Iceland has long been at the forefront of efforts to eliminate discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people. In 2010, same-sex couples won the right to marry.
Iceland decriminalised same-sex activity in 1940. The age of consent was set at 14 and was raised to 15 in 2007, regardless of gender.
Registered partnerships were established in 1996. Laws allowing same-sex marriage were introduced to parliament early in 2010 and passed unanimously.
The bill enabling marriage equality took effect on 27 June 2010. One of the first people to marry under the new law was Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who wed her partner Jónína Leósdóttir.
In 2015, the Church of Iceland voted to allow same-sex couples to marry in its churches. The country’s most recent advancement came in 2023, when parliament passed laws banning conversion therapy practices.
