LGBT rights in Tunisia
LGBT rights in Tunisia 
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|
|---|---|
 |
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| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Illegal since 1913 |
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Penalty:
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Up to 3 years imprisonment |
| Gender identity/expression | – |
| Military service | yes |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
No recognition of same-sex relationships |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Tunisia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Tunisia, and there is only one official organised LGBT-rights movement named "Shams".
In 2008, the government of Tunisia was one of the co-sponsors opposing statement the 2008 General Assembly resolution and declaration calling for the decriminalization of same-sex sexual intercourse worldwide.
During the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the regime pervasively filtered several gay and lesbian information or dating pages.
In March 2011, Tunisia's first online magazine for the country's LGBT community, Gayday Magazine, was launched. In 2014, Shams Association was formed as Tunisia's first LGBT rights organization. On 18 May 2015, Shams received official government recognition as an organization. On 10 December 2015, which is International Human Rights Day, Shams group joined with local activist groups to protest the ongoing discrimination against Tunisia’s LGBT community.
Several civil organizations, such as the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, have been pushing for the repeal of Article 230.
Article 230 of the Penal Code of 1913 (largely modified in 1964) decrees imprisonment of up to three years for private acts of sodomy between consenting adults.
Cross-dressing is not expressly illegal, although transgender people, along with gay people, are oftentimes accused of violating Article 226 of the national penal code which outlaws "outrages against public decency."
On December 7, 2016, two Tunisian men were arrested on suspicion of homosexual activity in Sousse, "anally probed" and forced to sign confessions of having committed "sodomy." On March 11, 2017, while on bail, they were given eight-month prison sentences, to be confirmed in April 2017.
Marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman in Tunisia. Same-sex marriage, or the more limited civil unions, are not legally recognized in Tunisia.
In mid 2011 (March), Tunisia's first online magazine for the country's LGBT community, Gayday Magazine, was launched. Running stories and interviews related to the country’s community, the publications covers consisted on English and French titles. In 2012, Gayday was hacked; homophobic hackers took over the publication’s email, Twitter and Facebook accounts. These attacks took place at the height of an international campaign of which Gayday Magazine is a part, to raise awareness about the massacre of emo and gay people in Iraq.
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