Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Belarus face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Belarus, gay and lesbian rights in the country are otherwise severely limited and homosexuality remains highly stigmatized in Belarusian society. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Belarus provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many Belarusian people believe that homosexuality is a psychiatric illness, and many LGBTQ persons in Belarus tend to hide their sexual orientation in public. Those who are "out" face harassment, violence and physical abuse.
In April 2026, Belarus enacted legislation prohibiting the "propaganda of homosexual relations, gender reassignment, childlessness, and pedophilia". Many critics have commented on its similarity to the 2013 Russian anti-LGBTQ law. As reported by CBS News and Reuters, in recent years, several countries including Georgia, Kazakhstan and the EU members Bulgaria and Hungary have also passed anti-LGBTQ "propaganda" laws that observers say are inspired by Russia's. Prior to the 2026 legislation, the Belarusian government had already moved to restrict LGBTQ expression by classifying depictions of same-sex relationships as pornography. A 2024 decree by the Ministry of Culture categorized "homosexualism" alongside pedophilia and necrophilia, enabling the criminal prosecution of LGBTQ expression under Article 343 of the Criminal Code, which carries penalties of up to four years in prison.
LGBTQ history in Belarus
While a part of the Soviet Union, Belarus used the laws common for all Soviet republics. As such, homosexuality was considered illegal. Sexual relationships between females have never been illegal in Belarus (though lesbians could be sent to mental institutions if discovered) while those between males were frequently prosecuted. Words such as homosexuality or gay were not present in any old Soviet code and the Soviet juridical system used the term sodomy.
Article 119-1 of the previous Criminal Code of Belarus set out that homosexual men having voluntary sexual contact were to be convicted to prison terms of up to five years. In 1989 nearly 50 Belarusian citizens were fired due to their sexual orientation. A special department was set up in the KGB to combat homosexuality. The secret services used blackmail to recruit agents from the gay community. This prevented the possibility of the emergence of any gay organization, or print media designed specifically for sexual minorities. Nonetheless, gay people met in the streets, toilets, railway stations, or gathered in private flats or houses.
In 1992 a newspaper named Sex-AntiAIDS-Plus was founded through help provided by a non-governmental organization called Stop-AIDS-Belarus (SAB). The second issue of the newspaper was intercepted by a procurator's office, and a criminal case was initiated against the newspaper. The newspaper contained personal ads for gays and lesbians. The prosecution regarded these announcements as pandering.
In 1994, the criminal case against the newspaper was dropped. However, its founder and chief editor, Ruslan Geniush, fearing persecution, stopped his publishing endeavour. In 1992 a magazine named Randez-vous was registered, and began publishing. The magazine focused primarily on personal ads and contained articles written by psychologists, sexologists and letters and announcements from LGBTQ readers in a special column called "Blue Salon". In 1994 the magazine ceased to exist.
On 1 March 1994, the Supreme Council of Belarus changed Article 119-1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, and homosexuality became legal.
Legality of same-sex sexual activity Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1994. The age of consent for sex acts is equal and set at 16 years for homosexuals and heterosexuals.
Recognition of same-sex unions
Belarus does not recognise same-sex marriage, nor any form of same-sex partnership.
Article 32 of the Constitution and the Marriage and Family Code (Articles 1 and 12) specifically define marriage as a union between a woman and a man.
Discrimination protections The Labour Code (Article 14) prohibits discrimination in the sphere of labour relations. However, sexual orientation is left out of the list of social characteristics on whose basis discrimination is legally prohibited.
Persecution on the basis of sexual orientation is not explicitly recognized in law as a ground for granting refugee status. Same sex partners are not recognized for the purposes of immigration law. After the fall of the communist regime many Belarusians requested and were granted political asylum abroad, based on fear of persecution because of their sexual orientation. The most frequent reason cited was formal or informal harassment by the police. Amnesty International and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Network – Belarus (AILGBT-Belarus) has information on individuals who were granted asylum in the Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, and Sweden.
2026 anti-LGBT legislation
In February 2024, the Belarusian Parliament drafted a bill to prohibit the "propaganda of homosexual relations, gender reassignment, childlessness, and pedophilia." The House of Representatives approved the bill in October 2025, and the Council of the Republic granted final parliamentary approval on 2 April 2026. President Alexander Lukashenko signed the bill into law on 15 April 2026.
In April 2024, the Ministry of Culture of Belarus expanded the definition of pornography to include "homosexualism, lesbian love and the desire to live and be seen by others as a person of an opposite sex". Public displays of pornography are punishable in Belarus with up to four years in prison.
