In a win for LGBTQ+ rights, the Sri Lanka government are set to decriminalise same-sex relationships. Back in September, MP Premnath C Dolawatte presented the private member bill to the country’s parliament.
Under the bill, sections 365 and 365A of Sri Lanka’s 1883 penal code would be amended to make same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults legal.
Currently, the country’s colonial-era law classifies same-sex relations as “[acts of] carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” An individual can face up to 10 years in prison and a fine if convicted.
Shortly after the bill was presented, Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the government would not take action to block the bill.