Law Regarding Same-sex Sexual Activity
Albania decriminalized homosexuality in 1995. The age of consent has been equal at 14 for all, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation, since 2001 (see: Ages of consent in Europe).
In the summer of 1994 the Government of Albania put forward a draft Penal code under which homosexuality would have remained illegal, but with the maximum sentence reduced to three years. A campaign by the Gay Albania Society within Albania, and international pressure orchestrated by ILGA, in which the Council of Europe played an important role, led to the withdrawal of this draft law.
On 20 January 1995 the Albanian Parliament legalized homosexual relations in Albania. Article 137 of the old Penal code promulgated under socialist Albania, which mandated up to ten years of prison for "being homosexual," has thus been done away with completely.
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In Albania
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