	(Since 2017) Up to 3 years in prison with fines
Equal age of consent
Anti-discrimination laws in hate speech and violence
Anti-discrimination laws in employment
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services
Same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex couples
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
MSMs allowed to donate blood

Notes

^ The official text of Article 354 in French (Code Pénal Tchad, p. 20):
Est puni d'un emprisonnement de trois mois à deux ans et d'une amende e 50.000 à 500.000 francs, quiconque a des rapports sexuels avec les personnes de son sexe.
^ The official text of Article 360 in French:
Sera puni d'un emprisonnement de un (1) á trois (3) ans et d'une amende de 100.000 à 500.000 francs, quiconque, sans violence, entretient une relation sexuelle ou practique des attouchments de nature sexuelle sur une personne de son sexe âgée de moins de dix-huit (18) ans.