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.

See also

News

Romania failed to protect same-sex couples, European court rules

European court has found that Romania breached the right to respect for the family life of 21 same-sex Romanian couples by failing to recognise their relationships.
read more
Blog

Intersex people are among the most vulnerable among the LGBTI population, study finds

A new report from ILGA-Europe in association with OII Europe finds that Intersex people experience some of the highest levels of discrimination and marginalisation of all groups surveyed in the most recent cross-European LGBTI study.
read more
Report

Intersections: The LGBTI II Survey – Intersex Analysis

Disaggregated data, which can look deeply into the lived experiences of marginalised people, is a key demand of LGBTI and other human rights groups. With […]
read more
News

Call to criminalise intersex genital mutilation in the EU

ILGA-Europe are urging the EU to criminalise the practice of IGM against intersex people, particularly intersex women and girls, as part of the proposal for […]
read more
Blog

Combatting Hate Crime: How can LGBTI organisations work with authorities?

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.
read more
Podcast

The Frontline: Trans Inclusion in the Women’s Movement

In this episode of The Frontline, specially released on Trans Day of Visibility, we’re looking at trans inclusion in the women’s movement. All too often […]
read more
Blog

Anti-LGBTI violence in Europe and Central Asia: The Numbers

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.
read more
News

Bulgaria’s Supreme Court Rejects Baby Sara’s Bulgarian Citizenship

Arguing that Baby Sara is not a Bulgarian citizen, the country’s Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) said that their decision not to grant a birth certificate […]
read more
Press Release

Deadliest Rise in Anti-LGBTI Violence in Over a Decade, our annual Report Shows

12 years into annually reporting on the human rights situation of LGBTI people, Europe’s leading LGBTI equality organisation finds that pervasive hate speech across the region has led to life or death consequences.
read more
Report

Annual Review 2023

ILGA-EUROPE’S ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANS AND INTERSEX PEOPLE COVERING EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA BETWEEN […]
read more
News

European Court rules against Lithuania labelling LGBTI-inclusive fairytale book harmful to children

Published in 2013 by the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and written by the late lesbian writer, Neringa Dangvyde Macate, the book was entitled ‘Amber […]
read more
Press Release

LGBTI organisations welcome EU parental recognition proposal with the best interests of the child at its core

EU-wide parenthood recognition is key in ensuring equal protection for all children in the Union, say ILGA-Europe and NELFA.
read more
Blog

How activism led the way forward to protect intersex children in Greece

To mark #IntersexAwarenessWeeks we look into the efforts and experiences of activists in Greece, who worked for many months alongside the national government, resulting in the country becoming just the fifth in the world to ban intersex genital mutilations on children.
read more
News

New funding program for data-collection on violence in Europe and Central Asia

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 […]
read more
Blog

Progress in Legal Gender Recognition measures is slow, Council of Europe report says

Depathologisation, family rights and access to legal gender recognition for minors are among the key steps that national governments must take to advance the rights of trans people, according to a new Council of Europe report.
read more
Blog

The timeline leading from anti-LGBTI Instagram posts to the “honour killing” of an LGBTI activist in Azerbaijan

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.
read more
Blog

Update: The Rights of Rainbow Families in the EU

The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled in two occasions over recent months that EU countries must protect the freedom of movement of rainbow families. This is a right all EU citizens should enjoy, LGBTI people too. In today’s blog, we bring you the state of LGBTI people’s family rights in different EU countries.
read more
News

Rainbow families have the right to move and reside freely, EU court reiterates

The Court of Justice of the EU has stated that birth certificates issued in an EU country must be recognised across the EU, and that EU countries should protect the freedom of movement of rainbow families.
read more
Blog

Right now, just three European countries recognise non-binary identities, but others are pushing forward

M/F/X/Other:Do you know what non-binary gender markers can be registered today in Europe? To mark International Non-Binary People’s Day, we commend the countries that have introduced the registration of gender markers other than male or female, who using no gender markers at all in their official documentation, and those who are working to adapt their systems to recognise non-binary identities in the near future.
read more
News

Complaint Filed with EC Against Lack of Free Movement for Same-sex Couples in hungary

ILGA-Europe, alongside a Hungarian activist organisation, have filed a complaint against Hungary because of its refusal to implement the 2018 Coman judgement, which recognises that […]
read more
Blog

Children born intersex are at risk in most European countries. Here’s why

ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map of the legal situation for LGBTI people in Europe has a brand-new category: Intersex Bodily Integrity. It’s an essential expansion, because in across Europe and Central Asia, intersex people, and especially children, are still at risk.
read more
News

Bulgarian Court Rules Baby Sara Must Be Issued Birth Certificate

A Bulgarian court has ordered city hall authorities in the capital city of Sofia to issue a birth certificate to the baby born to a […]
read more
News

European Court Rules Against Armenia Inaction in Anti-LGBTI Hate Crime Case

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 […]
read more
Report

Briefing Document: Ukraine war – Medications needed by trans and intersex people

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has resulted in need for immediate action to address the needs both of a significant population of Ukrainians fleeing the […]
read more
Blog

The 5 trending attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people in the EU in 2021

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.
read more
Blog

A Marathon, not a sprint: how we’re responding to the invasion of Ukraine

In the past week, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the global response has been massive, alongside a great number of organisations working with […]
read more
Blog

6 positive developments and 6 worrying trends for LGBTI people in Europe

Our Annual Review of the human rights situation of LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia shows that there have been two very different sides to the story in 2021. Read on to find out how come.
read more
Press Release

Behind the smokescreen of anti-LGBTI rhetoric in Europe, there’s a groundswell of allied determination to tackle hatred, report finds

A report from the leading LGBTI organisation in Europe finds that amid a rise in official anti-LGBTI rhetoric fuelling a wave of hate crime in every country in Europe, there is a growing institutional resolve to tackle hatred and exclusion.
read more
Report

Annual Review 2022

ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People covering events that occurred in Europe and Central Asia between January-December 2021.  […]
read more
Blog

How Baby Sara and her mums have pushed forward the rights of all rainbow families across the EU

When an EU country recognises a child and its same-sex parents as a family, all EU countries should recognise them as such, so to guarantee their freedom of movement. This is what the EU’s top court ruled in December. But how this case has advanced LGBTI rights in the European Union and what comes next for rainbow families?
read more