Two successful European Court cases brought against Russia underline state obligations to protect LGBTI community from violent counter demonstrators and general hate motivated violence.

ILGA-Europe welcome yesterday’s judgments from the European Court of Human Rights in Romanov and Others v Russia and Lapunov v Russia. Romanov and Others v Russia concerned Russia’s failure to prevent and protect LGBTI community members from homophobic violence during peaceful demonstrations and ensure effective investigation. The applicant in Lapunov v Russia was one of the victims of the “anti-gay purges” that took place in Chechnya in 2016-2017, having been detained and tortured in March 2017.

According to ILGA-Europe’s Head of Litigation, Arpi Avetisyan, “These cases are of great significance for the recognition of the rights of LGBTI people that have suffered by inaction or actual infliction of violence by state agents.

“Importantly, the Court observed that even when investigations were initiated, the homophobic nature of the attacks was rejected by the authorities, therefore could not be considered as effective.”

The Court found that physical and phycological treatment suffered by Mr Lapunov in Chechnya amounted to discriminatory torture under the European Convention of Human Rights. Furthermore, the authorities failed to carry out effective and meaningful investigation to uncover violence based on sexual orientation, despite all the evidence provided.

Russian LGBTI organisations, who worked to support both cases before the Court, note that although Russia has left the Council of Europe and is not party to the European Convention since March 2016, it is unlikely to implement these judgments. They are however symbolically important for persecuted people in Russia, as they give hope and a sense of support from the international community. It is crucial that state-sponsored homophobia does not go unnoticed. 

Avetisyan concluded: “These cases are another affirmation by the Court on Council of Europe member state obligations to protect LGBTI community from violent counter demonstrators and general hate motivated violence, and to ensure timely and effective investigations in such cases.”

Tackling hate crimes against LGBTI people requires the cooperation of police authorities, but for different reasons this doesn’t always happen. In this blog, we share some ways in which LGBTI organisations can contribute to combating attacks against the LGBTI community, which are still on the rise across Europe.

In our latest Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia, we’ve continued to see a rise in hate attacks against LGBTI people across the region. While this is not a new trend, it’s a concerning one that we’ve been monitoring for some time. Many survivors of these attacks do not report them to the police but instead turn to civil society, an in particular LGBTI organisations for help.

People in LGBTI organisations are trusted by their communities and survivors of hate crimes often feel more comfortable approaching them than the authorities. This is why many LGBTI organisations not only provide support but also collect data and monitor these attacks. However, organisations can only do so much, for this reason cooperation with law enforcement authorities is crucial.

The European Commission has developed a guide for national authorities on how to work collaboratively with civil society organisations in combating hate crime. Civil society organisations play a vital role in understanding the needs of victims, the local context, and the challenges faced by those at risk of hate crime. Partnerships with the police can lead to tailored responses to hate crimes, support operational police work, and help build trust and confidence in authorities.

Here are some actions that LGBTI organisations can take to contribute to police work in combating hate crime:

• Reach out to individuals and groups at risk of hate crime victimisation and raise awareness of their rights, including through schools and educational activities.
• Encourage reporting of hate crimes and empower victims and witnesses to come forward.
• Facilitate reporting on behalf of the victims.
• Participate in and contribute to effective referral arrangements for victims.
• Share methodologies of data collection and patterns of biases.
• Increase the capacities of police and law enforcement authorities through training sessions and practical guidance.
• Assist victims in reporting hate crimes and accessing specialist support, providing emotional support, practical help, information, and accompanying victims to report as their ‘person of trust’.

Cooperating with the police and national authorities is also a way for civil society organisations to hold them accountable for combating hate crimes and fulfilling their obligations to protect and promote the fundamental rights of LGBTI people.

The latest ILGA-Europe Annual Review reported on a deeply worrying rise of violence against LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia, most of it related to the growing prevalence of hate speech from public figures. Here are the facts in the 34 countries we reported on.

In 2022 there was a stark rise in violence against LGBTI people, not only in numbers but also in the severity of that violence, as reported in the latest edition of our Annual Review of the Human Rights of LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia. In this blog you will find the main figures and key cases that reflect the situation in every country. Learn more about how LGBTI organisations and activists are boldly responding to anti-LGBTI violence and much more in our full report.

Armenia

In October, two young gay men committed suicide after a photo of them kissing went viral and received endless hate messages. The suicide shook the community. A discussion was broadcast on TV afterwards, featuring anti-LGBT statements.

Pink documented 27 cases of physical and sexual violence, and threats of violence and threats towards LGBT people during 2022, ten of which were committed by family members. These included beatings, stabbings, and other serious attacks. The ten recorded cases of domestic violence on grounds of SOGI were of physical, psychological and economic nature. In most cases, the parents learned about the LGBT identity of the victims, and then beat, harassed, threatened, or locked them up. One case was partner violence. Of the 27 cases of violence, seven were lesbian or bisexual women, 11 were gay or bisexual men, and 12 were trans or non-binary.

Austria

Hate crimes continued to be a serious issue, with over two hundred incidents just in the first three months of the year. The Ministry of Interior’s annual hate crime report documented 376 hate crimes against LGBTIQ people in 2021 although over 80% of the cases may not be reported. SPÖ (Social Democratic Party) also published a report and called for a national strategy against hate, exclusion and discrimination.

Azerbaijan

One of the most prominent LGBTQI+ activists in the country, Avaz Hafizli, was brutally mutilated and murdered by his cousin in February. The police, who previously ignored Hafizli’s requests for protection, wrapped the body in a rug and transported him in a garbage truck.

In August, the court sentenced the perpetrator to nine and a half years in prison but ignored the homophobic motif and the brutality of the murder. Civil society has firmly criticised the meagre judgment, which could have given twice as many years to the killer.

Another human rights activist, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was kidnapped by masked men and tortured. A man on the metro in Baku threatened to kill LGBT people with a hammer.

On 7 September, a trans woman Emily Hajizade was attacked in Baku Boulevard by the park’s security guards. Emily was also abused by her family, who threatened to kill her. In September too, a trans woman was stabbed several times in Baku’s Narimanov park. She was previously detained and her head was forcibly shaved by the police. The police denied the murder and said they merely detained her. Activists and her family have been unable to find her since.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo Open Centre documented 11 anti-LGBTI hate crimes this year – six were reported to the authorities.

Belgium

The Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities (Unia) shared that the number of homophobic hate crimes had been on the rise and continued to grow between 2020-2021.

A study based on 42 testimonies from LGBTQIA+ people was published in May, revealing that underreporting is extremely common in the Brussels region, that the anti-LGBTQIA+ motif of attacks is often unregistered by the police, and investigations rarely yield results.

In August, a study in Flanders found, on the basis of over 400 responses from LGBTQ+ people, that one in four have been subject to threats or physical assault.

Croatia

The Ombudswoman’s annual report found that 2021 marked a sharp increase in anti-LGBT hate crimes. The Ombudswoman affirmed that hate speech by politicians can contribute to such a trend. In July, for instance, three gay men were verbally and physically assaulted in a club.

Estonia

On 9 July, a migrant black trans woman from Jamaica was murdered in her accommodation in downtown Tallinn. Two men were arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

Finland

Pride organisers across Finland said in a survey that vandalism and hate speech were far too common

In the town of Lapua four youngsters detonated a homemade bomb at the other end of a building where a Lapua Pride event was taking place. Lapua Pride also received violent threats in social media. In the town of Mikkeli, a homemade bomb was detonated by two young persons close to where the Pride march was taking place.

The case of high school students in Savonlinna made headlines in August. Several students spoke about suffering anti-LGBT harassment, including death threats, intimidation, being followed home, and being almost run over by cars. The students have been targeted by these attacks for years and had not received support from the school or the police.

France

The Ministry of Interior shared that the number of anti-LGBTI hate crimes rose by 28% between 2020-2021. Between 2016-2021, the number of incidents doubled. 2021 saw a temporary decrease presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry also highlighted that these numbers are in no way total, as a mere 20% of victims report threats and attacks to the police.

SOS Homophobie found a similar increase this year, noting the high rates of anti-trans insults and violence.

Georgia

Trans women were verbally abused and their home was attacked in May – the police made no arrests. In November, a cisgender woman was killed in Tbilisi. The perpetrator was under the impression that the woman was trans.

Germany

Hate crimes continued to be a serious issue this year, but about 90% of cases continue to go unreported. In Berlin, for instance, anti-LGBTI hate crimes rose by 17% in the past year. Lower Saxony also recorded an increase in homophobic crimes. The fatal attack against a trans man, who tried to stop a man from harassing two women at a Pride march, shook the community.

Greece

The national hate crime monitoring body’s annual report, published in May, found that crimes against LGBTQI+ people continued to be very common in 2021.

Hungary

Several hate crimes were committed this year, with the perpetrators in some cases referring to the 2021 ‘propaganda’ law as being “on their side”.

Iceland

Several hate crimes took place this year and were reported to the police. Anti-LGBTQI+ ‘barking’ grew increasingly common this year.

In August, the rainbow-coloured steps of a church were repeatedly vandalised. Also in August, nine rainbow flags were ripped down in Hellu, another flag in Kópavogur was vandalised, and posters were tagged with nazi symbols.

Samtökin ‘78 received ten reports of anti-LGBTQ harassment following Pride week.

Ireland

Hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people continued to be a serious issue, also affirmed by the government, the police’s annual hate crime statistics, and Dublin City where bias-motivated violence has become a particular concern.

In April, two men were murdered in separate homophobic attacks in the town of Sligo – a 22-yearold man awaits trial. Vigils were held in over 25 cities and towns.

Italy

In the follow-up of the Zan law having failed in 2021, anti-LGBT hate crimes continued (see a list of attacks here and here). Three migrant sex workers, including a trans woman, were murdered in Rome in November. In June, a trans woman who was suspended from her teaching job after socially transitioning committed suicide. A 19-year-old trans girl, Chiara committed suicide in October. Another trans woman, also called Chiara, took her own life in June.

The national observatory on lesbophobia published its report documenting one lesbophobic hate crime per month between 2011 and 2021. Non Una Di Meno’s monitoring work identified 112 lesbophobic and transphobic murders nationwide in 2022.

Latvia

Mozaika documented nine anti-LGBT hate crimes this year. None of the victims reported the cases to the police.

Kyrgystan

Kyrgyz Indigo’s (KI) Urgent Response Group provided legal consultation in 105 cases this year, which included outings and threats (18%), fake dates and blackmail (13%), physical violence (10%), family violence (16%), theft and extortion (10%), and police violence (20%). More than a third of the fake date cases were perpetrated by the police.

Montenegro

The LGBTI Drop-in Centre in Podgorica was vandalised with fascist and anti-LGBTI messages in July. The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation and the police have identified the perpetrators. On 21 December, Juventas’ LGBTIQ Centre in Podgorica was attacked. Police responded quickly in identifying the attackers.

