In the western part of the world there has been a big change in the last decades in how the LGBT community is viewed according to the law. Today members of the LGBT community are not criminalized and they have the right to live together and in many countries even have the right to enter into a same sex marriage and become parents by adoption. There are laws against hate crimes and laws against discrimination when, for example, applying for a job. Of course there are still issues in these countries and discrimination and exclution does exist. Hate crimes do happen and people are bullied and excluded. There is still a lot of work to do in getting rid of taboos and misconceptions around the LGBT community, but the main thing is that society and the legislation has acknowledged that being gay is not something criminal and that people belonging to the LGBT community have the protection of the law.
However, in many parts of the world being gay still means a life in the shadows, hiding and fearing to be exposed. Being gay means that you can be put to prison and serve a long sentence and in eight countries you can even receive a death sentence. This is highly concerning. The countries that imply these harsh laws are mostly countries that imply religious laws such as the Sharia law. For example The Middle East and Asia. The latest comes from Brunei, where the penalty for homosexuality is stoning to death. One cannot imagine how it must be to live in a country or society where you can receive the hardest sentence for just being you.
There is a lot to be done in this matter as it is a violation of the Human Rights. Education and information about the LGBT community in schools and workplaces. Breaking down the prejudices and last but not least make it a matter for the United Nations to bring this subject up to an international level so that people can live without fear as everyone has the right to. Gays in these countries do not have the protection of the law. Intstead the law hunts them down whenever they can and it has to be stopped.