| Location Header: | Somaliland |
| Legal Status: | Illegal since 1941 (as British Somaliland Protectorate)[1] |
| Penalty: | Up to Death, vigilante executions, vigilante beatings, torture,[2] [3] or 3 years imprisonment[4] |
| Gender Identity Expression: | No |
| Recognition Of Relationships: | No recognition of same-sex unions |
| Adoption: | No |
| Military: | No |
| Discrimination Protections: | None |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Somaliland face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Somaliland has been a Muslim-majority nation with harsh societal rules. It is dangerous for LGBT people, who face up to the death penalty. Besides, extrajudicial killings, mob lynching is used as an instrument for punishing homosexuals. Somaliland does not recognize same-sex activity abroad.
In 1940, Italy conquered British Somaliland and annexed it into the Italian East Africa. While Italy did not have sodomy laws since 1890, the Fascist authorities still punished homosexuals. In 1941, the British reconquered British Somaliland and re-instated their sodomy laws.
Prior to independence from the British, the Indian Penal Code of 1860 was applied in British Somaliland.[5]
In 1964, a new penal code came into force in the Somali Republic. The code states that "Whoever has carnal intercourse with a person of the same sex shall be punished, where the act does not constitute a more serious crime, with imprisonment from three months to three years. Where the act committed is an act of lust different from carnal intercourse, the punishment imposed shall be reduced by one-third. The code has since been abolished by the United Kingdom after seeing it as one of the most discriminating laws crafted by a former world power. The United Kingdom has since then legalised homosexuality, civil partnership, and same-sex marriage.
In 1991, Somaliland declared independence. Somaliland continues to apply the 1964 penal code in the country. The non-abolishment of the code is one of the reasons, noted by European scholars, why some advanced European countries won't recognize Somaliland independence.[6]
There are life threatening-events or death sentences in Somaliland and Somalia for LGBT people.[7] [8]
Somaliland does not recognise same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, or civil unions.