Netherlands

The government reported 2,471 anti-LGBTI violence and discrimination cases in 2021, up from 2,336 in 2020 and 2,072 in 2019.

The Social and Cultural Planning Office’s (SCP) study, published in July, found that LGBT people face disproportionate rates of violence, one in three bisexual women has experienced sexual violence in the past five years and 44% have been targeted by online or offline sexual harassment in the past year.

A new report, ‘Invisible in Two Worlds’ found that trans people face domestic violence in great numbers, and that state assistance is inadequate.

North Macedonia

Coalition Margins documented four gender based/ domestic anti-LGBT hate crimes.

Norway

On June 25, a gunman killed two people and wounded more than 20 people outside Oslo’s queer haven and oldest queer bar, the London Pub. The terrorist attack, which was carried out during Pride week and on the night before the Oslo Pride march, shook the community and the country and was widely condemned.

The 2021 hate crimes report of the police found a drastic increase in anti-LGBT hate crimes, from 97 in 2020 to 240 in 2021.

Portugal

Between January and early December this year, ILGA Portugal received a total of 830 requests for contact or immediate support in cases of violence at home, loss of income, and evictions. Of these, 268 came from people who reached out for the first time. 220 cases of domestic violence and assault were reported this year, of which 71 were cases of gender-based violence.

Romania

Four hate crimes were perpetrated over the span of three weeks in the summer – all were reported to the police. Leaflets showing a gay man in a gas chamber and a nazi soldier pressing the gas button were left in MozaiQ’s courtyard in August. Civil society attributed the rise in violence to the tabling of the ‘propaganda’ bill. There was a clear rise in hate crimes during Bucharest Pride – over 20 victims asked ACCEPT for legal advice.

Russia

Hate crimes against LGBTI people, including murder, physical violence and extortion were committed again this year. The authorities failed to classify them as anti-LGBTI hate crimes.

Serbia

In its annual hate crime report, Da se zna! documented the highest number of anti-LGBT incidents since 2017: 83 cases of anti-LGBT hate crimes, hate speech, and discrimination in 2021, marking a 38% increase compared to 2020 (52). The number of hate crime cases sharply increased in August and September following a series of hateful statements by political and religious leaders. EuroPride billboards were vandalised.

The Belgrade Pride Info Centre was again attacked in February and October. For the first time, a politician, Belgrade’s deputy mayor Goran Vesić condemned the violence. None of the perpetrators in the 14 attacks have been prosecuted.

Several people were attacked during, directly after and in the weeks after EuroPride.

Slovakia

On 12 October, two young men Matúš Horváth and Juraj Vankulič were murdered by a gunman outside one of Bratislava’s two queer bars, Tepláreň. The gunman wounded a woman as well and claimed responsibility for the unprecedented white supremacist terrorist attack before killing himself. This was the first terrorist attack in modern Slovak history.

Civil society had warned about the consequences of the growing anti-LGBT political rhetoric and the inadequate response to hate crimes by law enforcement before – many have interpreted the murder as the culmination of the past years.

Slovenia

Legebitra documented four hate crimes and two cases of vandalism.

Spain

The annual report of the Ministry of Interior documented a record number of 466 anti-LGBT hate crimes in 2021 (2020: 277), with one in every four hate crimes targeting LGBT people. This is a 68% increase in one year. Coruña’s Observatory against LGBTI-phobia published its fourth annual report, finding a 71% increase in cases compared to 2021.

Anti-LGBTI murals and graffiti were also common this year. Several rainbow-coloured benches were vandalised in small towns again this year (see here and here).

Sweden

The concept Drag Queen Story Hour, during which drag artists read fairy tales to children in libraries, came under serious attack this year.

Switzerland

Anti-LGBT attacks continued to be an issue, with the number of hate crimes increasing. The joint report by TGNS, LOS, and Pink Cross documented 96 anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in 2021 – 50% more than the previous year. The majority of the incidents took place close to the 2021 referendum and parliamentary action on marriage equality. There was a sharp increase in transphobic hate crimes reported.

Turkey

Kaos GL’s annual monitoring report found that 2021 was one of the most violent years against the community to date, with eight recorded murders but suspects the actual number of murders is higher. The report also highlights the issue of widespread police violence, torture and ill-treatment, and unlawful detention, particularly at demonstrations. It was also reported that 30 per cent of all violations against LGBTI+ were about freedom of assembly and expression.

Ukraine

Nash Mir’s annual report documented 55 hate crimes against LGBT people in 2021. Nash Mir documented more than 75 hate crimes in 2022, the majority of which were in some way connected to military operations. Nash Mir noted that the numbers might be much higher as it was difficult to document cases in occupied territories.

United Kingdom

Hate crimes against LGBT people in the UK have reached dramatic numbers. The UK Home Office’s annual hate crime statistics report highlighted that homophobic hate crimes increased by 41% and transphobic hate crimes by 56%, in England and Wales. This marks the starkest annual increase since 2012. The report attributes the rise in transphobic hate crimes in part to anti-trans media reporting. Galop’s 2022 Hate Crime Report echoed these numbers and the reasons behind them.

In Northern Ireland, there were more hate incidents recorded across each hate motivation strand when compared with the previous twelve months (with the exception of faith/religion incidents) with 15% increase in homophobic and 24% in transphobic incidents. Research carried out by The Rainbow Project in 2021, has shown that 51% of those who had experienced hate crime had not reported it to the Police Services of Northern Ireland. The most common response was that they are still not confident that their complaints will be taken seriously, some unaware that PSNI can take action and were fearful of repercussions.

Galop’s report ‘LGBT+ Experiences of Abuse from Family Members’ highlighted that 29% of LGBT+ people have experienced abuse from family members – 60% attributed this to them being LGBT+. 63% of the victims were under 18 when they first faced violence at home. Galop’s adjoining report warned that support services for LGBT+ victims are rare and insufficient. Galop also published its ‘LGBT+ People & Sexual Violence Report’ on the basis of almost 1,000 LGBT+ survivors. More than half thought that the violence was inflicted upon them due to them being LGBT+ and most reported detrimental consequences on their mental health.

Search for your country chapter in our Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia here.

The most striking finding of ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review 2023 is a stark rise in the ferocity of anti-LGBTI hate and violence reported in Europe and Central Asia. But alongside this worrying trend, there are positive developments in areas such as legal gender recognition, public support, intersex human rights and civil society. Here are the key highlights.

At ILGA-Europe we’ve just published our Annual Review, showcasing the main developments and trends in the human rights Situation for LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia. Disturbingly, the most striking finding this year is the levels of hate reported in the region. 12 years into this yearly reporting, the present edition finds that anti-LGBTI violence in 2022 was more targeted and extreme than ever in the history of our reporting.

Our Annual Review aims to paint a clear picture of the reality from the ground for our communities. It documents individual cases and events, as well as legislative, social and political advancements and regressions, and new available data. All reporting is based on the work of LGBTI activists in each country featured in these pages, as well as on our own work.

While the review points to the devastating consequences of the instrumentalisation of LGBTI people, mostly for political gain, there have been other developments in the direction of human rights and protection of LGBTI people.

We have not seen this severity of the violence before

For years, ILGA-Europe has been documenting the rise in hate while activists across the region have shown how anti-LGBTI speech, both online and by political and religious leaders, translates into violence harming people.

This phenomenon is across the board in this year’s Annual Review. For example, in France, the Ministry of Interior reported a 28% rise in hate crimes between 2020 and 2021. In Switzerland, LGBTI organisations reported a 50% increase between 2020 and 2021. Spain reported a 68% increase in 2021, while in England and Wales transphobic incidents rose by 56%.

There are also more reports than ever before of LGBTI people taking their lives, a clear sign how discrimination, hate speech and harassment are impacting mental health. In Italy, three trans women took their lives. Two of them were teenagers, the third woman was a teacher, who was suspended from school because she had socially transitioned. In Armenia, a young gay couple committed suicide after suffering harassment when a photo of them kissing went viral. These are just a few examples.

Sexual education is increasingly compromised

Education is a growing battleground in the resistance to LGBTI people and rights. In Hungary, as result of law banning LGBT content, teachers reported a fear of bringing sexual orientation, gender identity and other topics to the classrooms. In the Netherlands, 36 orthodox schools require anti-LGBTI declarations from pupils and parents, and the new Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni has publicly advocated for a ban on sex education in schools and the exclusion of LGBT people in children’s books.

Russia expanded its ‘propaganda law’ to prohibit positive and neutral information about LGBT people and “gender reassignment” to minors and adults. There was an alarming number of ‘propaganda’ charges or threats in educational establishments in the country. All in all, progression on sexual education is being challenged.

Public support for LGBTI people is growing

In parallel, the report finds growing support among societies for LGBTI people, also in countries where we might not expect it. For example, most Hungarians don’t consider ‘homosexual propaganda’ an important issue. In Poland, two thirds of the population support marriage equality and 60% support the abolition of anti-LGBT resolutions in the country.

What’s more, many politicians across Europe have shown their support throughout 2022. Many reacted with horror to the killings in Oslo and Bratislava and the European Parliament has publicly condemned the violations of LGBTI rights. We need more governments standing strong against hate in the media and online and more progress in advancing laws against hate crimes that protect LGBTI people.

There are more legal gender recognition laws that include self-determination

In the face of enormous backlash on trans people, and a number of forces trying to stop legal gender recognition (LGR), some countries made progress in 2022 and others showed a will to ensure a model of LGR based on self-determination.

Scotland, Finland and Spain were the best examples; by adopting LGR laws that include self-determination, these countries are showing a clear way forward for other governments.

Same-sex partnership is back on the agenda

After stagnating for a number of years, same-sex partnership recognition is on the rise again. Andorra adopted legislation to ensure heterosexual marriage and the recognition of same-sex civil partnerships guarantee the same set of rights. In Latvia, following a Supreme court decision ruling that same-sex couples should be given civil status, same-sex couples were recognised in court cases. Slovenia and Switzerland adopted marriage equality, including positive changes regarding adoption rights. Other countries took steps forward the adoption of laws that recognise same-sex partnerships.

While intersex human rights are rightfully taking a space in the agenda

There is also a growing awareness of intersex human rights across Europe. While Greece adopted a ban on non-vital medical interventions on children, the European Commission conducted surveys and interviews for the first EU study on the lives of intersex people and their parents (expected to be published this summer). The Council of Europe is preparing a Recommendation on intersex human rights while the Chair of European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and PACE General Rapporteur for the rights of LGBTI people shared supportive statements.

Behind every positive development, there are LGBTI activists doing hard work

LGBTI organisations and activists across our region are key to all the advances on LGBTI people’s rights and the support to their communities during 2022.

