On This Gay Day: In 1982 France stops listing homosexuality as a disorder

In 1982 France removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders

On this day in 1982 France removed homosexuality from the official list of mental disorders, and equalised the age of consent. The World Health Organisation would not remove the mental health classification until 1990.

Homosexuality had generally been legal in France since the French revolution in the late 18th century, but gay and lesbian people were still targeted by police via other laws including indecent exposure laws

The age of consent had been changed many times over the decades. In 1832 the age of consent was set at just 11 years, and it was raised to 13 years in 1863. In 1942 the Vichy government changed the age of consent to 15 years for heterosexual relationships, and 21 years for homosexual relationships. In 1974 the age of consent for homosexual relationships was lowered to 18 years.

In 2010 France became the first country in the world to remove being transgender from the list of mental disorders. The World Health Organisation would follow suit in 2018.

OIP Staff

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