Human rights in Tunisia

While the immediate months after the revolution were characterized by significant improvements in the status of human rights, some of those advances have since been reversed. The situation remains in a state of flux, with different observers providing virtually irreconcilable accounts of the current status of human rights in that country.

LGBT rights

See the main article: LGBT rights in Tunisia

One group that has not benefited noticeably from the Tunisian revolution is LGBT people. "While the fall of Ben Ali has afforded a greater space to free expression, not all Tunisian homosexuals are convinced things are headed in the right direction," reported the Tunisia Live website in January 2012. "Homosexuals in Tunisia celebrated the ouster of dictator Ben Ali, hoping it would improve their situation," noted Deutsche Welle in November 2012, "But in nearly two years, little has changed for the country's gay and lesbian community." Under Article 230 of the penal code, anal intercourse can still be punished by up to three years in prison. In June 2012, Tunisia's Minister for Human Rights vehemently rejected a call by the United Nations Human Rights Committee to decriminalize same-sex acts, dismissing sexual orientation as a Western concept and insisting on its incompatibility with Islam. A large amount of anecdotal evidence suggests that harassment and assaults by police officers and others on LGBT persons continue to be widespread.

There is still no official LGBT rights organizations in Tunisia, although an online magazine for gays was established in March 2011.