Despite difficult circumstances, more and more Prides are being organised, support for the most vulnerable in the community is provided and work with institutions and policy makers continues advancing LGBTI people rights.

More and more organisations report covering for gaps in service provision, and providing services where the community does not feel safe to access mainstreaming services, for example when it comes to shelter.

The most remarkable support was that of the LGBTI community in Ukraine through LGBTI organisations, as well as the support by activists across Europe for Ukrainian LGBTI refugees.

LGBTI activists are the central players in countries where progress has been made, as we’ve seen in Spain and Finland, where huge effort went into successfully keeping self-determined legal gender recognition on the right political track, despite fierce opposition.

The Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia is published every February, as part of our Rainbow Europe package. We thank all those across 54 countries who worked with us to make sure our reporting was accurate.

Find out what’s been happening in your country here.

ILGA-Europe invites organisations and initiative groups from the region of Europe and Central Asia to join our program aimed to support the LGBTI movement in its Documentation and Advocacy work.

This year we offer an opportunity to apply for funding to collect and document data on cases of violence against the LGBTI communities in Europe and Central Asia. We will support proposals focusing on collecting evidence that provides advocacy insights on the situations around institutionalised violence as well as tackling lack of support to the victims of domestic violence based on their SOGIESC.

This activity is launched under the priorities of Pathways 2, 4 and 5 of ILGA-Europe’s Strategic Framework for the period of 2019 – 2023. The grants will be supported from ILGA-Europe’s own funds, coming from private donations.

Deadline for applications: 15 November 2022, 23.59 CET (Brussels time).

Themes of the call

Through this program we intend to support 8-10 organisations/initiatives in one of the following thematic areas, which are currently requiring attention from the advocacy perspective and yet do have sufficient evidence documented.

1. Discrimination and violence by police and other criminal justice institutions  

ILGA-Europe members across our region report that LGBTI people, particularly LGBTI people facing multiple and/or intersectional marginalisation, are frequently subjected to human rights violations by police, even when reporting cases of hate crime. In addition, we often hear that the police and other institutions of criminal justice avoid properly investigating cases of violence against LGBTI people and brining perpetrators to justice, even when the country has adopted a legislative framework that provides for LGBTI-specific grounds for protection. However, when we report these instances to international institutions, to explain that this is a systemic issue which needs specific solutions, we often do not have the quantitative or systematic data to back up our claims.

2. Access of victims of domestic violence[1] to justice and victims support services

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, ILGA-Europe has been working on domestic violence against LGBTI people in our region. We continue hearing that LGBTI victims of domestic violence face specific challenges when attempting to access justice and support services. Negative experiences in dealing with government agencies or social support services because of their SOGIESC, can contribute to LGBTI victims feeling concerned they will not be understood or believed when disclosing abuse from their partners or family members. When LGBTI victims report abuse to law enforcement officials or social services, they can still face additional barriers to getting the necessary support to leave an abusive relationship or environment. Despite widespread domestic violence against LGBTI people and issues in accessing victims support services and justice, these issues remain invisible in official statistics as EU member states fail to record domestic violence against LGBTI people comprehensively and systematically. 

The specific goal and work that can be supported under this program:

The program is aimed at supporting collection of violence cases against the LGBTI communities through allocation of grants to organisations for collecting evidence of (1) institutionalised violence and (2) refusal to and/or lack of support for the victims of domestic violence because of their SOGIESC. Below are some details of what can be monitored and documented:

1. Discrimination and violence by police and other criminal justice institutions

We encourage applicants to look at human rights violations, not just among the police but also among other institutions of justice (prosecution, judiciary, defence), who either commit violations or refuse to sanction or investigate violence when it is their duty to do so. We encourage quantitative data collection to be disaggregated on intersecting identities such as race, migrant status, disability, age and gender, in order to show how certain LGBTI people are more exposed to violence, and to help activists have data to forge strong alliances with other marginalised groups who are working to tackle institutional violence in criminal justice. Below are some examples of cases for documentation:

1. When someone reports a case of discrimination, hate crime or hate speech with a SOGIESC motive and receives LGBTI-phobia from police/investigators, at the moment of reporting and/or during the investigation process.

2. Denial of treatment or mistreatment of LGBTI people in medical settings.

3. Systemic lack of prosecution in SOGIESC related cases, especially when the legal framework exists (i.e. non-implementation of the anti-discrimination or hate crime/hate speech law which has SOGIESC as aggravating factors).

2. Access of victims of domestic violence to justice and victims support services

As disaggregated data is essential to truly understanding the prevalence of domestic violence against LGBTI people and access to support services and enables informed decisions on where and how to target legislative protection, funding and other support, we are calling for project proposals aimed at quantitative data collection on barriers to access of victims of domestic violence to justice and victims support services. Below are some examples of cases for documentation:

1. When LGBTI person is suffering from domestic violence on the hands of partner or family member but does not report to the police because of lack of legal protection at the national level. For example, a person suffering intimate partner violence and living in same sex partnership cannot report intimate partner violence because national legislation defines intimate partner violence as violence experienced in different-sex partnerships (male perpetrators and female victims).

2. Denial of access to shelters for trans or male victims of domestic violence, in particular access for trans women to shelter for female victims of domestic violence.

3. Limited access to information. For instance, when LGBTI youth or children experience physical, psychological or economic harm at the hands of parent or legal guardian but they do not have access to hotlines to receive information on how and where to seek help.  

IMPORTANT! Submitted applications should concentrate on documentation of ONE type of violence: institutionalised OR domestic.

Budget and scope

Under this program ILGA-Europe will provide grants to LGBTI organisations and initiative groups in budget sizes depending on their annual budgets, organisational experience in Monitoring and Documentation, as well previous experience of implementing projects under the re-granting schemes of ILGA-Europe, including the Documentation and Advocacy fund. Depending on the organisational profile, applicants shall submit their proposals under one of the tiers below:

Tier	Expected budget of grant	Minimum eligibility requirements under each tier (applicants must meet all the bullet points):
Tier I	EUR 5.000-10.000 (around 5 grants)	Newly established LGBTI groups: registered or not registered and have recently started organising themselves Non-registered applicants need to identify a fiscal sponsor Minimal or no experience in monitoring and documentation as well as grants implementation
Tier II	EUR 10.000-15.000 (around 5 grants)	LGBTI organisations registered as legal entities Applicants have previous experience of implementing projects under ILGA-Europe’s re-granting schemes Applicants have already some or in-depth experience in documentation of human rights violations cases.

Funding amounts will be determined on the basis of the scope of the project proposal, taking into consideration factors such as geographical scope, capacity to absorb funding and costs of living in the concerned country.

Useful information, links, and tools

ILGA-Europe are open to support grants that have already documentation systems in place as well as those who want to set up a system for documentation of human rights violation cases. Applicants are free to choose the methodology for documenting violence cases. The experience of the ILGA-Europe work in previous years demonstrated that implementation of such projects allows selected applicants to develop data collection skills on cases of institutionalised or domestic violence cases in Europe and Central Asia. In case if an applicant requires additional information to decide on methodology here you can find useful information at https://www.huridocs.org/our-manuals/ or https://uwazi.io/ . You can also get in touch with ILGA-Europe to ask for specific tools.

Under this call ILGA-Europe will support documentation methods and reporting techniques which may include on-line reporting, face-to-face interviews or interviews by phone. ILGA-Europe will also support the publication of the report to be produced as a result of the project. At minimal, all projects should include the collection of data and the production of a report on the basis of the data collected.

Application forms shall include a description of the planned activities and of the chosen reporting methodology. Your proposals will be evaluated taking into account the capacity of your organisation to implement the project.

Information on the advocacy plans that your organisation intends to carry out on the basis of the produced report will be considered as an asset for your application. Organizations are also encouraged to demonstrate how this project will support the building of internal documentation skills in relation to documentation of situations around the case of institutionalised or domestic violence.

Information on your organisation’s plans to sustain in the long term the reporting and monitoring processes put in place thanks to the grant will be considered as an asset for your application.

ILGA-Europe’s staff remains available to facilitate information exchange on methodological tools used by its successful applicants. You can also find information about most recent documentation projects at ILGA-Europe webpage.

Applications should define vocabulary clearly and use it consistently throughout their proposal and project. It is important to clearly identify the indicators you intend to use and how you will gather, classify and measure the information to be collected. For guidance see HURIDOCS and UNHR sources.

Eligibility criteria

All applications will be assessed based on the following criteria

• Under this Call, the maximum duration of projects cannot exceed 12 months and projects shall be completed on or before December 31, 2023. Proposed minimum duration of projects is 8 months

• ONLY applications from LGBTI organisations in the European region and Central Asia[2] are eligible. A list of the eligible countries can be found here
• The totals of the budget should fall into one of tiers described above  
• The submitted application should concentrate on documentation of ONE type of violence: institutionalised OR domestic. Applications including both will be considered as ineligible
• Documentation of violence cases in the period of project implementation (2023) as well as cases happened in 2021 and 2022.

The selected applications should:

• Provide a clear methodology and outline what the objectives, added-value and expected outcomes are;
• Allow for the documentation of new evidence on LGBTI discriminatory practices in documentation;
• Enhance data collection skills on violence cases against LGBTI communities;
• Clearly indicate the language of the final product (advocacy report) and other outputs;

The deadline for the applications submission is 15 November 2022, 23.59 CET (Brussels time). Decisions on grants awarded will be communicated in December 2022.

Due to capacity and funding limitations NO applications from outside Europe and Central Asia, or submitted after the deadline will be accepted.

You can submit your application in English or ask any questions to ILGA-Europe’s Senior Programmes and Policy Officer Boris Balanețkii: boris@ilga-europe.org.

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[1] “domestic violence” means all acts of violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering, that occur within the family or domestic unit, irrespective of biological or legal family ties, or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the offender shares or has shared a residence with the victim

[2] Countries-members of the Council of Europe as well as Russia, Belarus, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The cousin of LGBTI activist Avaz Hafizli has been jailed for his horrific murder, which came on foot of protests against hateful Instagram posts by the Instagram star, Sevinj Huseynova, who called for the physical ‘removal’ of sexual minorities and trans people from Azerbaijan. The trial was a travesty of justice, according to activists.

On 22 February 2022, the Azeri LGBTQ+ activist and journalist, Avaz Hafizli was brutally murdered by his cousin, 24-year-old Amrulla Gulaliyev. Local LGBTI activists in Azerbaijan believe the murder was motivated by homophobic bias and to protect the “honour” of the family.

The case has been investigated and last month Gulaliyev was sentenced to nine years and six months by Baku Court of Grave Crimes. During the investigation the additional details of the murder were not considered, namely the brutal circumstances of the killing and sexual mutilation of Avaz’ corpse. LGBTI activists were also barred from the court. Gulaliyev was sentenced without any consideration of a biased motive, which would have carried with it double the length of sentence.

