Anti-LGBTQI Legislation in Europe Curbs Speech Freedom, DemocracyReport

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An anti-government protest in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, in February. Members of government coalition parties have repeatedly attacked the LGBTQI community in the country, while critics have also accused it of trying to restrict the work of civil society groups. Credit: Ed Holt/IPSby Ed Holt (bratislava)Tuesday, March 04, 2025Inter Press Service

BRATISLAVA, Mar 04 (IPS) - LGBTQI communities across Europe and Central Asia are being ‘weaponized’ by governments as part of a wider attack on fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights activists have warned.

Launching its latest annual review of the human rights situation for LGBTQI people in Europe and Central Asia last week, rights group ILGA Europe warned that legislation against LGBTQI people was now being used to curtail freedom of speech, civil society, and fair elections.

“We see time and again that governments introducing anti-LGBTI policies also crack down on civil society, free speech, and the rule of law. That is why these laws are not just a threat to LGBTI people but to democracy as a whole,” Katrin Hugendubel, ILGA-Europe's Advocacy Director, told IPS.

LGBTQI rights groups in many countries across the region have reported steadily rising anti-LGBTQI hate speech from political leaders across the region and, subsequently, more incidents of violent attacks on community members.

This has come in parallel with a growing authoritarianism across Europe and Central Asia, notably, but not exclusively, in countries of the former Eastern bloc.

Politicians have increasingly openly used hate speech to marginalize and scapegoat LGBTQI people. Meanwhile, following the introduction of anti-LGBTQI legislation in Russia in 2013, other countries have introduced similar laws. These often involve restrictions on positive portrayals of LGBTQI relationships and the community, dissemination of information about LGBTQI issues, and, in some cases, outright bans on any display of support for LGBTQI people or its ‘ideology.’

But at the same time, such legislation has often been preceded or followed by the introduction of laws, ostensibly unrelated, cracking down on civil society and other groups considered potentially dissenting of the governments in power.

ILGA and others say, though, that this is no coincidence and that anti-LGBTQI legislation is often now being used as a testing ground for restrictions on other fundamental freedoms. The same governments pushing anti-LGBTI laws are also attacking academics, suppressing journalists, targeting artists, and undermining fair elections, it says.

It points out that in Romania, anti-LGBTQI sentiment has been leveraged in presidential elections to fuel nationalist rhetoric, distract from democratic backsliding, and rally support for far-right, pro-Russian candidates.

Hungary’s anti-LGBTQI legislation has been accompanied by broader crackdowns on academic freedom and media pluralism, while in Slovakia, anti-LGBTQI rhetoric has been employed to target artistic freedoms, with the culture minister dismissing heads of major cultural institutions for alleged political activism.

Meanwhile, under Georgia’s new anti-LGBTQI law, public gatherings that promote same-sex relationships are criminalized, further laying the groundwork for suppressing opposition voices.

“This is an existential crisis for democracy,” said Hugendubel.

In countries with some of the worst repression of the LGBTQI community—and the most autocratic rule—the link between extreme stigmatization of LGBTQI people and broader crackdowns on freedom is very clear, activists say.

For many years, Belarus has ranked among the worst countries in the region for LGBTQI rights in ILGA’s rainbow map—in the latest version, it is 44th out of 48.

Repression against the community is severe, with restrictions on association, assembly, and expression—even attending online events can be seen as extremist activity. Individuals in the community are often targeted by the secret police who infiltrate communities, using blackmail and threats to force individuals into revealing the identities of other LGBTQI people in different regions, rights defenders told IPS.

Meanwhile, state-controlled media fuels homophobia, portraying LGBTQI people as a foreign threat linked to Western influence and extremism. Authorities label LGBTQI gatherings and online discussions as security threats, making even social media activity dangerous. Holding hands in public, posting LGBTQI-related content, or sharing a transgender selfie can lead to detention, blacklisting, and police harassment, activists say.

This has been backed up by legislation specifically targeting the community. In April 2024, authorities redefined pornography to include "non-traditional sexual relations," making it easier to target LGBTQI individuals and organizations. Many groups have been forced to shut down, and in August-September 2024, at least 30 activists were arrested, with reports of beatings and psychological abuse in detention. A law banning so-called "LGBTI propaganda," based on Russia’s own severe anti-LGBTI legislation, is also being prepared.

“Being openly LGBTI in Belarus is extremely dangerous …People who are openly LGBTI risk job loss, police harassment, and physical attacks. Public displays of affection, activism, social media posts or even subscriptions to these social media can lead to detention or legal charges,” Ruslana Panukhnyk, Senior Programs Officer at ILGA-Europe, told IPS.

