In a judgment of 23 January 2014 the Austrian Supreme Court reversed its longstanding case-law that homosexuality and homosexual acts are dishonourable. “There is nothing dishonourable in homosexual acts” the Court said. Homosexual contacts may not be judged any more dishonourable then heterosexual acts.

As a result calling someone a homosexual or making public that someone engaged in homosexual acts no more constitutes the offence of “defamation” and threatening to reveal someone´s homosexuality or homosexual acts cannot constitute anymore illegal coercion. So the Supreme Court quashed the conviction of a men for having coerced young men into sex by threatening them to inform others about their homosexuality.

judgment 12 Os 90/13x (23.01.2014)