ILGA-Europe believe that Azerbaijan failed to fulfil its human rights obligation to prompt, thorough, impartial, and independent investigation to hold responsible person to account for “honour killing” and hate crime as it did not take aggravating circumstances into account when determining sentence.

Avaz’s murder came in the wake of Instagram posts last year by Azerbaijani social media influencer, Sevinj Huseynova, who called for the physical ‘removal’ of sexual minorities and trans people from Azerbaijan in a video that was watched by thousands.

Here is a timeline in the lead-up to Avaz’ murder and the conviction of his cousin, and why it is an example of a stacked system against LGBTI people and the activist movement in Azerbaijan.

July 7, 2021

Azeri Instagram star, Sevinj Huseynova shared a video on her Instagram account in which she humiliated LGBTIs, especially trans women, and encouraged hatred and hostility towards them. 

July 9, 2021

A group of trans women made an official appeal to the 17th police station and demanded that Sevinj Huseynova be brought to justice. Despite the appeal, no legal action was taken against Huseynova. 

July 16, 2021

Three people were attacked due to their gender in their private house in Khirdalan settlement, Absheron region, and one of them was injured with three stab wounds.

August 13, 2021

Four LGBTI people were attacked in one of the buildings located on Heydar Aliyev Avenue in Khirdalan settlement. One of them was injured.

August 23, 2021

The burned body of Nuray, a trans woman targeted by Sevinj Huseynova, was found by locals in the Buta settlement of Garadagh district.

August 25, 2021

A group of trans women gathered in front of the Garadagh District Police Department and held a protest regarding the murder of the trans woman Nuray. Later, they gathered in front of the Ombudsman’s office and put forward demands. Avaz Hafizli was one of the organisers of the protest. He was vocal in criticising the police for not taking any action against Huseynova, and about the attacks in the wake of Huseynova’s Instagram video.

September 5, 2021

Avaz Hafizli attempted suicide after he was personally threatened and insulted by Sevinj Huseynova.

September 8, 2021

Avaz chained himself to the fences of the Prosecutor General’s, as protest against Huseynova threatening and insulting him and his family. Despite Avaz Hafizli’s official appeal to the prosecutor’s office, no action was taken.

September 10, 2021

Avaz held a one-person rally in the centre of Baku to protest the transphobic and homophobic hate speech by Huseynova. He held up a sign reading “LGBT rights, human rights” and chanted “down with homophobia.” Avaz expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of state agencies to respond to Huseynova’s threatening calls.

February 22, 2022

Avaz was murdered by his cousin, 24-year-old Amrulla Gulaliyev. The murder was conducted in a gruesome fashion, followed by mutilations of Avaz’ body after his death. Gulaliyev was subsequently arrested, and was charged only with the Article 120.1 of Criminal Code – Deliberate murder. 

June 20, 2022

The preliminary hearing was held by the judge of Baku Court of Grave Crimes, Ali Mammadov.

July 18, 2022

Having been postponed on July 4, the second hearing was held. Hearings are open to the public, however civil society representatives were not allowed to attend.

Avaz’ brother represented him in the court and said he did not have any complaints against the perpetrator, his cousin. The court then asked Avaz’ mother to represent him. She said she would have to think about it.

There were some contradictions in perpetrator’s statements to police and his testimony in court. He originally told investigators that he had planned the murder three months before the event itself, however during the hearing he denied this. He said that had he and Avaz had been living in the same house for many years, and that only in 2022 did he decide to murder Avaz because of the moral ethics of society.  

After repeated requests from LGBTI activists to attend the hearings, only three were allowed with the argument that ‘there are limited places’. However when the activists entered the court room there was sufficient space to have accommodated all the requests of activists to attend.

July 29, 2022

The three activists managed to attend the concluding hearing, at which Amrulla Gulaliyev was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.

It is unclear to civil society whether the court’s decision will be appealed, as there is no contact with Avaz’ mother, who is his legal representative in this case.

Why this case is important for the Azeri movement and every LGBTI person in Azerbaijan

Over decades of monitoring by local activists, incidents of hate speech and hate crime in Azerbaijan have been numerous and severe. The state has taken no action to tackle homophobia at societal level, while existing legal mechanisms have not been implemented to protect LGBTI people from hate speech or attacks.

But this case shows how both the state and the family as institutions fail LGBTI people. While activists have gained sufficient legal knowledge and formed partnerships to offer legal support, they cannot intervene in cases where the family are both the perpetrators and the legal representatives of the victim at the same time.

The Azeri state’s efforts to silence the truth about this anti-LGBTI honour killing by not allowing the activists to access court hearings also adds to the impunity for such grave acts against this LGBTI people, who remain the most unprotected and vulnerable group in the face of homophobia in Azerbaijan.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that authorities in Armenia failed to protect an LGBT bar owner and activist from homophobic physical and verbal attacks, and arson, and to carry out effective investigation.

The case Oganezova v. Armenia originated in May 2012, when a bar co-owned by the applicant, a member of the LGBT community in Armenia, was firebombed and caused significant damage. Following the incident, the applicant was subjected to physical attacks, death threats and hate speech.  As a result, she left Armenia for Sweden, where she was granted asylum.

While two perpetrators were identified and admitted the attack, and were found guilty of intentional damage to property, the were handed a suspended two-year prison sentence, and were subsequently given amnesty. 

The European Court’s judgment is two-fold, addressing authorities’ failure to conduct an effective investigation into the arson attack without considering the homophobic motive, and secondly, failure to protect the applicant from the threats and harassment against her in the aftermath.

The Court found that the continuous harassment of the applicant and the  prevailing negative attitude towards the members of the LGBT community in general must have caused the applicant feelings of fear, anguish and insecurity which are not compatible with respect for her human dignity and reach the threshold of severity within the meaning of Article 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination).

In relation to the investigation, while the arson attack was formally investigated and the perpetrators convicted, the legal assessment of the crime took no account of the hate motive of the arson attack, “effectively rendering this fundamental aspect of the crime invisible and of no criminal significance”.

Given that the domestic criminal legislation does not provide that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity should be treated as a bias motive and an aggravating circumstance in the commission of an offence, law enforcement did not have necessary legal mechanisms to apply in this case. Therefore, the authorities failed to discharge their positive obligation to investigate in an effective manner whether the arson attack on the club which was motivated by the applicant’s sexual orientation constituted a criminal offence committed with a homophobic motive. Thus, the Court found violation of Article 3 together with Article 14 on the authorities’ failure to conduct effective investigation and subsequently protect the applicant from further attacks and harassment.

According to ILGA-Europe’s Head of Litigation, Arpi Avetisyan: “This is a very timely and important judgment, symbolically delivered on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT. The judgment makes it clear that without legislation which explicitly covers bias-motivated crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity, such crimes will remain invisible and foster impunity. We trust Armenian authorities will put in place necessary legislative measures to prevent the occurrence of similar cases taking place in the future.”

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Armenia currently ranks at 47 on our Rainbow Europe Map, ranks all 49 European countries on a scale between 0% (gross violations of human rights, discrimination) and 100% (respect of human rights, full equality). To find out more visit Rainbow
Europe here.

Right now, as the war on Ukraine escalates, democracy, human rights and equality matter more than ever in Europe. In our submission to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law report, we’ve identified key trends in the systematic attacks on the rights of LGBTI people across EU member states.

With the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is also a fundamental attack on democracy and freedom, we need to be working harder than ever to protect human rights and equality in Europe. The EU’s Rule of Law mechanism is one way in which this can be done. It can be used to ensure EU institutions react strongly to human rights violations across its member states. In the EU, rule of law means that all members of a society, including governments and members of parliaments, are equally subject to the law, under the control of independent and impartial courts.

The rule of law is important because it has a direct impact on the life of every citizen of the EU, and it ensures that laws protecting fundamental rights and democracy are respected by everyone, and can be enjoyed by everyone. It is a fundamental value upon which the EU is based.

Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that many government-led violations of LGBTI rights in EU member states, go hand-in-hand with an undermining of the rule of law. In ILGA-Europe’s submission to this year’s EU Rule of Law Report, we’ve reported on the systematic attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people across the EU, which have been enabled by the weakening of rule of law and democratic structures in several member states.

ILGA-Europe, with the input of various national-level LGBTI organisations, has submitted written input to inform the 2022 annual report, in order to ensure the violations of LGBTI rights linked to rule of law deterioration are recognised by EU institutions, and are addressed in their follow-up with member states. Here are the trends which we have highlighted to the EC:

Anti-LGBTI bias

In countries where the freedom of the judiciary is weakened, we have been witnessing political interference or bias in court cases related to LGBTI rights. For example, in Poland, the Ministry of Justice uses its powers to repeatedly appeal verdicts that were in favour of LGBTI defendants.

Also, in countries where media freedom is under attack, we are seeing more prevalence of anti-LGBTI bias, smear campaigns and even censorship of LGBTI content. Some LGBTI organisations are facing funding restrictions.

Arbitrary use of COVID-19 regulations

In certain countries, COVID-19 regulations have been applied in a discriminatory manner or have been used arbitrarily to restrict the freedom of assembly of LGBTI people. States of emergency have allowed governments to fast-track legislation unrelated to the pandemic, but which directly attack the rights of LGBTI people.

The most well-known example of this is the anti-paedophilia legislation adopted by Hungary in June 2021, which includes provisions which ban the “portrayal and the promotion of gender identity different from sex at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality” for persons under 18, and applies these to a number of regulations related to child protection, family, education, media and advertisement.

The European Commission started infringement proceedings against Hungary due to this law in July 2021. A similar law has since been tabled in Slovakia, is being drafted in Romania, and has been suggested for drafting in Poland and Croatia.

Judgments are not implemented

Judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) or the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) continued to not be implemented last year. The most notable of these is the Coman case from 2018, on freedom of movement for same-sex spouses. Due to its non-implementation in Romania, the country where the case started, it has been taken to the ECtHR. An official complaint was also submitted to the European Commission, with a similar case.

Rise in hate crime and hate speech against LGBTI people

Across the EU, hate speech by politicians was a serious issue during 2021, creating an unsafe environment for LGBTI civil society and often being related to a rise in hate crime and hate speech against LGBTI people more broadly. In some EU countries, LGBTI activists are receiving death threats online. In 2021 alone, offices of LGBTI organisations were attacked in Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain. Staff and volunteers of LGBTI organisations were also attacked in Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia, many of which happened after anti-LGBTI smear campaigns in the media. Stickers with the design of the Polish “LGBT-free Zone” sticker appeared in various cities in Belgium, Bulgaria and Latvia. These incidents have led to an effective restriction of LGBTI people’s right to freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

Hate crimes are not investigated

Hate crimes against LGBTI people often are still not sufficiently investigated. A number of EU countries still do not have hate crime legislation with sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics as aggravating grounds. In some countries which do have such legal protection, it is often not implemented properly by police, prosecutors or even Ombudspersons.

