Diver Tom Daley has made a plea for Commonwealth countries to decriminalise homosexuality after winning a gold medal in the 10m synchronised dive.

The 23-year-old gay athlete is in Australia's Gold Coast competing in the Commonwealth Games, a competition between countries that were formerly under the rule of the British Empire.

Tweeting in celebration of his gold medal, he highlighted that 37 of the 53 countries currently in the Commonwealth have laws that criminalise same sex relationships.

Image: The Commonwealth Games are taking place in Gold Coast

"There are 37 countries in the Commonwealth where it is illegal to be who I am. And hopefully we can reduce that number," he said.

"Coming to the Gold Coast as an openly gay man is really important.


"You want to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that diving board and for 37 Commonwealth countries that are here participating that is not the case."

A majority of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations currently have discriminatory laws against same-sex sexual acts, and other discriminatory laws regarding gender expression and sexual orientation, with punishments that include imprisonment and the death penalty.

In most of these countries, anti-gay legislation is a relic of the British Empire, when British colonial administrators imposed discriminatory laws in the territories they ruled in the 19th Century.

These systems, and the attitudes associated with them, were then retained by governments after independence.

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🏳️‍🌈 37 of the competing nations criminalise being LGBT+. I feel so lucky to be able to be openly who I am without worry. I hope one day every athlete from every nation in the commonwealth will be free to compete openly as who they are too! 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/ry4GPiZhdB — Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) 13 April 2018

In the decades since, the situation for gay people in the Commonwealth has evolved, with activists continuing to fight for change in countries where they face discrimination.

This week saw a milestone for LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago, where a judge ruled on Thursday that anti-buggery laws were unconstitutional and discriminatory.

But in other countries the situation for people who aren't heterosexual is getting worse.

Did British colonisers export homophobia?

In Uganda, an act passed in 2014 increased sentencing for gay sex acts, and also criminalised civil movements relating to LGBT rights.

Mr Daley, 23, came out with in an emotional YouTube video in 2013.

He is now expecting a baby with husband Dustin Lance-Black, a screenwriter from the US.

He also said homophobia was a "massive thing within sport" and urged other gay athletes to share their stories in order to "change hearts" on LGBT issues.

"I feel with the Commonwealth, we can really help push some of the other nations to relax their laws on anti-gay stuff," he said.