Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Niue face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Similarly to the Cook Islands, Samoa and New Zealand, Niue possesses a traditional third gender population: the fiafifine (also known as the ). They have traditionally been accepted by Niuean society, and would play an important domestic role in communal life.
In 2007, during a gathering of delegates from around the Pacific in MÃÂngere, New Zealand, a local called out the discrimination and stigma faced by the community: "Our communities were an accepted part of Pacific life and culture prior to Western colonisation, but have been subject to much stigma and discrimination in more recent times."
Male homosexual activity was formerly illegal in Niue, but was decriminalized by the Niue (Sexual Offences) Amendment Act 2024 enacted on 5 June 2024.
Consensual male sodomy was previously punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment, while indecency between males is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment under sections 43 and 44 of the Criminal Law Code, excepted below. These sections have been repealed:
43 Buggery
44 Attempted buggery and indecent assaults on males
Same-sex unions are not recognised (even though they are in New Zealand). Section 6 of the Family Relationships Act 2022 expressly prohibits same-sex marriages.
Much like the rest of Polynesia, open displays of affection between partners regardless of sexual orientation may offend.