So, what can be done?

The EU has a number of tools at its disposal to ensure the respect of the rule of law in all EU countries. The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the EU, is responsible for guaranteeing the respect of rule of law.

The EU can take specific steps against violations of LGBTI rights in member states, that is if they go against EU legislation and/or if they are rule of law violations. Instruments the EC can use in such cases include so-called infringement procedures, as we see against Hungary and Poland at the moment, triggering Article 7 of the Treaty of the EU, to suspend certain rights from a member state, as well as cuts in EU funding based on rule of law violations

The EU annual rule of law report highlights breaches of EU and national law, including erosion of democratic standards. Based on this report, the EU institutions talk with EU countries, as well as national parliaments, civil society and other stakeholders in order to address concerns and avoid deterioration.

We hope that our remarks are heard and that the EC will integrate them in its annual Rule of Law Report. LGBTI rights are human rights and must be protected the same way rule of law should be respected in every EU country.

The European Commission has put forward a legal initiative to extend the list of EU crimes to include hate speech, both online and offline, and hate crime, with clear understanding that LGBTI people must be protected.

Today, with its initiative to tackle hate crime and hate speech across the European Union, the EU Commission has recognised ever-growing violence and hate speech against LGBTI people by including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) as protected grounds in the second step of the initiative.  

By naming SOGIESC explicitly in the hate crime and hate speech initiative, the Commission has drawn attention to the prevalence of bias motivated violence and incitement against LGBTI people due to historical and structural discrimination and oppression, and sends a signal to the criminal justice system, potential perpetrators and victims of hate crime or hate speech that hate crime and hate speech against LGBTI people should be taken seriously. 

On 16 September this year, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen announced, in her State of the Union Address at the European Parliament a new initiative on extending the list of EU crimes to all forms of hate crime and hate speech – whether because of race, religion, gender or sexuality. It was further mentioned in the Commission Work Programme 2021 and in February 2021, the Commission published a roadmap on the initiative, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021.

As it is noted in a letter sent by the ILGA-Europe, OII Europe and TGEU to President von der Leyen, only by the explicit inclusion can existing protection gaps be closed across the EU and LGBTI phobic hate crime be tackled effectively. A number of reports show that in places where discrimination against LGBTI people prevails, the provision of a general legal protection often leads to disadvantageous application of the law against this group.

Welcoming the explicit inclusion of SOGIESC in the initiative, Akram Kubanychbekov, Senior Advocacy Officer with ILGA-Europe said: “Considering the prevalence of hate speech and hate crime against LGBTI people in the EU, it is critical that the EU finally recognises bias-motivated violence and speech against LGBTI people.

“This will establish a legislative framework to work towards real change in society, where right of LGBTI people are fully respected on equal footing with others. It will also allow to develop policies at the EU and national levels on preventing bias motivated violence, advance support services for victims of such crimes and training staff of the criminal justice system among others.”

Background information:

Article 83(1) TFEU provides for an exhaustive list of areas of particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension (known as ‘list of EU crimes’) for which the European Parliament and the Council may establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions. Under Article 83(1), third subparagraph, based on ‘developments in crime’, the Council may adopt unanimously a decision (subject to the consent of the Parliament) extending this list by adding other areas of crime. The Commission presented this initiative to trigger such Council decision, through a Communication to the European Parliament and the Council.

Adoption of the decision of the Council to identify hate speech and hate crime as “other areas of crime” will serve as a legal basis for the next step: adoption of a directive or regulation setting standards for the prosecution of such crimes, recognition of the protected characteristics, and the protection of victims of the bias motivated violence or incitement to discrimination across the EU.  Second step will go through the ordinary legislative procedure.  

This initiative will complement the work on a legislative proposal on preventing and combatting gender-based violence against women and domestic violence to be presented at the beginning of 2022 and the proposal for a Digital Services Act.

ILGA-Europe have provided input to numerous open and targeted consultations on the topic this year and closely supported the Commission’s work on this initiative.

The full text of the Communication to the European Parliament and the Council can be read here.

ILGA-Europe,  OII Europe, and TGEU urge the European Commission to acknowledge the existing prevalence of the violence and incitement to discrimination against LGBTI people, through naming SOGIGESC explicitly as protected grounds in the upcoming EU-level hate crime and hate speech legal initiative.

Dear Commission President von der Leyen,

As organisations working for an equal and inclusive Europe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, we would like to raise our concerns regarding the upcoming initiative of the European Commission on extending the list of EU crimes to all forms of hate crime and hate speech.

In recent years, hate speech and hate crime targeting persons and organisations based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics have increased globally, and also across the European Union.

Given this increasingly alarming context, we would like to thank you for your strong message of support for our community and commitment to advancing equality for LGBTI people, from your State of the Union speech last September to the adoption of the first ever EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy in November. The clear commitments to provide protection from hate crime and hate speech on extended grounds, including hate against LGBTI people are important signals that the European Commission stands firm on the protection of rights LGBTI people. 

As the European Commission is at the finalisation stage of the initiative on extending the list of EU crimes to all forms of hate crime and hate speech, ILGA-Europe, TGEU and OII Europe are  urging you and the College of Commissioners to stay true to the commitment made by you and Commissioner Dalli on several occasions to ensure the protection of LGBTI people against hate crimes, by including the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics explicitly in the proposed extension. Only by the explicit inclusion can existing protection gaps be closed across the EU and LGBTI phobic hate crime be tackled effectively. In the situation, where bias and discrimination against the group is prevalent in general society, provision of general legal protection often leads to disadvantageous application of the law against these group.

Over the last years, we have been seeing targeted attacks against trans people and their rights, which mis-characterise the fight for equality of trans people as promotion of so-called “gender ideology”. In a targeted campaign of ultra-conservative forces against women’s rights as well as LGBTI rights, trans people are being targeted and made even more vulnerable, as the unleashing of transphobic hate speech often translates in violence and hate crimes against them. In addition, intersex people and intersex organisations have become increasingly a target of intersexphobic hate speech. These attacks are carried out by the same ultra-conservative actors and focus on the person having a variation of sex characteristics or the organisation working for intersex people’s rights.

The 2019 FRA LGBTI survey, clearly documented the overproportionate rise in hate crimes and hate speech against trans and intersex people. 17% of trans and 22% of intersex respondents experienced physical or sexual attacks, while 48% of trans and 42% of intersex people experienced harassment, registering the highest rates among the LGBTI population. The impact of hate crime and hate speech also proved to be disproportionately harmful for trans and intersex victims: 58% of trans and 54% of intersex respondents reported suffering from psychological problems and 48% of intersex and 39% of trans respondents felt limited in their freedom of movement, as a result of the attack.  TGEUs global Trans Murder Monitoring showed that the last year has been the deadliest since the beginning of recordings with 357 reported cases; moreover 96% of murdered trans people globally were trans women and trans feminine persons.

In the light of the extreme rise in transphobia and the well-documented impact it is having on trans and intersex people, it would be a very negative signal if the Commission was to propose an extension of protection against hate crimes which does not explicit include the grounds of gender identity and sex characteristics. It would be a serious disappointment to the communities that are looking to the Commission to finally get protection of their rights, on equal footing with everyone else, following the strong commitments to the protection on trans and intersex rights in the EU LGBTIQ Strategy. It would also send a very dangerous message to all those actors who are fuelling hatred, that trans and intersex people remain a legitimate target of their hateful speech, as trans and intersex people would continue to be unprotected.

The European Commission has shown in the past that it is possible to ensure legal protection of trans and intersex people, by explicitly including gender identity and gender expression in EU legislation. The Victims’ Rights Directive has set the standard, by providing protection to LGBTI victims of crimes beyond sexual orientation by including gender identity and gender expression as protected grounds. FRA has also interpreted the Directive as inclusive of intersex people, which is in line with the core objective of this legal instrument, aimed at protecting all victims of crime, in respect of the non-discrimination principle. The new initiative on the extension of Eurocrimes cannot fall behind the standards previously set, and therefore it needs to explicitly include gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. Without recognition of bias-motivated violence and hate speech against LGBTI people, victims of such crimes are left out of the protection.   

It is crucial to provide an effective legislative protection for LGBTI people by acknowledging the existing prevalence of the violence and incitement to discrimination against them through naming sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics explicitly in the EU level hate crime and hate speech legal initiative.  

We are calling up on you to take effective and meaningful action to ensure that safety and dignity of LGBTI people are fully protected in the upcoming hate crime and hate speech initiative of the Commission, adding that we at ILGA-Europe, TGEU and OII Europe remain fully and firmly committed to supporting the European Commission in its work, wherever we can.

The murders of 375 trans and gender-diverse people were reported between October 2020 and September 2021, according to the latest Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) update, and 2021 is set to be the deadliest year for trans communities since TGEU began collecting data. We say the names of those whose lives were cut short in our region, with a view towards a world where all trans people can live in equality, freedom and peace.

Violence against trans people is a continually growing issue that’s reaching record levels. This year, TGEU has accounted the highest number of trans and gender-diverse people whose lives have been cut short since the organisation began to collect data in 2008. The murders of 375 trans and gender-diverse people have been reported in the past 12 months, 7% more than in 2020, which was already a 6% increase from the previous update.

14 of the murders took place in Europe and one in Kazakhstan. 43% of the trans people killed in the region were migrants. Worldwide, Brazil remains the deadliest country of all. Other global facts include:

• 96% of those murdered globally were trans women or transfeminine people
• 58% of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers
• 36% of the murders took place on the street and 24% in their own place of residence
• The average age of those murdered is 30 years old; the youngest being 13 years old and the oldest 68 years old

These numbers are just a glimpse into the actual scenario, as most cases are not reported and those which are recorded receive little attention. TGEU warns of a “worrying trend when it comes to the intersections of misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and hate towards sex workers, with the majority of victims being Black and migrant trans women of colour, and trans sex workers”.

Say their names

Trans Day of Remembrance is marked each November 20 to commemorate trans people whose lives were lost as a result of anti-trans violence. It is important not to forget that behind the numbers there were actual individuals who had families, friends, a history and a future. To honour their memories, TGEU has also collected their names and how they died. Here you will find a list of those whose lives were brutally and needlessly cut short in Europe and Central Asia after transphobic attacks.

