After Hungary and Georgia, the UK has dropped the most places in ILGA-Europe’s annual rights ranking
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE VIA PEXELS
The UK has dropped to 22nd on ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, an annual ranking of European countries by their commitment to supporting LGBTQIA rights. Falling by six places, the UK is second only to Hungary and Georgia for the biggest drop in ranking.
This follows the Supreme Court ruling in April, which legally defined “woman” as referring to “biological sex” in the Equality Act 2010. The ruling excluded trans and intersex women from being recognised as women in its wording and has already had damaging effects on these communities. These include being banned from some women’s sports teams and no longer having the right to be strip-searched by a female transport police officer should they be arrested.
The only two countries to fall further than the UK were Hungary and Georgia, which both fell by seven places. Hungary, now ranked number 37, is the first country in the European Union to ban Pride. Georgia’s drop follows the passing of a large anti-LGBTQIA law package that includes restrictions on LGBTQIA assembly.
The events in these three countries are not isolated. ILGA-Europe reported that several European states have started to take similar regressive steps, such as Bulgaria and Slovakia, both of which had adopted laws that restrict the rights to assembly, association and expression.
More countries have not put the necessary protections in place to keep LGBTQIA people safe. In fact, no country banned conversion practices or passed laws that would prevent unnecessary medical interventions on intersex children. Only Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina strengthened their laws on hate crimes in the past year.
ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel, said: “The big headlines about the UK and Hungary draw attention, but democracy is being eroded quietly across Europe, like a thousand paper cuts.”
She added that the anti-LGBTQIA sentiment in Europe’s laws closely parallels that of the Russian government. and those coming out of Trump’s second term in the US. “Similar moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights.”
Despite this, there were still some bright spots. Notably, Poland abolished the last of its “LGBT-free zones” and Czechia and Latvia both passed laws granting legally recognised partnerships to same-sex couples.
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