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LGBTQ rights in Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Islands
Status	Legal since 2001
Military	LGBT people allowed to serve openly (British responsibility)
Discrimination protections	Sexual orientation since 2010
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage since 2015
Adoption	Legal since 2015

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LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom
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Overseas Territories Anguilla Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands
Same-sex marriage by territory United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Policy aspects
Sexual orientation Adoption Age of consent Blood donation Christian nation Civil partnership History of violence HIV/AIDS Military policy Same-sex marriage
Gender identity, sex and intersex 21st-century anti-trans movement Transgender rights Intersex rights NHS Gender Identity Development Service Gender Recognition Panel
Legislation
Criminality Buggery Act 1533 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 Labouchere Amendment Wolfenden report Sexual Offences Act 1967 Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 Homosexual Offences Order 1982 Section 28 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 Sexual Offences Act 2003 Policing and Crime Act 2017 Alan Turing law Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017 Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018
Protection and recognition Public Order Act 1986 Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 Adoption and Children Act 2002 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 Equality Act 2006 Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Equality Act 2010 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019
Litigation Corbett v Corbett (1969) X v United Kingdom (1978) Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) R v Brown (1993) Sutherland v United Kingdom (1994) Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (1999) Goodwin & I v United Kingdom (2002) HJ and HT v Home Secretary (2010) National AIDS Trust v NHS Service Commissioning Board (2016) Bell v Tavistock (2021) AB v CD and others (2021)
Culture
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History
Topics Timeline List of politicians First LGBT officeholders Violence against LGBT people HIV/AIDS crisis Death penalty
Timeline 342 MSM activity made illegal 1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity 1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed 1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished 1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced 1889 Cleveland Street scandal 1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency 1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens 1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated 1936 Mark Weston transitions 1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown 1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned 1954 Alan Turing commits suicide 1957 Wolfenden report released 1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales) 1972 First British Gay Pride Rally 1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader 1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland) 1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK 1982 MSM activity made legal (NI) 1983 Gay men barred from donating blood 1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP 1987 Operation Spanner begins 1988 Section 28 comes into force 1989 Stonewall UK forms 1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18 1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP 1998 Bolton 7 found guilty 1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing 2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces 2001 Age of consent equalised to 16 2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal 2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt 2003 Section 28 repealed 2004 Civil partnerships introduced 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 2006 Discrimination made illegal 2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples 2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime 2009 Public apology to Alan Turing 2010 Equality Act 2010 2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral) 2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 2014 First same-sex marriages take place 2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge 2017 Turing law implemented 2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI) 2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI 2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI 2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI) 2021 Blood donation deferral equalised
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, discrimination based on sexual orientation is constitutionally outlawed and same-sex marriage has been legal since 14 May 2015.

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

The 1893 Laws of the islands, the oldest codified set of laws, did not mention homosexuality. Pitcairn Island was designated as part of the British Western Pacific Territories in 1898. The 1904 laws, written by R. T. Simons, made it a crime for "nmarried persons of either sex" to " together in such a manner as to cause scandal or to endanger the morals of the younger members of the community".

The Judicature Ordinance 1961 extended the law of England to the islands. Therefore, homosexual activity was expressly illegal in Pitcairn until the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 1967.

Recognition of same-sex partnerships

Same-sex marriage became legal in the Pitcairn Islands on 14 May 2015; however, none of the around 50 Pitcairn Islanders currently residing in the territory is known to be in a same-sex relationship. An ordinance to legalise such marriages was unanimously approved by the Island Council on 1 April 2015, and was signed by Governor Jonathan Sinclair on 5 May. It was published on 13 May 2015. The law, known as the Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015, also provides for the recognition of a registered civil partnership performed outside of Pitcairn. The move to legalise same-sex marriage was widely published on international media. Deputy Governor Kevin Lynch said that the change had been suggested by British authorities. A local resident said the law "wasn't even a major point of discussion until the outside world began catching up on the news".

Discrimination protections

The Pitcairn Islands Constitution Order 2010 bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, among other categories, reading:

he expression "discriminatory" means affording different treatment to different persons on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, age, disability, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.

The term "gender identity" is mentioned only twice in Pitcairn law. Firstly, the Marriage Ordinance states that "'marriage' means the union of two people regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity". Secondly, the Sentencing Ordinance requires courts to take into account certain individual factors when dealing with an offender, including if the offence was committed on the basis of the victim's gender identity. Sexual orientation is also mentioned.

Adoption and parenting

The 2015 same-sex marriage legislation includes a provision stating that same-sex couples may be parents to a child. The Adoption of Infants Ordinance states that married couples, unmarried couples and single people may jointly apply to adopt children.

According to a 2006 UK government report, there have been 9 adoptions in the Pitcairn Islands since 1954, the latest being in 1979.

Military service

LGBT individuals may legally serve in the British Armed Forces, as defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal	(Since 2001)
Equal age of consent	(Since 2001)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment	(Since 2010)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services	(Since 2010)
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)	(Since 2010)
Recognition of same-sex unions (e.g. civil union)	(Since 2015)
Same-sex marriage	(Since 2015)
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples	(Since 2015)
Joint adoption by same-sex couples	(Since 2015)
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military	(Since 2000; UK responsible for defence)
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples	(Banned for heterosexual couples as well)
MSMs allowed to donate blood

See also

• LGBT rights in Oceania
• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom

References

1. "Laws and Regulations of the Pitcairn Islanders (1893 Laws) - Excerpt from Appendix A of H.L. Shapiro, The Heritage of the Bounty: The Story of Pitcairn Through Six Generations (New York, 1936)". whalesite.org. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
2. Eshelman, Michael (2012). "Law in Isolation: The Legal History of Pitcairn Island, 1900-2010" (PDF). ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law. 18 (1): 17–71. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
3. "1904 Laws and later additions, from Pitcairn Island Civil Recorder (pp. 80-96) (May 19, 1904 - March 15, 1915)". whalesite.org. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
4. Farran, Sue (2007). "The Case of Pitcairn: A Small Island, Many Questions" (PDF). Journal of South Pacific Law. 11 (2): 124–150. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
5. ^ "Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
6. "Pitcairn Island, population 48, passes law to allow same-sex marriage". The Guardian. Associated Press. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
7. "Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships Ordinance 2015" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
8. "Pacific's tiny Pitcairn Island legalises same-sex marriage". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
9. "Same sex marriage legalised in Pitcairn". Radio New Zealand. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
10. "Pitcairn Island, population 48, passes law to allow same-sex marriage". The Guardian. Associated Press. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
11. "The Pitcairn Constitution Order 2010" (PDF). Government of the Pitcairn Islands. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
12. "Marriage Ordinance" (PDF). government.pn.
13. "Sentencing Ordinance" (PDF). government.pn.
14. ADOPTION OF INFANTS ORDINANCE
15. UNITED KINGDOM OVERSEAS TERRITORIES AND CROWN DEPENDENCIES, "This report sets out the progress made in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1999, OHCHR
16. "LGBT Rights in Pitcairn Islands". Equaldex. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.

• LGBTQ rights in the Pitcairn Islands
• Law of the Pitcairn Islands