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So far...
LGBT issues have never been talked about in the Faroes – there has just been an assumption that no one is gay- hence no need to talk about it, let alone to make the Faroese society inclusive for LGBT people!
When homosexuality was decriminalized in Denmark in 1933, the same law was automatically put in force in the Faroes, and the higher age of consent for homosexual relations that the Danish Penal Code prescribed also became Faroese law. Section 225 in the new Penal Code stated that all sexual crimes in previous sections were also punishable if committed between persons of the same sex, and its second subsection (section 225.2) set the age limit at 18 for homosexual intercourse. Thus, women were for the first time included in the anti-homosexuality legislation, but no woman was ever prosecuted for homosexual crimes in the Faroes.
From 1948, amendments to the Danish Criminal law were no longer automatically valid in the Faroes, but the Løgting was granted the right to decide whether to put them in force. On many issues the Faroese and Danish law therefore differ.
The Faroes have quite a conservative stance on many issues – hence abortion is banned – pornography is banned – registered partnership and a bunch of LGBT rights have not happened in the Faroes yet.
Still there are two important laws being passed the last 20 years – in 1988 the age of consent was lowered for lgbt people to be the same as for heterosexual people and last December it was banned to discriminate because of sexual orientation.
ANSO has in many ways created history in the Faroes. It was the ANSO conference in August 2005 which sparked the extremely hard debate in the media about homosexuality – both before, during and after the conference – priests, politicians, a conservative Christian right movement, even a governmental minister all spoke out – and there were a lot of harsh words written.
”Spreading the semen of Satan”
”Homosexuals should be blamed for aids and other plagues”
”god will punish the Faroes if we give them any rights...”
”homosexuals are perverted”
”homosexuality is the same as paedophilia”
”homosexuality is unnatural and a sin which should not be tolerated – we shall love the sinner but hate the sin...”
”homosexuals should not be allowed to work in kindergartens or schools – the children might think that homosexuality is natural and something the society accepts...”
But there was also a lot of individuals and politicians coming out and supporting Friðarbogin and the ANSO conference and demanding legal protection and other things for LGBT people.
After having viewed the harsh debate in society 2 parliamentarians raised the issue in the parliament - løgtingið – a proposal was put forward to include ”sexual orientation” in the penal code – but it fell at the second reading in December 2005 by 20 against and 12 for. | 