• Nuray Nuriyev, 27 years old. Baku, Azerbaijan
• Paula Migeon, 50 years old. Reims, France
• Ambre Audrey Istier, 50 years old. Isère, France
• Ivanna Angeline Macedo, 28 years old. Paris, France
• Dimitra Kalogiannis, 64 years old. Athens, Greece
• N.N., 30 years old. Piacenza, Italy
• Adrieli. Rome, Italy
• Dzhakonda. Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
• Angelita Seixas Alves Correia, 31 years old. Matosinhos, Portugal.
• Viktoria (Vika) Basakovskaya, 23 years old. Novosibirsk region, Russia
• Iratxe Otero, 29 years old. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
• Selin Aynaci, 42 years old, Antalya, Turkey.
• Mira? Güne?, 36 years old. Izmir, Turkey
• Pamela ‘Pam’. Turkey
• Kadir Murat Sözübir, 42 years old. Fatih, Turkey

These names, these lives and those of the 360 other trans and gender-diverse people whose murders were reported, and all of those who have gone un-reported, are a stark reminder of why continually mounting violence against trans people needs to be condemned by policymakers, civil society, and society at large in the strongest possible terms. We join in mourning the lives lost and commit to continuing to fight for the world we want to see, where all trans and gender-diverse people live full and equal lives in freedom and in peace.

Over the past number of years, LGBTI people have come under increasing attack from ruling politicians, religious leaders and other public figures in Poland. This has come in the form of dangerous and false framing of LGBTI people as a threat to children, and as a threat to Christianity.

We have created and will be updating this abbreviated timeline of what’s been happening over the past two years with the rise of official homophobia and transphobia.

Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic has issued a powerful comment, clarifying that LGBTI people are being used as a political pawns by ultra-conservative leaders in more and more European countries, and that in turn the human rights and freedom of everyone are being undermined. Here’s what she had to say.

“World Pride is being celebrated on our continent this week, but a surge in intolerance towards LGBTI people in Europe is nothing to be proud about,” said Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic in the opening paragraph of a powerful comment, published on August 16. She went on to warn that public officials “are failing in their duty to promote equal dignity and human rights for all.”

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution established by the Council of Europe. Its mission is to protect human rights across Europe, pursuing direct dialogue with authorities in each state, providing advice and raising awareness, and supporting the work of human rights defenders.

Issuing comments is one of her tools towards these goals. The latest one is a strong message of support to all LGBTI communities on the European continent and a wake-up call at a time when politicians and public officials are blatantly targeting LGBTI people for their own political gain.

Here are the Commissioner’s nine main statements about the manipulation of LGBT rights by ultra-conservative politicians to gain power in Europe:

1.“Scapegoating LGBTI minorities has become a tactic applied by ultra-conservative and nationalist politicians posing as defenders of so-called “traditional values” to strengthen their base and gain or stay in power. I have observed that stigmatisation of LGBTI people is particularly pronounced in the run-up to elections and votes.”

2.“In addition to mobilising certain categories of voters, the exploitation of societal homo/transphobia has proven a convenient way to divert public attention away from government failure to address pressing social issues and rising inequalities, and broader attacks underway on human rights and democracy.”

3.“Anti-gender movement actors seek to blur the lines for their audience by adopting the vocabulary of human rights, but what they are doing in reality is working to deprive other groups — mainly women and LGBTI people — of their rights.”

4.“By permeating the political scene, the anti-gender movements are increasingly well-placed to erode the protection of human rights in Europe. It is urgent to acknowledge this fact and take steps to counter it.”

5.“Targeting LGBTI people for political gain is a costly strategy which harms the lives and well-being of those affected and undermines social cohesion in general. When public officials and elected politicians employ intolerant rhetoric, this signals to others that they too can engage in hateful actions with impunity.”

6.“Stigmatisation and political manipulation of LGBTI issues rarely stops at words; it often goes on to adversely affect how LGTBI rights are protected at policy level and by law […] Bills that should be uncontroversial have spurred heated political debate. For example, in Italy, a bill ensuring that sexual orientation and gender identity are mentioned along with other grounds in a law prohibiting hate speech and hate crimes, has been blocked for months.”

7.“As clearly established by the European Court of Human Rights, hate speech against LGBTI people is not protected by freedom of expression, and neither is it by freedom of belief.”

8.“Political parties and parliaments should adopt codes of ethics that prohibit and punish homophobic and transphobic hate speech. Public representatives should systematically condemn homophobic and transphobic speech. There must be no impunity for particularly serious cases of incitement to hatred and violence by politicians.”

9.“Human rights are universal and indivisible: ensuring that everyone in society can enjoy them is the key to cohesive, peaceful societies where everyone can strive. Pitting groups of people against each other breeds tensions, hate and violence — only serving the narrow interests of some unscrupulous politicians.”

In March 2021, a coalition of European networks working on LGBTI rights and including ILGA-Europe, EL*C, TGEU, OII Europe and EGLSF submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe a briefing note on violence and discrimination against LBTI women in sport.

A judgement issued today by the European Court of Human Rights finds that the response of Croatian authorities to a hate crime against a lesbian woman was “particularly destructive of fundamental human rights”.  

In today’s judgment in Sabalic v Croatia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) in conjunction with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on the account of Croatian authorities’ failure to respond effectively to the applicant’s allegations of the violent homophobic attack against her.  

Background

The case concerned Ms Sabali?’s allegation that the Croatian authorities’ response to a violent homophobic attack against her had been inadequate. She had been attacked in a nightclub when she had refused a man’s advances, disclosing to him that she was a lesbian. The man, known as M.M, severely beat and kicked her, while shouting ‘All of you should be killed!’ and threatening to rape her. Ms Sabali? sustained multiple injuries all over her body for which she was treated in hospital.

M.M. was convicted in minor-offence proceedings of breach of public peace and order and given a fine of 300 Croatian kunas (approximately 40 euro (EUR)). Ms Sabali?, who had not been informed of those proceedings, lodged a criminal complaint against M.M. before the State Attorney’s Office, alleging that she had been the victim of a violent hate crime and discrimination.

Although Croatia has hate crime legislation and offences based on sexual orientation are to be charged as an aggravated crime, it is generally disregarded and violent acts are considered as minor offences, as in the applicant’s case. 

ECtHR finding

The European Court found that “such a response of the domestic authorities through the minor offences proceedings is not capable of demonstrating the State’s Convention commitment to ensuring that homophobic ill-treatment does not remain ignored by the relevant authorities and to providing effective protection against acts of ill-treatment motivated by the applicant’s sexual orientation”. 

It stressed that “the sole recourse to the minor offences proceedings against [the aggressor] could be considered rather as a response that fosters a sense of impunity for the acts of violent hate crime.”  Such conduct by Croatian authorities was found to be “particularly destructive of fundamental human rights”. 

The Court’s judgment was informed by a third party intervention submitted jointly by the AIRE Centre (Advice on individual rights in Europe), ILGA-Europe, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

Marko Jurcic, an activist at Zagreb Pride who provided victim support for the case, said: “The European Court of Human Rights has proven something we have been saying for decades: the Croatian police are failing to protect victims of homophobic and transphobic violence. Unfortunately, the practice of treating homophobic and transphobic hate crimes as misdemeanors is continuing in Croatia. In the last couple of years, three hate-crime complaints by Zagreb Pride have also been rejected by the public prosecutor because of the police misconduct.” 

According to ILGA-Europe’s Head of Litigation, Arpi Avetisyan: “Today’s judgment sends a strong signal to the Council of Europe member states to ensure effective investigation, prosecution and punishment of homophobic and transphobic violent crimes. Downplaying such crimes and letting the aggressors get away without due punishment serves as encouragement to homophobia and transphobia.”

Matthew Evans, Director of AIRE Centre on today’s judgment: “Police often fail to investigate the homophobic motive behind violence despite being a key element of the criminal porceedings. In Sabalic v Croatia, the ECHR has found that such an ‘ineffective’ response can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the European Convention”. 

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Further information

• Download the press release from the ECtHR

• Download the third party intervention submitted jointly by the AIRE Centre, ILGA-Europe, and ICJ

• Read the news about the judgement, written by Blackstone Chambers, twho acted pro bono for the AIRE Centre, ILGA-Europe and the ICJ

• Find out more about our strategic litigation work

• Find out more about our third party interventions before the ECtHR.

Throughout 2020, LGBTI activists have been harassed, intimidated and threatened by well-known far right groups in Ukraine, while police and local authorities turn a blind eye. Here is activist Anna Sharyhina’s alarming story, and how you can lend her and other LGBTI Ukrainian activists your support.

Two years ago, on New Year’s Eve, Anna Sharyhina gathered with friends and activists at the headquarters of Sphere, the LGBT organisation she cofounded and leads in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. At one point during the celebration Anna realised they were trapped. Thugs had padlocked the gate from outside. The group of friends feared the attackers would hurl smoke grenades in, as had occurred at PrideHub, Kharkiv’s LGBT+ friendly community centre. Little did Anna know that this would be the first of over 20 attacks she would both witness and suffer personally over the next two years.

Anna Sharyhina has been involved in LGBTI activism for over ten years and she is well-known in the community. This year she was part of organising the first ‘Pride on Wheels’ in Ukraine, a creative celebration of amid COVID-19 restrictions. Her active role in Kharkiv’s political, social and cultural life and her visibility in events and media, however, have come at a cost.

The police just stand by and watch

The façade of PrideHub, which is run by Anna and Sphere, has been covered with graffiti, featuring death threats and abusive language, and its windows have been shattered. Urine, feces, and blood have been smeared on its front door. At some events, groups of men have blocked the entrance locking their arms in a human chain. Activists and guests at the centre have been filmed and mocked online. Recently, a man handcuffed himself at the entrance, disrupting an activist event and barring participants from entering.

On this, as on other occasions, police officers passively stood by and watched. None of the complaints filed by LGBTI activists in Kharkiv have been followed up. Despite the evidence from the video surveillance system installed at PrideHub, no investigation has been carried out. By taking no action, police and local authorities are failing to protect citizens and their rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression, as well as ignoring Ukraine’s criminal code. Only at Pride celebrations, when the international community is watching, do the authorities provide actual protection.

Threats on her phone

The group behind the attacks is the far-right Tradition and Order. It has been active in different cities in Ukraine and is known for its use of violence and intimidation against those fighting for equality, gender diversity and women’s rights.

LGBTI organisations have been documenting the rise of organised violence against LGBTI activists, organisations and events for several years, calling for LGBTI-inclusive hate crime legislation. Ukraine has an obligation under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement to introduce hate crime legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected grounds.

Anna says she feels as if they are trapped in a locked room with their abusers, and everyone is looking away. Along with the attacks on Sphere, she receives threats on her phone on a regular basis. Allies and partner organisations who have been involved in projects with her, have also been intimidated. For example, a long-time partner organisation, an educational centre that’s openly LGBTI-friendly, received a group of visitors who threatened them with violence unless they stop their cooperation with Sphere.

Much of the harassment and intimidation seems to be centered on Anna, and follows the path of the projects and collaborations that feature her. The pressure intensified after a course that she taught on the prevention of bullying in schools. Violent opponents come to her lectures and discussions, disrupting them. This is especially threatening for people who are new to activism or to the topics at hand.

