European is failing to protect LGBTQ+ people from rising violence, according to new data released this week, despite some legislative progress, said rights groups.
The latest assessment published by LGBTQ+ advocacy group ILGA-Europe found that Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic are particularly trailing in efforts to protect groups. In part, those countries lack comprehensive laws or policies against hate speech and hate crime on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
ILGA’s report shows little improvement between 2019 and 2023 when it comes to addressing hatred and violence against LGBTQ+ communities. The number of LGBTQ+ people who experienced hate-motivated violence, including physical and sexual attacks, in the five years preceding the survey increased from 11 percent in 2019 to 14 percent in 2023.
Harassment also rose, according to the survey, which found that 55 percent of LGBTQ+ people experienced harassment in their daily lives in 2023, jumping from 37 percent in 2019. This trend was apparent in younger groups, too — the report also noted that bullying at school is also on the rise, with 67 percent of LGBTQ+ youth suffering persecution in 2023, compared to 46 percent in 2019.
“We still see too many countries across the region stalling in moving legal protection forward and not renewing their commitments through national strategies and action plans,” said ILGA-Europe’s advocacy director, Katrin Hugendubel.
This is despite the growing social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. According to a 2023 Eurobarometer survey, 72 percent of respondents agreed that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 69 percent said LGBTQ+ people should have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.
Despite increasing openness about sexual orientation and gender identity, a study by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency published Tuesday also found that harassment and bullying of LGBTQ+ people is “alarmingly high.”
“These findings are a clear red flag,” said Sirpa Rautio, the agency’s director, adding that “a fragile equality hangs in the balance.”
She called on EU institutions and member countries to step up their efforts to protect LGBTQ+ people against violence and uphold their rights.
“Being openly LGBTIQ in Europe should not be a struggle,” Rautio said. “Even though we see signs of progress, bullying, harassment and violence remain constant threats.”
It is apparent that this rise in social acceptability has yet to translate to concrete protections, however. A vast majority of those polled by the EU agency are dissatisfied with actions by their governments to fight discrimination and intolerance.
“We’re seeing stagnation, and in a time of elections, it’s a huge political risk and a risk for human rights,” said ILGA Europe’s Hugendubel.
Hugendubel also noted that reports of LGBTQ+ violence are probably underestimated as “fear of LGBTI-phobia from the police, for example, is still very real” and means that fewer incidents are being reported.
According to ILGA-Europe, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria remain bottom of the class in the EU when it comes to protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, while Malta and Belgium top the list of strongest defenders.
Italy has slid down ILGA’s ranking since it withdrew parenthood rights from same-sex couples, while Estonia and Greece made progress in allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. Germany, meanwhile, scored points by passing legislation to ban hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBTQ+ people “have become a point of polarization and have been pulled into the middle of political debates between different visions for what the EU should look like,” Hugendubel said.
This tension “is increasing the hatred of the community,” she argued, adding that the LGBTQ+ community is being used as a “scapegoat” by governments to draw attention from issues like rule-of-law violations.
“The most extreme example is Russia, where we’ve seen the criminalization of the LGBTI movement, as a move to distract from other problems around the rule of law, democracy, the war on Ukraine,” Hugendubel said.
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