Gay Guide Nicaragua

The age of consent for all is 16 years. On 14 November 2007, the Nicaraguan National Assembly adopted a new penal code. Article 240, which defined voluntary sexual acts between adult homosexuals as "sodomy" and a criminal offence, has finally been removed. This change in criminal law was made possible by local human rights groups in cooperation with Amnesty International and the Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation. In June 2014, a law was passed that makes marriage, registered partnerships and adoptions incaccessible for homosexual couples. While in 2013, according to a survey, only 16% of respondents were in favour of introducing marriage for all, by 2017 the figure had risen to 24.5%. Nicaragua's first Gay Pride Festival took place in 1991 and is held every June around the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in the capital Managua. The small Central American country offers stunning natural beauty - volcanic landscapes and tropical beaches alternate with rainforests, which offer a huge biodiversity.