A Comparative Study of Laws and Rights of LGBT Community in Australia and India

Abstract

Every person who has taken birth on this planet, irrespective of his race, sex, religion, caste, creed deserves equality and freedom. They should not be discriminated against. But we have done this to a larger section of the world. This section is the LGBT+ community. Various crimes have been done against them in the past. But slowly and steadily, we have moved towards providing a safe environment and equal rights to all. The constant fight for rights and recognition done by the community has resulted in some positive changes. This article is aimed at understanding the past and present laws relating to the LGBT+ community in India and Australia. I. INTRODUCTION United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in its article 1 talks that every human born in the world is free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 3 guarantees everyone a right to life and liberty. Both of these rights concerningthe jurisdiction of the nation have been guaranteed by India. Australia being a member of the UN should also apply these laws to their country. Australian constitution and Indian constitution both guarantee its citizens protection from discrimination. But still for a long time both the countries have failed in guarantying these rights to a specific section of their population. This has been done to the LGBT+ community of both nations. They have been denied the basic rights that every living person deserves. And in both countries, these communities have shown great resilience and courage in the past years. A long political and legal battle has been fought by the communities. This has brought them to a condition where the nation is now trying to protect their rights and making society more inclusive. This has been a long battle. Many generations have lived in fear of expressing themselves, and now the current generation hopes that they might not have to live like that. 1 Author is a student at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. 2021. International Journal of Integrated Law Review