Education and Skills

Bermuda is planning to reverse the right of same-sex couples to marry

A box of cupcakes are seen topped with icons of same-sex couples at City Hall in San Francisco, June 29, 2013. Same-sex couples rushed to San Francisco's City Hall on Saturday to be legally married after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals officially ended California's ban on gay marriage following a landmark ruling at the Supreme Court this week. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY POLITICS FOOD)

Same-sex marriage is now legal in 26 nations. Image: REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Lin Taylor
Journalist, Thomson Reuters Foundation

In a rare move, Bermuda's governor on Wednesday approved a bill to reverse the right of gay couples to marry in the British overseas territory, despite a Supreme Court ruling authorising same-sex marriage last year.

Under the Domestic Partnership Act 2017, already passed by Bermuda's House of Assembly and Senate, any Bermudian will be allowed to form domestic partnerships which the government says will offer equal rights.

Same-sex couples who wed in recent months will not have their marital status annulled.

Here are some facts about same-sex marriage around the world:

* Same-sex marriage is legal in 26 nations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, United States.

*It is also set to become legal in Austria and Taiwan, following court rulings on the matter in 2017.

* In some of these countries, such as Mexico and Britain, marriage is only open to same-sex couples in some regions. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom where same-sex marriage is not allowed.

* The first country to legalise same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in 2001.

Image: Statista

* Some Australian states ruled homosexual acts to be illegal until just 20 years ago.

* In Africa, where homosexuality is a crime in many countries and can lead to imprisonment or the death penalty, South Africa alone has granted the same access to gay couples. Same-sex marriage legislation came into force there in 2006.

Have you read?

* No countries in Asia allow same-sex couples to marry or enter civil unions of any kind. In May, Taiwan's constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to legally marry, the first such ruling in Asia.

* Almost one in three adults globally believe people of the same sex should be allowed to marry, a survey of almost 100,000 people in 65 countries showed in 2016. SOURCES: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), Pew Research Center, Reuters.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Values

Related topics:
Education and SkillsEquity, Diversity and Inclusion
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Values is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Why younger generations need critical thinking, fact-checking and media verification to stay safe online

Agustina Callegari and Adeline Hulin

October 31, 2024

Skills for the future: 4 ways to help workers transition to the digital economy

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum