Anti-gay laws always wrong – Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed deep regret at the UK's role in criminalising same-sex relations in its former colonies. The laws were passed under British rule and are still used in 37 of the Commonwealth's 53 member nations, including several in Africa. There is a global trend towards decriminalising homosexual acts, but some countries, like Nigeria and Uganda, have imposed stricter laws. Addressing a Commonwealth meeting, May said laws were ‘wrong then and wrong now’. BBC News reports that the number of states that criminalise same-sex relations is decreasing annually, with Belize and the Seychelles repealing such laws in 2016. But in many socially conservative and religious countries in Africa, where homosexuality is taboo, there has been resistance to calls to decriminalise same-sex relationships.