Gay culture is vibrant in the capital of Athens, particularly in the gay neighbourhood of Gazi, in Thessaloniki and some of the Greek islands. In May 2018, the Greek Parliament passed a law granting same-sex couples the right to foster care children. In February 2018, a county court in Greece granted a non-binary person the right to a gender-neutral name.
In 2017, transgender people were granted the right to have their gender identity recognized and change their legal sex without having to undergo surgical alteration of their genitals in order to have key identity documents changed. In 2015, civil unions ( Greek: σύμφωνο συμβίωσης cohabitation agreements) were legalised for same-sex couples, making households headed by same-sex couples eligible for many, but not all, of the legal protections and rights available to married opposite-sex couples. Hate speech and hate crime legislation is one of the most rigid and comprehensive in Europe. Since then, anti-discrimination laws have been extended to other spheres including gender identity. Despite this, Greek public opinion on homosexuality is generally regarded as culturally liberal, with same-sex unions being legally recognised since 2015.īoth male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in Greece since 1951, and anti-discrimination laws in employment were enacted in 2005. Discrimination has become increasingly less common in the country as of late, although LGBT people in Greece may still face social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Greece have evolved significantly since the early 21st century, establishing it as one of the most liberal countries in Southern Europe. Same-sex cohabitation agreements since 2015.Īdoption not allowed but foster care allowed for same-sex couples since 2018 Īdoption allowed for single LGBT individuals since 1996 sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics) ( see below) Hate crimes laws covering all areas (incl. Yes, LGBT individuals may serve openly Īll anti-LGBT discrimination explicitly banned. Yes (sterilisation and sex reassignment surgery not required since 2017, previously applied by the courts on a case-by-case basis since 2016) Male homosexuality legal since 1951 (female homosexuality always legal),