LGBT rights in Serbia

LGBT rights in Serbia
Location of Serbia (green) – Kosovo (light green) on the European continent (dark grey)
Same-sex sexual activity legal?	Legal nationwide since 1994, age of consent equalized in 2006
Gender identity/expression	right to change gender, discrimination banned by Anti-discrimination Law since 2009
Military service	Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly
Discrimination protections	Sexual orientation protection in labor code since 2001 (see below)
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex relationships.
Restrictions:	Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned.
Adoption	–

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Serbia may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Serbia. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

In August 2016 Ana Brnabić was elected for Minister of Public Administration and Local State Governments and she is first openly gay minister. In May 2014 Amnesty International identified Serbia as one of a number of countries where there is a marked lack of will to tackle homophobia and transphobia, noting that since 2011 public authorities have banned Pride marches on the basis of violent threats from homophobic groups. Since then a Pride parade successfully took place in September 2014 in Belgrade.

During the period of Ottoman rule of Serbia, homosexuality faced religious and cultural prohibition. The early nineteenth century saw a time of relative turmoil for Serbia, with sporadic periods of stability. In 1804, Serbia gained its autonomy from the Ottoman Empire following two uprisings. The Karađorđe's Criminal Code (Карађорђев криминални законик) was subsequently promulgated by the Serbian Jurisprudential Council () sometime in late spring or early summer 1807, and remained in force until 7 October 1813, when the Ottoman Empire re-gained control of Serbia. The Code penalised certain issues related to marital life and sexuality (such as forced marriage, rape, separation/divorce without the approval of a clerical court, and infanticide). It did not, however, mention same-sex sexual activity; and so homosexuality became effectively legal for a period of six years.

In 1858, the Ottoman Empire of which Serbia was nominally a vassal, legalized same-sex sexual intercourse.

However, the progressive reforms introduced by prince Alexander Karađorđević and Prince Mihailo were quashed when Miloš Obrenović returned to power. In the first post-Mediaeval criminal code in the Principality of Serbia, named "Kaznitelni zakon" (Law of Penalties), adopted in 1860, sexual intercourse "against the order of nature" between males became punishable by 6 months to 4 years imprisonment. Like in many other countries' legal documents of the time, lesbian sexuality was ignored ie not mentioned in the Kaznitelni zakon of 1860.