Timeline and legal protection
Editing was completed September 2023
Click on the years for a detailed description. The text uses historical terms and concepts, as they help illustrate the historical development in LGBT+ rights.
Timeline
On a general level, the rights of LBGT+ persons living in Denmark have been strengthened the past 40 years. In 1989, Denmark, as the first country in the world, allowed two persons of the same sex to enter into civil partnership. Since then, Denmark has chosen to recognise two legal parents of the same sex by allowing civil partners the right to stepchild adoption (1999) and homosexuals the right to apply for adoption on an equal footing with heterosexuals (2010) and to enter into marriage (2012).
The rights of transgender persons have also been strengthened. In 2017, transgenderism was removed from the list of mental conditions, and since 2022, transgender persons have been able to change their legal sex simply by reference to their own assertion that they are rightfully to be thought of as a member of the opposite sex.
Today, several acts contain provisions designed to protect LGBT+ persons from discrimination.
Hate crimes – the most severe form of discrimination – are characterised by being motivated by prejudice and hatred based on the victim’s membership of a particular group. Section 81, subsection 6 of the Danish Criminal Code criminalises hate crimes, making it an aggravating factor if a crime is based on prejudice and hatred of i.a. another person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics etc. Moreover, hate speech against LGBT+ persons is a criminal offence under section 266 b of the Criminal Code.
The ban on discrimination of LBGT+ persons is found in several acts and under different grounds of discrimination.
In the labour market, LGBT+ persons are protected under the Act on Differential Treatment, which contains a ban on discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. The Act on Equal Treatment applies outside the labour market, and it also criminalises differential treatment on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics.
Read more about discrimination here: Discrimination and hatred.
Legal protection in Denmark
LGBT+ persons enjoy the same universal rights as everyone else. International protection refers to states’ duty to effectively protect against hate crimes and to decriminalise homosexuality. Nevertheless, homosexuality is still a crime in 96 countries. Legislation criminalising homosexuality largely originates from colonial times. Human rights experts have drawn up a series of non-binding principles for the application of international human rights standards in the context of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Protection of human rights is more pronounced in Europe. According to the European Court of Human Rights, discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation may be in violation of human rights, and the right to protection against discrimination may also apply to the right to start a family.
However, the European Court of Human Rights does not go so far as to demand that states allow homosexual couples the right to marry. With regard to gender identity, the Court demands that states recognize a person’s chosen gender identity, though it has been reluctant to demand that they allow a person the right to sex change. The EU Charter on Fundamental Rights, which applies to EU member states, contains an outright ban on discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Moreover, the European Court of Justice has established that discrimination on grounds of gender identity is illegal.