Among these 68 countries, 43 criminalize not only male homosexuality but also female homosexuality. Īs of July 2021, 68 countries as well as five sub-national jurisdictions have laws criminalizing homosexuality. In practice, sodomy laws have rarely been enforced against heterosexual couples, and have mostly been used to target homosexual couples. Sodomy typically includes anal sex, oral sex, and bestiality.
The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed to be 'unnatural' or 'immoral'.
