LGBT rights in Croatia

LGBT rights in Croatia
Location of Croatia (dark green) – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green)  –  [Legend]
Status	Legal since 1977, age of consent equalized in 1998
Gender identity	Changing legal gender is permitted by the law
Military	Allowed to openly serve[1]
Discrimination protections	Sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression protections (see below)
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Unregistered cohabitation since 2003, Life partnership since 2014
Restrictions	Constitution bans same-sex marriage since the 2013 referendum.
Adoption	Full adoption rights since 2022[2]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Croatia have expanded since the turn of the 21st century, especially in the 2010s and 2020s. However, LGBT people still face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The status of same-sex relationships was first formally recognized in 2003 under a law dealing with unregistered cohabitations. As a result of a 2013 referendum, the Constitution of Croatia defines marriage solely as a union between a woman and man, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage.^[3] Since the introduction of the Life Partnership Act in 2014, same-sex couples have effectively enjoyed rights equal to heterosexual married couples in almost all of its aspects, except adoption. In 2022, a final court judgement allowed same-sex adoption (both stepchild and joint adoptions) under the same conditions as for mixed-sex couples. Same-sex couples in Croatia can also apply for foster care since 2020. Croatian law forbids all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all civil and state matters; any such identity is considered a private matter, and such information gathering for any purpose is forbidden as well.

Centre-left, centre, liberal and green political parties have generally been the main proponents of LGBT rights promulgation, while right-wing, centre-right and Christian democratic political parties and movements with ties to the Roman Catholic Church have been in opposition to or moderation of the extension of rights. In 2015, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) ranked Croatia fifth in terms of LGBT rights out of 49 observed European countries, which represented an improvement compared to the previous year's position of twelfth place.^[4][5] Croatia is among 11 member countries that make up an LGBT Core Group at the United Nations on Ending Violence and Discrimination.^[6] Several LGBT+ related bills that codify and expand on existing rights were introduced in 2023 by the opposition, notably the We can! party (Croatian: Možemo!) and their allies. These included the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in all but name, the right to apply for foster care, the right to apply to adopt children, more inclusive IVF access, easier legal gender change, help for hate crime victims, better legal protection for LGBT+ people and legal recognition of parenthood for children adopted by same-sex couples. None of the proposed bills has passed legislation as of January 2024.^[7]