LGBT Rights in Burma - Criminal Code

Criminal Code

Section 377 of the penal code prohibits homosexuality. Along with fines, the punishment is ten years to life. In 2001, the exile group called the All Burma Students' Democratic Front voted to have the law repealed.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 is not likely to occur given the current political climate.

The following sections of the penal code can also be used against LGBT people in Burma:

• Sections 269 & 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 – 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 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.

In 2005, a study conducted on the nation's Internet filtering polices showed that the government had blocked access to Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.