LGBTQ rights movement in Belarus LGBTQ organizations There is no official organization in Belarus that represents the interests of gays and lesbians in Belarus. The Women's Organization (Jyana), which was officially registered is working on "gender questions." Jyana, which protected young women in the country, recently announced that it soon will close. The men's organization, Republican Youth (Vstrecha) is not an LGBT-organization, but conducts a great deal of work aimed at preventing HIV infection and AIDS among men who have sex with men. Any other organization or initiative is working outside the legal framework.
Belarus Lambda League Belarusian initiative by sexual and gender equality GayBelarus - LGBT Human Rights Project, the organizer of the Slavic Pride in May 2010 in Minsk Vstrecha ["Meeting"], located in Minsk, Главная - РМОО ВСТРЕЧА - САЙТ МУЖСКОГО ЗДОРОВЬЯ. The oldest gay group in Belarus, founded in the early 1990s. Activities include HIV/AIDS prevention and support groups. Gay Alliance Belarus was founded in 2008 and represents the interests of the LGBTQ community. Gay Alliance organized a national competition of Mister Gay Belarus and edits a national LGBTQ web site www.gayby.net and LGBT.BY. LGBTQ+ House develops the Belarus LGBTQ+ Discourse Pressure Index (BLDPI), a research tool that monitors public Telegram messages from sources with editorial operations inside Belarus and publishes monthly metrics of discursive pressure and positive deviations concerning LGBTQ+ people.
Gay pride controversies
Violations of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Belarus were repeatedly condemned by the international community.
After previous failed efforts, in 1999 a gay pride festival was organised by the Belarusian League for Sexual Equality “Lambda” BLL and Forum Lambda, a magazine for Belarusian gays and lesbians. The festival program included a seminar for journalists on "lesbians and gay men in the media", conference on the rights of gays and lesbians in Belarus and in the world, the exhibition of photographs and films taken homosexuals, and the competitions “Mr. Gay Belarus” and “Transmission”. The festival was supported by the UN Development Programme, studio Tatyana, United Way Belarus, IREX, the Titanic Club, and guests from Ukraine. During one of the parties, the club was raided by riot police that frisked the contestants.
In 2000, the organisers of the festival encountered great difficulty in preparing for the event. According to Edward Tarletski, head of the organising committee, the radio station Radio BA which was to cover the event and grant its dancehall for evening events received an order from the presidential administration not to do so. Other radio stations reportedly refused support on the same grounds, and events at other venues also were canceled. Orthodox Church-related groups demonstrated in Minsk against the gay festival on 9 September, on the day before the festival was planned. The pride march through the city was banned by the city government 24 hours before it was due to take place, and authorities acted on the day to prevent festivities. Newspapers reported the outcome of the day. *Belarus Authorities Forbid Year 2000 Gay Pride Festival
In 2001, the Belarus government allegedly prohibited the Belarus Gay Pride Festival. On 3 August 2001, unidentified vandals broke into and vandalised the flat of Lambda Belarus leader Andrei Babkin where fliers, posters and booklets of Gay Pride 2001 had been kept.
In 2002, days before Gay Pride 2002, Lambda Belarus leader Edward Tarletski was called to the Minsk police station where he was told that if a gay pride parade took place, "the police will not take any responsibility for possible disorder."
In 2004, an international gay and lesbian festival was forced to be canceled. The organizing committee of the final (Belarusian) phase of the 4th International Moonbow Human Rights & Homo Cultural Festival and the first stage of this year's ILGCN (International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Network) World Lesbian and Gay World Conference in August 2004 were forced to cancel the event in Minsk. This came after authorities frightened a club owner into withdrawing his promise to host the event. In addition, threatening phone calls from authorities said foreigners trying to attend the event for workshops and discussions "would be immediately expelled from the country in keeping with the article of intervention in domestic affairs of the Republic of Belarus."
On 27 October 2008, the same group asked permission to hold a protest in support of gay rights near the Russian Embassy in Minsk. Both events were not authorised. Because the country is currently not a member of the Council of Europe, Belarusian activists cannot appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. It is the same group which decided to organise with Russian LGBTQ activists at Slavic Pride which is planned to alternate between Moscow and Minsk every year.
In January 2009, an event titled "The Right to Love" was planned and designed to raise public awareness about homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ people in Belarus. Authorization was denied. LGBTQ activist Roman Mandryk filed a complaint in the Court of the Central Borough of Gomel in response to this decision of the Gomel City Administration. In the text of the complaint, Mr. Mandryk claims that the decision of the Gomel City Administration violated his right to freedom of Assembly as guaranteed by Article 35 of the Constitution of Belarus. He adds that Regulation 299 itself is unconstitutional in that it imposes unreasonable burdens on those seeking to organize public gatherings.