ILGA-Europe: available the 2025 report on the human rights situation of LBGTI people in Europe and Central Asia
In February 2025 ILGA-Europe has published its annual report on the state of human rights for LGBTI people in Europe and Central Asia, analysing measures taken at regional, national, and international levels, civil society initiatives, and events that occurred during 2024. This report outlines common trends among European countries, highlighting both progress and setbacks in the inclusion and protection of LGBTI people.
The challenges faced by LGBTI people across Europe and Central Asia are diverse and difficult to eradicate. In the face of strengthened security-focused migration policies, LGBTI asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable, often subjected to intersectional discrimination and violence. Specifically, they are deprived of adequate services and support for asylum procedures, and their applications are rejected based on inadequate assessments of sexual orientation and gender identity, or, as happened in Italy, due to the inclusion of countries that criminalize homosexuality in the list of "safe countries". However, some national courts have overturned these decisions.
While some countries have strengthened protections for LGBTI equality, the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws remains inadequate. There has been an increasing normalisation of hate speech against LGBTI people in more than half of European countries. Denigrating and discriminatory narratives, identifying them as a threat to traditional family values and society as a whole, have been spread by conservative parties in Italy and Albania. Moreover, cases of homo-transphobic violence are on the rise in all countries analysed, with repeated verbal and physical attacks occurring in various Italian cities. However, the authorities' condemnation of such phenomena on the collective level clashes with the political interests of individual governments. During the G7 summit held in Italy in June 2024, Italy did not endorse a European Union letter condemning Hungary for its entrenched discrimination against LGBTI people.
Access to goods and services remains an unresolved problematic aspect, despite some positive signs observed thanks to the intervention of civil society organizations in some countries, including Italy, and state authorities in others. However, in seven countries, laws against so-called "LGBTI propaganda" have been proposed, which could further limit it. In the educational sphere, this has manifested in the exclusion of LGBTI themes and awareness projects from school curricula. In Italy, such requests have been made by political figures belonging to conservative parties and pro-life associations. On the employment front, discrimination forces many LGBTI workers to hide their identity.
While some countries have adopted more inclusive approaches to legal gender recognition, others maintain restrictive practices. LGBTI family rights remain uneven, with some countries making progress and others introducing discriminatory reforms. This reflects the internal situation in some countries, such as Italy, where some courts have recognised same-sex couples on children's birth certificates, while others have denied this right. Additionally, in Italy, surrogacy parenthood, defined by the Prime Minister as an "inhuman" practice, has been included in the sphere of universal crimes, among which we find crimes of genocide and human trafficking.
The report highlights that access to trans-specific healthcare is hindered in many countries by the existence of inadequate laws or those explicitly aimed at limiting it, especially for minors. Moreover, the imposition of certain "corrective" medical practices, such as intersex genital mutilation (IGM), is still widespread, despite efforts at the European level by the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the European Commission working on recommendations, hearings, and strategies to protect the rights of LGBTI people.
Participation in public, cultural, and political life for LGBTI people has improved in some countries, but political hostility persists in others. Regarding LGBTI issues, public sentiment is heterogeneous, as some countries show growing acceptance, while others still have a deeply divided society on the subject.
Concerning freedoms of assembly, association, and expression, there has been an increase in attacks against Pride marches. Several LGBTI organizations have been affected by "foreign agent" laws, which stigmatize and repress them. However, the EU has condemned such measures in Georgia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
In various parts of Europe and Central Asia, LGBTI people continue to suffer human rights violations, including torture, inhuman treatment, and discrimination. LGBTI rights defenders face high risks, including intimidation and violence. The attitude of law enforcement towards the LGBTI community shows strong disparities: in some nations, serious violations are recorded, while others have adopted more respectful and inclusive approaches.