Dealing with this situation and reacting to attacks in an atmosphere of impunity is taking a great personal toll on Anna, on her colleagues and on Sphere’s work. They see themselves in a swim or sink situation, where swimming is getting harder and harder.

Here is what you can do to support Anna and the LGBTI community in Kharkiv, Ukraine

In this worrying scenario, Anna and her team continue to believe in their mission and commitment to the LGBTI community in Kharkiv and elsewhere. But dealing with security in the absence of any law enforcement takes more and more resources. Activists should not have to do this alone. You can help them by:

Spreading the word. Share Anna’s and Sphere’s story and help them stay in the spotlight until the Ukrainian authorities take action to prevent harassment and violence. Visibility helps!

Speaking up. Are you part of a human rights organisation or an activist initiative? Issue a statement or write an article about Anna’s and Sphere’s case. Tell Ukrainian and international political representatives that the violence and harassment against Anna Sharyhina, other LGBTI activists and their allies in Kharkiv must stop.

The following contacts in Ukraine can make a difference. They can make sure that the threats and attacks against Anna and Sphere are properly addressed by the police. They can prevent further threats and violence by publicly condemning violence against LGBTI and other human rights defenders and sending a clear signal that it will not be tolerated.

Contact them with your statements, tag them in your posts, and tell them that it is time to take action:

• Liudmila Denisova, Human Rights Ombudsperson: https://www.facebook.com/denisovaombudsman/
• Igor Terekhov, Acting Mayor of Kharkiv: https://www.facebook.com/igor.terehov.kh
• Alyona Stryzhak, Head of the Kharkiv Patrol Police Department: https://www.facebook.com/alyona.stryzhak.9
• Andriy Rubel, Chief of the Main Directorate of the National Police: https://www.facebook.com/people/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%96%D0%B9-%D0%A0%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C/100059591866063
• Serhiy Knyazev, Adviser to the Minister of Interior: https://www.facebook.com/sergii.knyazev
• Arsen Avakov, Minister of the Interior: https://www.facebook.com/arsen.avakov.1

Every November 20, on Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR), we remember those whose lives have been taken away through transphobic violence. This year’s Trans Murder Monitoring report from Transgender Europe shows the highest number of annual killings since the report was first published 12 years ago.

Trans Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 and it is the day when we remember trans and gender-diverse people whose lives have been cut short. According to Trans Murder Monitoring by Transgender Europe (TGEU), 350 people have been killed since November 2019, a rise of 6% since last year’s 331. Furthermore, the report shows an alarming and deeply worrying gradual increase per year between 2008 and 2020.

Because the number of unreported cases is unknown, this is only part of the story. What we know is that, globally, almost all the victims were trans women or trans feminine people. Over six in ten were sex workers, 38% of the murders took place on the street, and 22% were killed their own homes. In Europe, half of the victims were migrants.

People, not numbers

This is not just data and figures; these are real, vital, living people who had their lives taken away, people who like you had hopes and dreams, friends, family and people who cared for them. People like Valera, a housekeeper beaten to death in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Or Jessyca Sarmiento, a 38 year-old sex worker who was deliberately run-over by a car in Paris, France. Or 26 year-old Essi Granlund, stabbed to death in a killing that was described by the police as “an argument between two men.”

According to the report, 11 trans people were killed in Europe. You can find out who these people were here.

“Trans women often feel the disgust and misogyny of society, especially when we first transition,” Dinah de Riquet Bons and Sabrina Sanchez, board members of the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE), wrote for ILGA-Europe’s blog last year. “Our bodies and behaviour dismantle binarism, rejecting the patriarchal privilege given to those bodies born with a penis. Embracing femininity makes us disposable; it sends us to the lowest rung on the societal ladder. We lose status, family, friends, communities, work, and possibilities to study. The most affected are those of us who have to struggle with intersectional racist discrimination because of our ethnic diversity.”

Exacerbated circumstances

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all, but especially those who were already vulnerable, and sex workers in particular. Growing racism and police brutality are also putting trans lives at greater risk, especially those of black and migrant women of colour, sex workers, young people and the economically disadvantaged. Our Rainbow Europe Map 2020 showed that only 16 countries in Europe and Central Asia have implemented hate crime law that expressly includes gender identity as an aggravating factor. This year, North Macedonia was the only country to extend protection from hate crime, after amending its Criminal Code to add sexual orientation and gender identity grounds.

3664 trans and gender-diverse people have been murdered worldwide between 2008 and 2020. We cannot lower that number but we can certainly do more to prevent it from increasing in the future. It begins with understanding that all lives are equally valuable, and that many trans lives are vulnerable. It begins with education. It begins with our societies taking responsibility for the protection and valuing of all lives, including the lives of vulnerable trans people.

We call on Turkey to respect, guarantee, protect and fulfil the fundamental rights of the LGBTI community without discrimination as enshrined by its Constitution and equality article therein (article 10), and ratified by human rights treaty bodies.

We, the undersigned human rights organisations, are concerned about rising hateful rhetoric against the LGBTI community by representatives of high-level religious and political institutions in Turkey which we have seen in the last week. These efforts are part of a broader backlash on human rights targeting various minorities. Considering the systematic attacks and bans that Turkey’s LGBTI movement has experienced at the hands of Turkish authorities since 2017,(see here and here) the statements by the chief of religious affairs and endorsed by President Erdogan are yet another escalation of an ongoing attack from state institutions against the LGBTI community, and further endanger the work of LGBTI rights defenders in the country. The attacks on the LGBTI community unfortunately have become exemplary of efforts by the Turkish government to undermine human rights and the rule of law in the country.

It is particularly concerning that the Turkish government is using the moment of the global COVID-19 pandemic to undermine the fundamental rights of marginalized groups in society. Stirring up hatred could exacerbate existing inequalities and likely lead to further discrimination in the provision of health care services, employment and other services that are vital in times of crisis. It may also lead to arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, persecution and surveillance by law enforcement authorities – who might feel that such acts are condoned or even encouraged by the government.

The Turkish government has an obligation to protect everyone from hate crime and discrimination, and should not be part of any statements that could encourage hate crimes and target a minority group, including LGBTI people. Turkey’s government should ensure that all of its representatives refrain from making statements that stigmatise lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and people living with HIV, and which put them at risk of harassment and attacks. Human rights defenders should not be criminalised for speaking out against homophobic statements by state officials, and therefore criminal investigations against those speaking out, such as the Ankara and Diyarbak?r Bar Associations, should be dropped immediately.

We reiterate the statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, in which he clearly states that religious beliefs cannot be used to justify LGBTI rights violations nor be invoked as legitimate ‘justification’ for violence or discrimination against LGBTI people, and that the right to freedom of religion protects individuals and not religions as such.

We recall that as a founding member of the United Nations, Turkey pledged to protect inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. In addition, as a Member State of the Council of Europe and having ratified the European Convention of Human Rights, Turkey must uphold European human rights law, which prohibits a discriminatory application of human rights.

We call on Turkey to respect, guarantee, protect and fulfil the fundamental rights of the LGBTI community without discrimination as enshrined by its Constitution and equality article therein (article 10), and ratified by human rights treaty bodies. The Turkish government should ensure that all of its representatives refrain from making statements that stigmatise LGBTI people and people living with HIV, and which put them at risk of harassment and attack.

Background information

During the Friday sermon (khutbah) on April 24, the President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Erba? targeted LGBTI people and people living with HIV. He equated homosexuality with a disease, stating that “hundreds of thousands of people a year are exposed to the HIV virus caused by this great haram, which passes as adultery in the Islamic Literature”. Moreover, the President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs insinuated that lesbian and gay people were to blame for the COVID-19 outbreak. This is not the first instance of hate speech by the Directorate of Religious Affairs, but this time the statement received the support of other political leaders.

Within days, several leaders came out to publicly support Erba?. The Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Advisor, ?brahim Kal?n, commented that Ali Erba? “put the divine truth into words”. The Minister of Family, Labour and Social Services, Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, commented that Erba?’ words “remind us of our religious values in order to protect our families and generations during Ramadan”. The Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission Spokesperson, Osman Nuri Gülaç, added that “the future of humanity is only possible through legitimate marriages” and referred to LGBT lobbies commanding academia, politics and media in many countries in the world.

On April 27, the Ankara Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) filed a criminal complaint against Ali Erba? in order to “prevent hate crimes, discrimination and gender inequality”. The Ankara, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and Izmir Bar Associations joined the call condemning the sermon, noting that it raises concerns about the usurping of a ceremony of faith-based values to openly incite hatred and discrimination towards a minority. On the same day, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office started an investigation against the Ankara Bar Association on the grounds of “insulting religious values that a part of the society has embraced”. The Bar Association of Diyarbakir is also the object of an investigation under the same grounds.The next day, President Erdogan commented that “An attack on our Diyanet head is an attack on the state.” Such attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people represent a serious threat to respect for fundamental rights generally in Turkey.

ILGA-Europe – the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Front Line Defenders

IGLYO – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth and Student Organisation

Civil Rights Defenders

Human Rights without Frontiers

The Netherlands Helsinki Committee

International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims

International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) – Europe

Amnesty International

ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review identifies a sharp rise in anti-LGBTI hate-speech across the European region, often carried out by public figures. To mark European Day for Victims of Crime (February 22), we report on the ways in which such rhetoric is in turn violently affecting the lives LGBTI people.

Throughout 2019, there was sharp increase in physical attacks on LGBTI people across the European region, many of the latter premeditated and brutal. There was also an increase in attacks on LGBTI centres and gatherings. This isn’t only in countries where official hate-speech is on the rise, like Poland, Romania or Spain. An increase of hate crimes against LGBTI people is a pan-European phenomenon we have identified in our Annual Review 2020, which analyses trends and developments in the human rights situation of LGBTI people across 54 countries.

Brexit, for instance, and the populist narrative surrounding it, can be linked an increase in anti-LGBTI hate crimes and incidents in England and Wales from 5,807 in 2014–15, to 13,530 in 2018–19. The banning of events in Armenia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Turkey, and the prosecution of participants in Pride events in the latter, add to an atmosphere lacking in a sense of safety. In the Polish city of Lublin, a couple was arrested for bringing an explosive device to the Pride march.

There has also been the growing presence of anti-LGBTI, anti-gender and neo-Nazi protesters in public spaces during events such as Pride parades and film screenings. In several cities LGBTI centres were targeted with graffiti and other such attacks.

To mark European Day for Victims of Crime (February 22), here are examples of the many hate crimes documented in 2019, across the region:

Albania

On 12 November, a homeless trans woman who participated in the Dyke March, was brutally attacked by five men. The President of Albania condemned such “cowardly acts” and asked for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Armenia

On 20 June, 11 LGBT activists were verbally abused by four men in a park in Yerevan. The victims called the police, who told the activists to leave the park and took the four men to the police station. The investigation is ongoing.

