Ahead of the EU Elections next June, a new report shows a stark rise in anti-LGBTI, and in particular, transphobic statements from politicians across Europe.

Published today by ILGA-Europe, the 13th Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia alarmingly reports hate speech from politicians in 32 European countries over the course of last year, 19 of them member states of the EU.

There has been a clear accumulation of hate speech against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) community from officials across Europe, much of it targeting trans people, in countries including EU member states Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden. 

The vast majority of anti-trans statements instrumentalise children, using scare tactics to create opposition to trans minors’ access to healthcare and restrictions on education. This is a broader trend we see in the use of children, with politicians across Europe claiming that limiting access to information about LGBTI people prevents harm to minors.

The report clearly shows that demonising from politicians combined with attempts to introduce legislation is impacting suicide rates and mental health, especially for young LGBTI people, and an escalation in violent protests outside schools and libraries, making young people unsafe. 

 This fear mongering has directly led to a further rise in attacks. Of the 54 countries reporting in the Review, only six of them reported no hate crime in 2023. In the other 48 countries, much of the reported verbal and physical violence targeted trans people. Only one EU member state reported no hate crime. 

Says Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director with ILGA-Europe: “It is in this climate that the European Parliament elections will take place next June. The public discourse is becoming more polarised and violent, particularly against trans people, and the LGBTI community has experienced the highest and most severe violence across Europe in decades. 

“The very core values and standards upon which the EU was founded – respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law – are being called into question, and human rights, and in particular the human rights of LGBTI people, are facing a strong challenge from far-right forces. LGBTI people’s rights and humanity are increasingly being exploited to divide societies, undermine democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”

Next week, ILGA-Europe will launch their Come Out 4 Europe campaign, which will give candidates for the European Parliament an opportunity to show how they will support and protect the rights of LGBTI people as elected members of the European Parliament. 

Says Executive Director of ILGA-Europe, Chaber: “LGBTI rights are under attack, and children are being harmed in the process. As we witness the rise of political forces that question basic fundamental rights and freedom, the elections next June will be a pivotal moment for the EU, and for LGBTI people. In light of the findings of the 2024 Annual Review, our ‘Come Out 4 Europe’ campaign will call for clear political commitments on safeguarding human rights, democracy and freedom from candidates for the European Parliament.”

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This year, for the first time, Estonia and Switzerland reported the murders of trans people. In total, the last twelve months saw 327 reported murders of trans and gender-diverse people in the world as a result of anti-trans violence, according to TGEU’s Trans Murder Monitoring. Although TGEU has been collecting information since 2008, most trans murders still go under-reported.

Sabrina Houston and Cristina Blackstar were both migrant, black and trans. They were both stabbed to death in their own homes earlier this year. They are two of the 327 reported murdered trans and gender-diverse people across the globe, according to the latest Trans Murder Monitoring report, published by TGEU in advance of Trans Day of Remembrance.

Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is marked each November 20 to commemorate trans people whose lives were lost as a result of anti-trans violence. Sabrina and Cristina had their lives cut short in two countries that have not reported victims before: Sabrina was murdered in Taillin, Estonia and Cristina in Lausanne, Switzerland.

As with 96% of reported victims, Sabrina and Cristina were trans women or femmes. They were also racialised, as were 65% of the cases with data on race and ethnicity. Coming from Jamaica and Brazil respectively, Sabrina and Cristina were migrants, as were 36% of the trans people reported murdered in Europe. France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom are the other European countries which have reported victims too. In total, 14 victims were reported in the region, same as last year. With 222 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the region reporting most of murders of trans people. No victims were recorded in Central Asia.

More key figures:

• Half of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers;
• 35% of the murders took place on the street and 27% in their own residence;
• Most of the victims who were murdered were between 31 and 40 years old.

