Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Ethiopia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

[2][3] Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in the country,[4] with reports of high levels of discrimination and abuses against LGBTQ people.

[11] In 2008, LGBTQ people became increasingly visible in Ethiopia when hundreds of homosexuals petitioned for equal rights and appealed to the prime minister Meles Zenawi.

[14] According to David F. Greenberg, shepherd boys of the Amhara and Qemant developed homosexual relationships with one another, engaging in anal and intercrural intercourse up until the time they married.

Contained within this chapter, Article 600 prescribed punitive measures for engaging in sexual acts or any other conduct deemed "indecent" with a person of the same sex.

[17] According to reports compiled by ILGA World, in various incidents in Ethiopia, individuals suspected of being LGBTQ have faced arrests, harassment, and mistreatment.

One reported incident in 2014 involved the arrest of a young gay man who was denied legal representation and subjected to rape and assault by fellow inmates while in custody.

[6] A trans woman, originally from Qatar but with Ethiopian citizenship, faced deportation from Germany to Ethiopia in July 2021 despite her claims of criminal enforcement against her.

After paying to keep the situation quiet, she was imprisoned in an Ethiopian men's prison for around a year, enduring physical and sexual violence from both staff and inmates.

German officials argued that she would be safe in Ethiopia as she could "pass" as cisgender, using the lack of explicit criminalization of diverse gender identities as justification for deportation.

Many gay men reported anxiety, confusion, identity crises, depression, self-ostracism, religious conflict, and suicide attempts.

[22]The same report found that stigma and discrimination toward persons living with HIV/AIDS impacted residents' ability to receive an education, find employment and integrate into the community.

In 2017, the US Department of State reported that there were certain violence toward LGBTQ people across the community, but unable to conduct deep research due to feared discrimination and retribution.

The US Department of State accused the Ethiopian government of unlawfully killing citizens, as well as carrying out acts of torture and arbitrary detention.

Abune Paulos, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, said, "This is something very strange in Ethiopia, the land of the Bible that condemns this very strongly.

[28] In June 2012, an anti-gay conference was held at the headquarters of the African Union concerning the alleged "consequences of homosexuality as a causative agent for HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted disease and several psychological disorders".

[29] Dr Seyoum Antoniyos, President of United for Life and influential activist organised a national conference in 2013 attended by politicians and religious leaders.

[32] The Ethiopian government maintains any individuals freedom of speeches, thus potentially allows the LGBTQ people to be secured and access propagandic movement and all encompassing human rights within the country (although Pride Parade is still illegal) – to same-sexual activity legislation.

[6] In June 2019, a Chicago-based LGBTQ community, Toto Tours, announced its visit to Ethiopia,[34] specifically to Bahir Dar and Lalibela from October.

An anonymous LGBTQ activist told Associated Press of his concern that there are wide misconceptions in the country that gay people may be culpable for the increasing incidence of rape.

The Addis Ababa Peace and Security Administration Bureau told that they are taking measures "against hotels, restaurants, guest houses, and other entertainment venues suspected of involvement in homosexual acts".

The group has a goal of supporting self-stigmatized and discriminated gays and lesbians to freely express their sexual orientation and to campaign for transgender people's rights to sex reassignment surgery.