Annual Review 2025
The 14th edition of our Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe and Central Asia.
This publication includes events that occurred between January and December 2024. It provides a snapshot of what happened during the year, at national, regional and international levels, and it documents progress and trends regarding the human rights situation of LGBTI people.
We must warn that some parts may be potentially triggering for some readers. We must also stress that this document is not an exercise in apportioning blame. ILGA-Europe’s goal is not to point fingers at specific countries. Instead, this publication intends to serve as a tool for the exchange of best practices and policies, and as an open invitation for enhanced cooperation between governments and LGBTI civil society.
ILGA-Europe want this publication to meet our readers’ expectations and needs, and welcome any suggestions for improvement. We hope that you will find this edition of the Annual Review informative and useful.
Below you can select Annual Review 2025 by topic and download the highlights and trends from this edition.
Select your topic
Choose a section of the Annual Review to preview:
2025 HIGHLIGHTS AND TRENDS
Here are the key overview findings of this edition of the Annual Review. To access all our analysis, download the full trends report.
1. Increasing restrictions
In seven countries, so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’ laws have been enacted or proposed, criminalising visibility and restricting discussion of LGBTI issues. In parallel, ‘foreign agent’ laws targeting NGOs have been either proposed or introduced in Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, and Montenegro, forcing LGBTI organisations to register as foreign-funded entities.
2. Education being leveraged
These laws have been increasingly leveraged in education sectors, restricting or entirely preventing the inclusion of LGBTI issues in curricula and awareness-raising initiatives. In addition, attempts to introduce legislation excluding LGBTI topics from sex education were recorded in Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Russia and Slovakia.
3. Consequences of the normalisation of hate speech
Hate crimes have reached record levels, fuelled by a normalisation of hate speech by political and religious leaders. At the same time, fear-mongering is being used to justify restrictions on trans healthcare in countries such as Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.
4. Arbitrary asylum rejections
As governments intensify their crackdowns, LGBTI individuals are being forced to flee, yet many European countries—including Austria, Belgium and Ireland—are denying asylum claims on arbitrary grounds, with applicants rejected for not seeming ‘gay enough’.
5. Courts upholding LGBTI human rights
While governments are increasingly scapegoating LGBTI people to push restrictive laws, the courts both in the EU and across Europe are in turn upholding LGBTI human rights, with key judgements on procedures for LGBTI asylum seekers, anti-LGBTI hate speech, freedom of association and expression, legal gender recognition, and sexual and reproductive rights.
