According to a recent report by the NGO umbrella organisation ILGA-Europe, attacks against LGBTIQ individuals are on the rise throughout Europe, pointing to a concerning trend of normalisation and an increase in discriminatory laws.
Politicians and civil society organisations caution about the political mainstreaming and proliferation of anti-LGBTIQ discourses throughout Europe. Ana Carla Pereira, Director of the Equality and Non-discrimination Unit at DG JUST of the European Commission, stated, “We can only be alarmed and worried after reading this review.
She acknowledged that there has been some improvement in recent years, but cautioned that the general state of affairs is growing more concerning.
MEP Alessandro Zan (Italy/S&D) concurred, saying, “This report gives us a reality check of the work that still needs to be done. ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel, underlined during the report’s presentation that anti-LGBTIQ campaigns are helping several European nations pass restrictive laws.
She cautioned that persistent hate and disinformation campaigns that are homophobic and transphobic have created the framework for laws like anti-propaganda and foreign agent laws, which appear to target the rights of LGBTIQ people but go much further—increasing censorship, stigmatisation, and the persecution of opposition figures and human rights advocates.
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