Azerbaijan

Hate crimes against the LGBT community continued to be a serious issue in 2019. On 1 April, at least eight gay men and trans sex workers were detained by the police in Baku, signaling a new wave of arrests of LGBTQ people. On 2 April, a gay sex worker became a victim of extortion, theft, and blackmail in Baku and the perpetrator was detained. On 28 June, five trans women were physically assaulted by a group of 15 on a beach in Mardakan, four of the attackers have been arrested. On 6 July, a trans person was attacked outside a club while waiting for a taxi. The case was not reported to the police. In September, a gay man was beaten, harassed, and expelled from his village by his family for “dishonouring” them. The man reported the violence and a rape he was victim of last year.

Belarus

On 24 August, filmmaker Nikolai Kuprich and two friends were beaten up in a homophobic attack in Minsk.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 2 February, a lesbian couple was verbally assaulted and threatened with a knife and three days later were physically attacked by the same man and his friends. The violence was presumed to be linked to heightened homophobia ahead of the country’s first Pride march.

Bulgaria

Examples of documented hate crime include physical assault against two lesbians in January and February, and two gay men in Plovdid and in Varna. Five attacks were carried out against the LGBTI community centre, Rainbow Hub in the spring.

Cyprus

In February, a gay man was attacked in Nicosia. Despite multiple witnesses, the police failed to establish it was a hate crime. Another gay man was attacked by three men in a cruising area in Nicosia on 24 June. The case was reported to the police, who failed to take action.

Georgia

In June, renowned homophobe and public figure Levan Vasadze announced that self-organised groups, equipped with wooden clubs, would patrol Tbilisi to prevent Pride events. The Ministry of Interior stated that calling for the creation of such groups is illegal. However, no legal action was taken.

Greece

On 11 March, the building housing the Checkpoint Prevention and Examination Centers was targeted by a homophobic arson attack. The Checkpoints provide free HIV testing to vulnerable groups. On 2 September, two gay men were verbally harassed and physically assaulted by police officers.

Hungary

In March, Mi Hazánk live-streamed the disruption of a discussion on LGBTQI Roma people in Szeged. A day after Budapest Pride Festival opened extremists posted “Stop the Fag Propaganda” stickers outside the Auróra community space, Budapest Pride’s headquarters. Similar attacks were carried out in June, September and October. A participant of this year’s Budapest Pride March was spat on and kicked in the stomach after the event. In August, a girl was beaten up in Bénye for carrying a rainbow bag.

Iceland

In June, Candice Aþena was on her way home in Reykjavík when the men approached her, and after realising she was trans, kicked her in the face. This is not the first time Candice has been harassed.

Italy

Numerous hate crimes against LGBT people were documented in 2019, including two murders in May and June.

Luxembourg

Jean-Baptiste Pouthas, a French gay man was attacked in the Gare district of Luxembourg after a Pride party in July. Despite calling out for help, none of the passerby came to his rescue.

Montenegro

On 28 August, a trans man was attacked in Kolašin. The attackers went to the man’s house and when he answered the door, beat, insulted and humiliated him until he lost consciousness. The case was reported and police have arrested three suspects.

Portugal

In February, a lesbian couple was verbally and physically assaulted in Costa da Caparica. The couple called the police, who failed to show up. In July, a young trans man was targeted by physical and verbal violence in Coimbra, twice within a few days. The attack was reported to the police. In September, a gay couple was verbally and physically assaulted in downtown Lisbon. The police were nearby and identified the perpetrators, but let them go.

Romania

Two trans women were sexually and verbally harassed, and later physically assaulted on 8 June in Sibiu. The women were approached by a man in a club, who later physically assaulted them in a second club. No one intervened to defend the women, while they were being beaten. They fought back and reported the violence. The case is currently pending, the victims have not heard back from the police

Russia

Hate crimes against LGBTI people, including murder, physical violence and extortion were committed again this year. The authorities failed to classify them as anti-LGBTI hate crimes. In February, a court in Tatarstan sentenced a man to one year in prison for physically attacking a teenager who he thought was gay.

Serbia

Belgrade’s Pride Information Centre was attacked four times since December 2018. Although the police were informed of the possibility of one of the attacks in October, they did nothing to prevent it. On 24 June, a lesbian couple was harassed at the Engineering Students’ Club (KST). The security staff refused to protect them, saying they were to blame and should not have kissed.

Slovenia

On the morning of 1 November, one of Slovenia’s few LGBTI spaces, Tiffany Club in Ljubljana, was violently attacked by a group. In October, a gay man was beaten up in Murska Sobota.

Spain

A trans sex worker was brutally murdered by a client in Avilés on 21 September. Gay men were verbally harassed, threatened and assulted in Barcelona, Tenerife, and Valencia. On 19 December, politician Ángel Vázquez suffered a homophobic attack in Burjassot.

Switzerland

An increasing number of violent incidents, primarily against gay men, were reported this year, including an attack against an information stand at IDAHOT, May 17, and a gay couple being attacked on their way home from Pride in June. Both cases happened in Zurich.

Turkey

Several trans woman were victims of murder this year. Hande ?eker was murdered by a police officer in Izmir on 9 January; Gokce Saygi was killed in her home in Antalya in May; Defne was killed in her house in Afyonkarahisar in June. Court cases are ongoing. A group of trans women were attacked in a park in Antep in June and were then detained and verbally abused by police officers.

United Kingdom

On 30 May, a female couple was attacked by a group of men in London. The case went viral after the victims posted a picture of their injuries. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, and then Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the attack.

A resolution adopted by the European Parliament today makes a strong call for an EU LGBTI strategy to counter the rise of official hate-speech and its consequences across the European Union.

The European Parliament’s resolution on public discrimination and anti-LGBT hate speech, adopted in Strasbourg today, identifies a broad trend across Europe and its consequences in society, amid deeply worrying situations in several countries. 

The resolution wraps up the debate on public discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people that was held in plenary in Strasbourg on 26 November.

During that debate, MEPs voiced their concern regarding ‘‘LGBTI-free zones” in Poland. Ahead of parliamentary elections in the country this autumn, dozens of municipalities, countries and provinces in the south-eastern part of the country declared themselves “free of LGBTI ideology”. By now, 86 “LGBTI-free zones” have been declared. 

The resolution calls on Poland to firmly condemn discrimination against LGBTI people and to revoke resolutions attacking LGBTI rights, including local bills against “LGBT ideology”, in accordance with its national law; as well as its obligations under EU and international law.

In Poland, Kuba Gawron, co-author of research on LGBT-free zones and Atlas of Hate, called the resolution “a strong expression of support for the LGBTI community in Poland, which is under attack.”

“We call on the Polish Government to repeal all anti-LGBTI resolutions in accordance to national law,” he said. “Such resolutions are a threat to LGBTI-community and create an atmosphere of consent for violence. We also call to the European Commission to verify Polish compliance with the anti-discrimination provisions in the contracts for EU-funded projects. We believe that these provisions may be broken, especially in the education sector.”

In a broader context, the resolution expresses deep concern at the growing number of attacks against the LGBTI community coming from the State officials and politicians at the national, regional and local levels. It recognises that such attacks have seen a rise in violence against LGBTI people, with hate crimes motivated by homophobia and transphobia on the rise across in the EU, while responses from authorities too often remain inadequate.

The resolution reiterates a call on the Commission to adopt an EU LGBTI strategy and a comprehensive, permanent and objective EU mechanism on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights that includes the protection of LGBTI rights. It calls for the adoption of legislation and policies in several different areas, including freedom of movement, hate-speech and crime, education, and sports, to ensure the equal human rights of LGBTI people.

Advocacy Director of ILGA-Europe, Katrin Hugendubel, said: “We very much welcome that the European Parliament with this resolution condemns these developments and speaks out clearly in solidarity with the LGBTI communities across Europe,with a call for an EU LGBT strategy.

“According to the German ministry of interior, the number of homophobic hate crimes in the first six months of 2019 were already more than in the whole of 2013. In the latter part of this year, our members reported attacks on community events or their offices in Belgrade, Ljubljana, Budapest, Vienna and Lublinwhere explosive devices were taken to the Equality March, presumably intended to cause grievous bodily harm or death.

“Europe is at a dangerous crossroads. Certain groups and organisations are overtly turning the tide on LGBTI and other minority rights, seeking to replace democracy and diversity with ‘traditional values’. In this context of rising hate and attacks on LGBTI rights, it is more important than ever to reconfirm and strengthen the commitment from the EU institutions to work on protecting LGBTI rights.”

• The resolution received 463 votes in favour, 107 against and 105 abstentions.
• Read here the resolution adopted in PDF.
• Watch November 26 the debate here 
• See Kuba Gawron’s Atlas of Hate – an online map that shows “LGBT-Free Zones” in Poland.

Hate speech and violence against LGBTI people.

(Apps nos. 71367/12 and 72961/12), 15 October 2019

Find here the communicated case.

• The applicant was a well-known member of the LGBT community in Armenia and co-owner a club where members of the LGBT community would meet to socialise.  She had attended Istanbul Pride in 2011 and given interviews to some media outlets criticising Armenia’s human rights record. As a result she became the subject of an online hate campaign because of her sexual orientation. Shortly thereafter several people organised an arson attack on the club co-owned by her. She faced threats and harassment and was subjected to hate speech by high profile government representatives and members of the parliament. Given lack of anti-discrimination legislation in Armenia, applicant’s sexual orientation was not considered as a motive for the acts and there was no effective investigation.
• ILGA-Europe together with the AIRE Centre, the ICJ and Human Rights Watch submitted the following:
  • The identity of victim of violence as an LGBT person should be taken into account in the assessment of Article 3 violations.  Indeed the discrimination directed towards LGBT persons may indicate a particular motive and intent that may meet the threshold of Article 3 ECHR should be taken into account in the assessment of Article 3 violations. Indeed, discriminatory use of violence against a vulnerable group is an important factor and the ECtHR has acknowledged that LGBTI minorities may constitute vulnerable groups.
  • Contracting States have a positive obligation under Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR to protect from and investigate allegations of violence with discriminatory elements. According to the ECtHR, the State has a heightened burden of protection when there is prior knowledge of public hostility towards the LGBT community. These obligations are also widely recognized by current international and regional standards.
  • Armenian legislation does not afford protection against explicitly homophobic or transphobic violence or threats or other incitement to such violence. In practice, LGBT persons and affiliates in Armenia continuously struggle to enjoy equality, both at personal and societal levels.
  • It is of particular importance :
    • To protect persons from violence, and put in place necessary legislative, policy and other measures for unmasking any discriminatory motive or intent present in the acts of violence.
    • To ensure that a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation is in place, and sexual orientation and gender identity are explicitly recognized as protected grounds for discrimination.