Altogether, the data continues to indicate a worrying global trend when it comes to the intersections of misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and hatred against sex workers, with most victims being Black and migrant trans women of colour, and trans sex workers. According to TGEU, these numbers are just a small glimpse into the reality on the ground. Most cases continue to go un-reported and, when reported, receive very little attention. “The Trans Murder Monitoring exists not only to highlight the horrific murders of trans people worldwide,” says Lukas Berredo from TGEU “but also to show the need to ensure that the voices of the most marginalised in our communities are heard and amplified.

Hundreds of trans and gender-diverse people are killed each year around the world as a result of transphobic violence. The murders of Sabrina and Cristina come at a time when anti-trans and trans-exclusionary rhetoric is on the rise in European countries. Decision makers must take a stance against anti-trans forces and in defence of human rights, so that everyone can enjoy their life in equality, freedom and safety.

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.

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.

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.

Miranda Pagava, an activist with Equality Movement and a trans woman, has been attacked in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Trans woman and LGBTI activist, Miranda Pagava was assaulted by a man who had tried to convince her to get into his car on a street in the Georgian city of Tblisi. After she refused, he verbally attacked her using using transphobic and homophobic slurs, before physically assaulted her.

Pagava later reported the attack to the police. The perpetrator has since been arrested and a criminal case has been initiated.

The transphobic nature of this attack must be taken into account by the Georgian authorities. As is clear from our Rainbow Europe ranking, SOGI grounds are included as aggravating factors in law in Georgia.

• Read more about the Tblisi attack in this statement from Equality Movement: http://www.equality.ge/en/transgender-activist-got-attacked-tbilisi/

Also the Georgian state should take decisive preventive measures, as this is not the first case of a transphobic hate crime.

• In February 2017, four trans people were victims of physical violence in the centre of Tbilisi. Ten men armed with batons, sticks and sharp objects attacked the women.
• In October 2016, Zizi Shekiladze was violently attacked in Tbilisi. She was taken to the hospital, but doctors could not save Zizi’s life, a month later she died in the hospital.
• In November 2014, 23-year-old Sabi Beriani was found dead in a rented apartment in one of the districts of Tbilisi. The investigation reported that Sabi died from stab wounds.

ILGA-Europe’s position is based on international human rights standards. It respects the principle of indivisibility of human rights and establishes no hierarchy between rights and freedoms, including freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It can by no means be understood as an attempt to limit the expression of different opinions in the frame of legitimate political debates relating to the rights of LGBTI people.

General principles

• ILGA-Europe calls on public authorities to adopt comprehensive strategies to combat prejudice and to promote dialogue, education and mutual respect to achieve full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people in a society free from intolerance.
• ILGA-Europe believes that public authorities must guarantee LGBTI people’s freedom of expression, a necessary condition to combat intolerance, prejudice and incitement.

Comprehensive action against prejudice

• ILGA-Europe calls on governments, legislatures, independent equality bodies and other public authorities to implement sound anti-discrimination and awareness raising policies in their respective remit. This includes mechanisms to tackle and react to manifestations of intolerance and prejudice in all relevant sectors.
• The area of education is a priority in that respect. Another priority is the professional training of all relevant public sector professionals. Public information campaigns are equally necessary, particularly in areas such as intolerance on-line or in sports.
• The media and their professional organisations should be encouraged to develop and respect codes of conduct reflecting equality principles and to provide specific training to their staff, including on issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
• All relevant stakeholders should cooperate with civil society organisations, including community-based organisations, in order to build on their expertise.

Prohibition of incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence

• ILGA-Europe calls on legislators to prohibit incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence on all grounds, including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, in the respect of international human rights standards (UDHR, ICCPR, ECHR). Victims should be provided with a range of appropriate remedies, including civil law redress mechanisms and the right to reply.
• Prohibition of incitement must always be provided by law, be necessary and proportional to its objective. Relevant prohibiting provisions should be consistent with anti-discrimination and criminal legislation. They should not create penalties that would be more severe than the sanctions applicable to cases of actual discrimination, hostility and violence.
• Legislation should define clear guidelines for Courts to assess all incitement cases in a coherent way, on the basis of well-defined criteria.