Like many countries in Eastern Europe, Romania has been and in many ways remains socially conservative in regards to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people (GLBT). While one can easily argue that the country has come a long way in recent years with regard to GLBT rights compared to where it was in the past. For years living as a GLBT person in Romania was not only dangerous, but a serious crime that carried with it harsh punishments.
Romania indeed has a long history of homophobia. All homosexual activity was criminalized with the Romanian Penal Act of 1864. This code remained in impact in its original form until 1936, when a brand new code limited references to homosexuality except in cases of rape. Article 431 was introduced shortly thereafter. This new law relaxed some of the restrictions on homosexuality, but stated that it was still illegal if it caused "public scandal."
What was regarded "public scandal" was open to interpretation, and it was not uncommon for the law to be abused and manipulated by authorities. Nevertheless, the law provided at least some rights to GLBT individuals, as homosexuality in and of itself wasn't illegal anymore.
The Penal Code was revised again in 1968, when Romania fell under the rule of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. These revisions included Article 200, which made all sexual relations between people of the same sex punishable by one to five years in prison, and Article 201, which made "acts of sexual perversion" that caused public scandal punishable by up to five years in prison. Article 201 was mostly ineffectual, since according to Article 200 consensual sex between two people of the same gender was illegal even in private homes.
The aim of Nicolae Ceausescu and the Romanian Socialist Republic was said to increase the country's population and promote heterosexual family life, and being gay was considered by many to be an affront to the Romanian Socialist Republic's party and a rebellion against socialism in general. Homosexuality was also used as a pretext by the Communist party to imprison its alleged enemies whether or not they were homosexual.
Many of Romania's most repressive laws were destroyed in 1989 with the fall of Communism, including a pro-natal law that prohibited abortion and caused many women to be incarcerated for having illegal abortions. Article 200 still remained, however. At first, pressure from GLBT rights activists had little effect on having the anti-homosexuality laws lifted thanks in part to the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Church had not played a major political role during the Communist regime of 1968 to 1989, but with a new and shaky democratic government in place it began to play a major role in the political arena. The Church repeatedly urged politicians not to amend Article 200, stating that homosexuality was a sin against religious, social, and family values.
Article 200 was finally changed in 1996. The new law once once again prohibited homosexual acts that triggered a public scandal, but did not prohibit homosexuality altogether. As in pre-Communist Romania, the definition of a "public scandal" was left open to interpretation and frequently abused by authorities. Article 200 was repealed altogether in 2000.
There are currently no laws that prohibit homosexuality in Romania save for those that prohibit same-sex marriage. While many homophobic attitudes nevertheless persist in Romanian culture, the country has come a lengthy way in recent many years.
For more details about Romanian gay life before and after the Romanian 1989 revolution, visit Gay Romania Blog, http://www.darkq.net, which is the official Romanian gay blog.
