LGBT rights in Rakeo

The legal status of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) individuals in Rakeo is precarious, due in part because of the often arbitrary Rakeoian justice system, as well as other political and social factors. Creeperian Catholicism, alongside other cultural and legal influence from neighboring Creeperopolis, actively advocates for the elimination of homosexuality. As a result, there are no legal protections or recognition of same-sex relationships in Rakeo. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal, same-sex marriage and civil unions are not legally recognized, and LGBT couples are denied access to legal rights and benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Legality of same-sex sexual activities

Same-sex sexual activities are prohibited under anti-sodomy laws and are enforced at the discretion of either local authorities, the national Public Disturbance Police, or vigilantes. Punishments usually involve either deportation, where individuals are taken from their families and sent to perform labor within the Rakeoian prison system, or are assigned to simple imprisonment, with sentences ranging from 6 months to 5 years. Banishment from the country, as well as the death penalty, were traditional punishments for same-sex sexual activities that saw a phasing out as the Second Republic of Rakeo collasped.

Anti-voyeur laws

During the rule of Ricardo Cornelio, student organizations and groups devoted to his cult of personality were known to publish information, sometimes true but often speculative, about the intimate lives of public officials in order to justify acts of violence, using charges of adulatory or sodomy. In response, after the deposing of Cornelio in 1974, anti-voyeurism laws were introduced throughout the Menoras of Rakeo. These laws aimed to deter blackmailers from using information regarding an official's private life as a means of control or coercion. Under most Menora legal codes, only a licensed officer of the law may bring a charge of sodomy or adulatory to a court.

Gender identity

Rakeo's government only recognizes two genders in legal documentation, with an unknown option being available for dealing with individuals for whom information is no longer available. Changing genders on official paperwork is only permitted in case of a mistake being made on the original document. Individuals who identify as gender other than the one they were assigned at birth are legally disallowed from expressing their gender identity through crossdressing laws.

Work exception

Women enlisted in the military or otherwise employed in a critical industry, as defined by the Directory of Industrial Matters are permitted to violate the local and national crossdressing laws to conform with the necessities of their workplace.

Living conditions

Despite societal non-acceptance, LGBT individuals persist in Rakeo. Many gay individuals adopt various social adaptations to avoid harassment and persecution. Men are expected to be married by thirty, or to undertake a party-sanctioned non-ecclesiastical vow of celibacy, particularly to participate in government agencies. This pressure has been noted to cause some to enter into "lavender marriages," which are heterosexual marriages of convenience that provide evidence of conformity to traditional gender roles.

Activism

Activism to destigmatize the LGBTQ community is mostly organized outside of Rakeo, in the Rakeoian diaspora, due to the hazards associated with activism in the country.