{"id":74,"area":"Oceania","region_name":"Samoa","iso_2":"WS","region_sub":null,"legal_code_title":"Crimes Act of 2013","legal_code_title_citation_1":"Text of the law is available at: http://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/ca201382/","legal_code_title_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body":"Section 67 - “A person who commits sodomy is liable: (a) where the act of sodomy is committed on a female, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years; or (b) where the act of sodomy is committed on a male, and at the time of the act that male is under the age of 16 years and the offender is of or over the age of 21 years, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years; or (c) in any other case, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years. Sodomy is complete upon penetration. It is no defence to a charge under this section that the other party consented.”\n\nSection 68(a) - “A person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years who: attempts to commit sodomy.”\n\nSection 71 - “A person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who: (a) keeps or manages, or knowingly acts or assists in the management of, any premises used as a place of resort for the commission of indecent acts between males; or (b) being the tenant, lessee or occupier of any premises, knowingly permits the premises or any part thereof to be used as a place of resort for the commission of indecent acts between males; or (c) being the lessor or landlord of any premises, or the agent of the lessor or landlord, lets the premises or any part of the premises with the knowledge that the premises are to be used as a place of resort for the commission of indecent acts between males, or that some part of the premises is to be so used, or is willfully a party to the continued use of the premises or any part thereof as a place of resort for the commission of the indecent acts.”","legal_code_body_citation_1":null,"legal_code_body_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body_citation_3":null,"legal_code_body_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments":"At its 1st cycle UPR in May 2011, Samoa rejected three Level 5 (act immediately) recommendations to decriminalise same-sex sexual activity from Canada, France and Norway, but it did accept a Level 2 (“continue its reconsideration”) soft recommendation from the United States. However, Samoa’s rejection is worthy of note: Paragraph 22 of the report of the Working Group reads: “Samoa noted the gaps and weaknesses in its legislative framework on upholding equality and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, and that relevant legislation was being reviewed by the Samoa Law Reform Commission. Samoa indicated that Faafafine, gays and lesbians were integral members of Samoan society and were heirs to family chiefly titles and lands through extended family consensus, as done for all men and women of its society. However, sexual orientation was a sensitive issue in Samoa given the religious and cultural beliefs of mainstream society. Nonetheless, Samoa was confident that education, awareness and sensitisation would pave the way for societal acceptance and prevention of discrimination that might arise out of sexual orientation”. \nIn its 2nd cycle UPR, Samoa received seven SOGI-related recommendations, six of which were rejected and only one accepted (to reduce violence against women and girls and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity). During the interactive dialogue the delegation touched upon “discriminatory practices on sexual matters”, stating that Samoa had worked to increase awareness among the population, stressing that issues like this one are especially difficult to face, as they involve “cultural and religious sensitivities”. \nIn 2013, Samoa voted in favour of the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Population and Development, which included several references to SOGI-related issues, such as violence and discrimination against LGBT people, and included policy directions on the matter. Furthermore, the Labour & Employment Relations Act of 2013 banned discrimination against employees or applicants for employment based on sexual orientation (among other grounds). Also in 2013, Samoa enacted the Crimes Act 2013, amending Section 58D of the Crimes Ordinance 1961, which decriminalised ‘indecent acts’ between males. \nHowever, this progress is eclipsed by the fact that sodomy provisions survived the 2013 amendment. Criminalisation of same- sex consensual act between adults was kept on the books despite the recommendation to decriminalise made by the Samoa Law Reform Commission (Recommendation 12). As organisations point out, the existence of the law means that Samoa’s criminal provisions can still be used to target gay and bisexual men, and potentially transgender and intersex persons.","legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_1":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_2":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_3":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_5":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_6":null,"legal_code_scruff_comments":null,"prison_term_min_length":null,"prison_term_max_length":7,"prison_term_notes":null,"prison_term_not_specified":null,"prison_term_years":true,"prison_term_life":null,"prison_term_mandatory":null,"fine_min_amount":null,"fine_max_amount":null,"fine_currency":null,"fine_notes":null,"fine_not_specified":null,"fine_amount":null,"fine_mandatory":null,"penalty_death":false,"penalty_death_notes":null,"penalty_corporal_punishment":null,"penalty_corporal_punishment_notes":null,"penalty_hard_labor":null,"penalty_hard_labor_notes":null,"penalty_banishment":null,"legal_code_explicitly_references_same_sex_acts":true,"legal_code_explicitly_references_acts_against_nature":null,"legal_code_differentiates_anal_sex_from_other_acts":true,"legal_code_indicates_hiv_as_aggravating_factor":null,"legal_code_indicates_age_of_consent_homosexual_acts_over_18":null,"existing_laws_used_to_target_gays_but_not_anti_gay":null,"islamic_sharia_law":null,"islamic_sharia_law_notes":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction_notes":null,"laws_not_specifically_homophobic":null,"laws_status_unclear":null,"laws_status_unclear_notes":null,"persecution_non_state_agents":null,"criminalization_under_consideration":null,"recently_decriminalized":null,"propaganda_law_under_consideration":null,"propaganda_law_title":null,"propaganda_law_title_citation_1":null,"propaganda_law_body":null,"propaganda_law_body_citation_1":null,"propaganda_law_ilga_comments":null,"legal_developments_2023_2024_summary":null,"legal_developments_2023_2024_citations":"ILGA World, Laws On Us: A Global Overview of Legal Progress and Backtracking on SOGIESC, 1st Ed. (Geneva, May 2024) (country not referenced in Ch.1/2 narrative).","status_change_type":"Unchanged (not mentioned in 2024 report)"}