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Same-sex relationships are now legal in Angola

WION Web Team
Luanda, AngolaUpdated: Feb 11, 2021, 08:11 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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The move comes in the aftermath of continued violence against the LGBTQ+ community on the African continent. 

A new penal code in Angola has come into force decriminalising same-sex conduct and prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The former penal colonial-era code, which had characterisedgay relationships as "vices against nature" was scrapped in January, 2019.

The changes were not signed into a law by the country’s president until November 2020.

Activist Jean-Luc Romero-Michel Wednesday tweeted the move was “a great step forward” in the fight against state-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

The move comes in the aftermath of continued violence against the LGBTQ+ community on the African continent. 

In 2019, the leader of Uganda likened queer people to “terrorists” and last year police violently assaulted queer Nigerians peacefully protesting police violence against the community. 

The new law in Angola, to this end, includes imprisonment of up to two years for discrimination based on sexual orientation.