LGBT rights in the Southern Indian Ocean Islands

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual  persons enjoy full rights and protection in the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands under both federal and provincial law. Protection against discrimination is provided under Article 2 of the Fourth Constitution of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands, and any discrimination against LGBT individuals falls under article 8(...)(...) of the Criminal Code. Attacking an individual over their (perceived) sexuality is punishable by a fine of ca. fr. 700,000 or 8 years imprisonment

Terminology
The Southern Indian Ocean Islands include a wide variety of sexual and romantic orientations which they officially refer to as LGBT or, in some cases, LGBT+.

The list includes all sexualities which do not entail coercive or unconsential interactions with other individuals, animals, and/or any kind of living creature that is not, legally or otherwise, able to give full consent (e.g., or ). The list does include, amongst others,, , , , and.

, too, is a sexuality specifically protected by the Criminal Code's hate crimes and discrimination articles.

History
Homosexuality has been legal and widely accepted in the Southern Indian Ocean Islands since far before its independence in 1956, having been legalised after the of 1799. Even prior to that, due to the relative isolation of the small communities of fishermen, and later their families, in the late 18th century.

According to the Archive of Port-Accessible, a small number of same-sex marriages have taken place in Port-Accessible between two men; this was probably due to hereditary rights rather than actual sexuality, however, the archive notes that these couples would often share a house together, "from the windowds of the upper rooms of which could be heard the noises of two men engaging in lustful activities".

Anti-discrimination measures were put in place in 1974 after several anti-homosexual attacks by American tourists. The measures, known as Le loi contre les attaques antihomosexuelles/Law against anti-homosexual attacks or LAAH/LAHA, put in place a framework which allowed for anti-homosexual attacks and other such hate crimes to be punishable by up to 8 years in prison or a fine of fr. 1,650,000.

Same-sex marriage was not yet legal, however, a legal social relationship construct was the contrat de cohabitance, which provide many, though not all, of the tax and other social advantages that were also given to married couples. Contrats de cohabitance did not require cohabitants to be of a different sex and even allowed multiple signatories per contract.

Same-sex marriage was legalised on 1 December 2001.

It has always been legal for LGBT individuals to openly serve in the Republic's armed forces.

Transsexual rights
Transsexuals are legally allowed to change gender after a mental health professional has concluded that the person is truly transsexual and thus wants to change gender; gender reassignment does not necessarily have to have preceded an officially documented change in gender.

Transsexuals can request three different distinctive genders: "male" (M/M), "female" (F/F), or "transgender" (T/T). It is possible to add a suffix to the gender box if a person specifically identifies as "gender-nonconform" or any such derivative (e.g., agender, genderfluid, etc.), in addition to the biological sex of the person. This is done by adding "-PG/GNC" (standing for pas-de-genre/gender-nonconform). The Southern Indian Ocean Islands are the only nation so far to provide such a large variety of gender options.

Transsexuals are allowed to openly serve in the Republic's armed forces.

Adoption rights
Couples have been allowed to adopt children regardless of biological sex since 1985, as long as they can provide proof that the family that the adopted children will become part of is strong and able to provide for the children without too many problems. Since 1985, approximately 1,200 children have been adopted by same-sex parents.

Popular opinion
A 2014 Statistics of the Republic report found that 97% of those questioned of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands were "fully accepting" or "not minding" LGBT+ sexualities and their expressions. 93% of those questioned were in favour of same-sex marriage. Acceptance was highest in Île Saint-Paul (100%) and lowest in Heard and McDonald Islands (82%).

Research by the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences of the University of Kerguelen found that in 2014, 45% of the population of the Republic identified as exclusively heterosexual, 25% as bisexual or pansexual, 15% as exclusively homosexual, 3% as asexual, 8% as "other", and 4% were "unsure". There were approximately 1,500 transsexuals and/or transgenders.