Myanmar

Myanmar’s legal and political environment remains extremely hostile to queer and trans people. Same-sex intimacy is criminalized under Section 377 of the penal code, a colonial-era provision that continues to enable arrest, harassment, and stigma. In practice, enforcement is reinforced by “shadow laws” and broad police discretion, including provisions such as Section 30(d) of the 1899 Rangoon Police Act, which has historically been used to detain people who cannot “satisfactorily account” for their presence “within the precincts of any dwelling.”

Since the February 1, 2021 military coup, risks have intensified sharply. LGBTQ people face heightened vulnerability under junta rule, including abuses in interrogation and detention that reflect homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and the normalization of punitive sexual violence in conflict settings. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has also warned that women, girls, and LGBTQ people face widespread sexual and gender-based violence and severe barriers to both support and accountability in the post-coup context.

In October 2022, the junta passed the Organization Registration Law, which imposes sweeping controls over civil society, forcing NGOs to register and report funding sources while granting authorities broad oversight powers. Noncompliance can carry prison terms and fines, and LGBTQ and human rights organizations view compliance as likely leading to the shutdown of activities construed as “anti-State.”

The enforcement of compulsory military service, announced in February 2024, has contributed to displacement and insecurity for many LGBTQ people, some of whom have fled border areas and neighboring countries. In 2025, Myanmar’s junta banned seven books with LGBTQ themes, reinforcing censorship of queer voices.