LGBTQ rights in Liberia

Same-sex sexual activity is criminalized in Liberia. Sections 14.74 and 14.79 of Liberia's penal code defines consensual same-sex sexual activity as "voluntary sodomy," a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to L$1000, or both. The law applies to all individuals engaging in oral or anal sexual activity who "are not husband and wife or living together as man and wife though not legally married." However, the fact that the law exists can deter LGBTQ victims of crimes from reporting them to police, as some LGBTQ people have been arrested on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity after their attackers used the fact they were part of the LGBTQ community as an excuse for their crimes. Gender-affirming hormone therapy and gender-affirmation surgery are not available in Liberia. Same-sex marriage is not recognized in Liberia. In 2012, two anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in the Liberian Legislature. A bill introduced by Representative Clarence Massaquoi proposed increasing the penalty for same-sex sexual activity, from a first-degree misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison to a second-degree felony with a maximum prison sentence of five years. Massaquoi's bill to increase the penalties for same-sex sexual activity failed to pass either the House or Senate, while Taylor's bill to criminalize same-sex marriage was passed by the Senate but not the House. As a result, neither bill was enacted into law. ==Discrimination protections==

Section 2.4 (b)(iii) of Liberia’s Decent Work Act (2015) entitles all who seek to work in Liberia to do so regardless of sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. == Political support ==

Support Stop AIDS in Liberia (SAIL) was the first NGO founded by LGBTQ people in Liberia for the service of fellow LGBTQ people in Liberia. In September 2016, when announcing his candidacy for president, Prince Johnson vowed that he would "never, ever accept gay rights." Jewel Howard Taylor, who proposed the 2012 bill that would have criminalized same-sex marriage, was elected vice president in 2017. The New Citizens Movement is an anti-LGBTQ coalition of Christian and Muslim leaders, which was founded in 2012. The organization gained particular prominence when it gathered 100 000 signatures for a petition to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf supporting the existing ban and criminalization of same-sex sexual activity. Many members of the New Citizens Movement have claimed, despite evidence to the contrary, that the LGBTQ community are a recent, Western- or colonial-invented phenomenon, and arguments that the LGBTQ identities are "not African" are common among opponents of LGBTQ rights, both within and outside the organization. The New Citizens Movement has employed religious messages in its opposition to LGBTQ rights, but it has emphasized issues specific to postwar Liberia. Since-debunked reports emerged in the Liberian press in 2012 alleging that a nonexistent California-based organization had bribed lawmakers to legalize same-sex marriage. Although the story was later proven to be false, it associated LGBTQ rights with the issues of corruption and foreign influence. Similarly, New Citizens Movement activists have made unsubstantiated allegations that young people in Liberia have been denied jobs after refusing to have sex with prospective employers of the same sex, tying LGBTQ rights to unemployment issues. The New Citizens Movement has also argued that recognizing LGBTQ rights would fissure the nation in a way that could lead to another civil war in the country. == Living conditions ==

A 2020 United Nations report found "serious, widespread," and persistent violations of LGBTQ Liberians' human rights. LGBTQ people in Liberia have faced employment and housing discrimination, physical attacks and death threats. In 2012, Movement Against Gays in Liberia (MOGAL) distributed fliers which published the names of people in Monrovia they claimed were gay and threatened their lives. In November 2016, after the conclusion of an event in Monrovia introducing candidates for the Transgender Network of Liberia's 2017 Miss Trans Diva pageant, residents of the neighborhood in which the event took place attacked those who remained at the event and threatened to kill anyone present. More than two dozen people were trapped in a structure for hours before police managed to defuse the situation. Health According to a 2013 UN-AIDS survey, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among Liberian men who have sex with men (MSM) is 19.8%. In addition to advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ people in Liberia, Stop Aids in Liberia has been active in reducing the rates of HIV/AIDS in the MSM population. == Summary Table ==