| Location Header: | Oceania |
| Legal Status: | Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 9 out of 15 countries Legal, with an equal age of consent, in 11 out of 12 territories |
| Gender Identity Expression: | Legal in 3 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories |
| Recognition Of Relationships: | Recognized in 2 out of 15 countries Recognized in 8 out of 12 territories |
| Recognition Of Relationships Restrictions: | Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned in 1 out of 15 countries |
| Adoption: | Legal in 2 out of 15 countries Legal in 7 out of 12 territories |
| Military: | Allowed to serve openly in 2 out of 6 countries having an army Allowed in all 12 territories |
| Discrimination Protections: | Protected in 7 out of 15 countries Protected in 8 out of 12 territories |
Oceania is, like other regions, quite diverse in its laws regarding LGBT rights. This ranges from significant rights, including same-sex marriage – granted to the LGBT+ community in New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Hawaii, Easter Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands – to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in six countries and one territory. Although acceptance is growing across the Pacific, violence and social stigma remain issues for LGBT+ communities.[1] This also leads to problems with healthcare, including access to HIV treatment in countries such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where homosexuality is criminalised.[2]
The United Kingdom introduced conservative social attitudes and anti-LGBT laws throughout the British Empire, including its colonies throughout the Pacific Ocean.[3] This legacy persists in anti-LGBT laws found in a majority of countries in the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations. Opponents of LGBT rights in Oceania have justified their stance by arguing it is supported by tradition and that homosexuality is a "Western vice", although anti-LGBT laws themselves are a colonial British legacy. Several Pacific countries have ancient traditions predating colonisation that reflect a unique local perspective of sexuality and gender, such as the fa'afafine in Samoa and fakaleiti in Tonga.[4]