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| A girl from the LGBD community in Albania above a car in a parade for gay rights in Tirana, May 2020 |
26 years ago, Albania decided not to consider homosexuality a crime.
On January 20, 1995, the Albanian parliament legally recognized homosexuality.
Homosexuality was criminalized during the communist regime, where it became a criminal offense, punishable by 10 years in prison and social isolation, Euronews reports.
Four years after entering democracy, in 1994, the government reduced the sentence to three years in prison. A year later homosexuality was no longer considered a crime.
This came as a result of a campaign led by the "Gay Albania Society" within Albania, and from international pressure, where the Council of Europe played an important role.
There are three LGBTQ rights organizations in Albania, the Alliance Against LGBTQ Discrimination, Pro-LGBT, and the Pink Embassy. These organizations contribute to facilitating the social life of LGBTQ persons in Albania.
Human Rights Watch writes that Albania has been described as a country with high homophobia according to some human rights organizations.