Women
Rape and Domestic Violence:The law prohibits rape regardless of gender, including spousal rape, punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment. It penalizes domestic physical or psychological violence with a prison sentence of up to three years. Authorities enforced the law effectively.
Sexual Harassment:The law prohibits sexual harassment under the provisions for other sexual aggressions, punishable by three months’ to three years’ imprisonment. As of December, no cases were reported to authorities. According to nongovernmental organization (NGO) sources, survivors were reluctant to file a complaint due to fear of reprisal.
Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of governmental authorities. The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence. Emergency contraception was available as part of clinical management of rape. Individuals were informed and had access to safe, effective, and affordable methods of family planning. The government’s Comprehensive Care Service for Women and the hospital provided free emergency contraception. Access to emergency health care, including services for the management of complications arising from abortion, was available.
Discrimination:The law provides for the same legal status and rights for women as for men. The law also prohibits discrimination privately or professionally. The government enforced the law effectively. On March 31, parliament approved the country’s first gender equality law. The law provides for coeducation in the education system, improved representation of women in governing bodies, and the modification of the penal code to punish the lack of consent in sexual crimes.
Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, place of origin, political opinions, color, or creed. There were no reports of governmental or societal violence or discrimination against members of racial, ethnic, or national minorities during the year.
Children
Birth Registration:According to the law, citizenship is acquired when a child is born in the country to an Andorran parent or born abroad to an Andorran parent born in the country; a child is born in the country and either parent was born in the country and is living there at the time of birth; or a child is born in the country and both parents are stateless or of unknown identity. A child of foreign parents may acquire Andorran nationality by birth in the country if at the time of birth one of the parents completed 10 years in the country. Otherwise, the child may become a citizen before attaining the age of adulthood or a year after reaching the age of adulthood if his or her parents have been permanently resident in the country for 10 years or if the person can prove that he or she has lived in the country permanently and continuously for the previous five years. In the meantime, the child has a provisional passport.
Children are registered at birth.
Child Abuse:The law prohibits child abuse and punishes perpetrators with three months’ to six years’ imprisonment. The government’s Specialized Child Protection Team, consisting of three social workers, five psychologists, and three social educators, intervened in situations where children and young persons were at risk or lacked protection, and it collected data on cases of child abuse.
Child, Early, and Forced Marriage:The minimum legal age of marriage is 16 for girls and boys and as young as 14 with judicial authorization.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The penalty for statutory rape is 15 years’ imprisonment, the same as for rape in general. The law bans slavery and servitude with a maximum of 12 years’ imprisonment. It also prohibits trafficking in persons for the purpose of slavery and servitude with a maximum of six years’ imprisonment.
The law punishes anyone who manages or finances premises used for prostitution; who aids, abets, or fosters prostitution; or who incites through violence, intimidation, or exploitation another person to engage in prostitution.
Child pornography is illegal and carries a prison sentence of up to four years. The minimum age of sexual consent is 14 years. Authorities enforced the law.
Antisemitism
Unofficial estimates placed the size of the Jewish community at 100 persons. There were no reports of antisemitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
There were no confirmed reports during the year that traffickers exploited domestic or foreign victims in the country or that traffickers exploited victims from the country abroad.
Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics
Criminalization: No law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults or so-called cross-dressing, including de facto discrimination, such as laws covering “debauchery.” There were no reports of authorities applying laws disproportionally to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons.
Violence against LGBTQI+ Persons: The law considers sexual orientation an aggravating circumstance for crimes motivated by hate or bias. There were few cases of violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
Discrimination: The law prohibits discrimination by state and nonstate actors based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics and recognizes LGBTQI+ individuals, couples, and their families. The government enforced the law.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, Youth, and Equality received requests for psychological, social, and legal assistance from individuals based on their gender identity or expression.
NGOs called for appropriate training on transgender matters, especially for professionals working with children, including medical professionals, teachers, and civil servants. Complaints on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity may be brought before the civil and administrative courts. Civil society saw a need for the government to improve its sensitivity to problems of the LGBTQI+ community.
Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: In July parliament passed a reform of the family code allowing transgender individuals to change their name and gender through the judiciary without a medical examination. Adults, emancipated minors, and young persons ages 12 or above with the consent of their parents or legal representatives may request changes to the registration entry of their sex if it does not correspond to their gender identity and if they can prove they have been presenting themselves publicly for two or more years and have been known with this identity among their close family, professional, or social contacts. The accreditation of gender identity does not require an individual to have undergone sex reassignment surgery or to have been treated medically to accommodate their physical characteristics to their gender identity. The government added hormonal or surgical treatment for cases of gender dysphoria to the free health care system.
Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices Specifically Targeting LGBTQI+ Individuals: There were no reports of such practices.
Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no reports of such restrictions. To celebrate the International Day against Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Youth, and Equality with the NGO DIVERSAND launched an awareness campaign to promote diversity, equality, and nondiscrimination.
Persons with Disabilities
Although parliament approved in October 2020 a reform to the education law reaffirming the inclusion of students with disabilities in the public school system at all grade levels, NGOs continued to call for effective implementation of an inclusive educational system.
According to civil society representatives, the most significant challenge for persons with disabilities remained the entry into the workforce. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Youth, and Equality promoted the hiring of persons with disabilities through the Network of Inclusive Businesses, which provides participating companies fiscal and social incentives for participating.
National civil society organizations also identified among the primary concerns for persons with disabilities access to private and public spaces. Associations requested the government provide more resources to reduce the increasing gap among persons with disabilities to acquire adequate equipment.
The Service for Personal Autonomy within the Ministry of Social Affairs, Youth, and Equality received requests for psychological, social, and legal assistance from persons with disabilities and their families. The government provided such services.