“Most LGBTI people in Belarus either hide their identity or leave the country if they can. Being openly LGBTI is possible, but it comes with serious risks, and those who remain visible often face harassment, violence, or exile,” she added.

But she pointed out that the repression has become worse as President Alexander Lukashenko has looked to tighten his grip on power and further restrict fundamental freedoms following unprecedented protests against his rule more than four years ago.

“Since 2020, repression in Belarus has intensified across civil society, but LGBTI people have been hit especially hard. The government uses homophobia as a political tool, portraying LGBTI people as a ‘threat to traditional values’ to justify crackdowns and distract from broader repression,” she said.

The same has been seen in other countries with autocratic regimes.

“Here, not only are LGBTQI+ issues weaponized, but they are also a fundamental element in a broader strategy intended to target rights defenders and journalists. State media casts the matter of LGBTQI+ rights as a foreign imposition—one contrary to what are presented as Azerbaijani core values,” Vahid Aliyev, an LGBTQI rights activist in Azerbaijan, told IPS.

“It is a tool used to scapegoat the LGBTQI+ citizens and position them not only as morally and culturally ‘other’ but also as a threat to Azerbaijan. For instance, media often equate LGBTQI+ activism with Western interventionism and imply that support for these rights is a tool in a broader agenda intended to destabilize the country.”

He added that anti-Western rhetoric was being “used more assertively to frame LGBTQI+ rights as a foreign and destabilizing presence. This not only scapegoats the LGBTQI+ citizens but also justifies rights violations against the LGBTQI+ community”.

In Georgia, for instance, the last year has seen the introduction of both anti-LGBTQI legislation and a ‘foreign agent’ law. The latter requires some civil society groups that receive funds from abroad to register as being “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power” and submit to onerous and often liquidating operating restrictions and obligations.

This has come against a backdrop of increasing crackdowns on dissent—daily protests by thousands of people that have been going on for months in the country have been marked by violent crackdowns by police against protestors—by the government, which returned to power last October after winning elections that the European Parliament and many other countries have deemed neither free nor fair.

Representatives of rights organizations have told IPS of increasing violence and hate speech against members of the community, and at the same time a growing stifling of civil freedoms. One activist who spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity said LGBTQI people, as well as much of civil society and the general public, were now facing a “totalitarian crisis.”

Another country where the LGBTQI community has been increasingly vilified in recent years is Slovakia.

In the run-up to elections in 2023, right-wing and populist politicians, including members of the Smer party, which ultimately won the elections and went on to lead the current ruling coalition government, repeatedly used anti-LGBTQI rhetoric in their campaigning.

Since then, governing coalition parties have proposed specific anti-LGBTQI legislation, which would include measures to exclude LGBTQI topics from sex education.

But at the same time, they have also tried to introduce a ‘foreign agent law.’ In countries where such laws have been introduced, such as Russia, this has had a devastating effect on civil society, effectively shuttering vast swathes of organizations defending rights.

In its report, ILGA says these laws attempt to undermine civil society groups’ legitimacy, restrict funding, and stifle human rights activism, ultimately eroding fundamental rights.

Robert Furiel, head of the Slovak LGBTQI rights group Saplinq, told IPS that government attacks on LGBTQI people were different now than in the past.

“Previous anti-LGBTI+ legislation was more isolated, specifically targeting queer people without attacking a broader spectrum of civil society organizations. However, attacks under the fourth government of Robert Fico are being carried out more in parallel. While LGBTI+ organizations have been targeted, other civil society organizations, usually human rights or anti-corruption watchdogs, have been targeted too,” he said.

Neither the proposed anti-LGBTQI legislation nor the ‘foreign agent law’ was passed into law in Slovakia. But rhetoric against both LGBTQI people and civil society from many government politicians continues, as do restrictive legislative proposals, including, recently, controversial calls from government politicians to change the constitution to explicitly recognize only two sexes—male and female.

“In the past few years we have seen several dangerous legislative proposals. While they had very little chance of success in themselves, they increased the toxicity of public discussion about LGBTI+ people, specifically transgender people and rainbow families,” said Furiel.

Meanwhile, ILGA has drawn attention to the dire consequences of attacks on LGBTQI people—hate crimes are at record levels, fueled by a normalization of hate speech by political and religious leaders, and the barriers to healthcare for trans people have emerged across the continent amid ‘fear-mongering,’ even in western European states seen as traditionally progressive.

While ILGA highlights that there have been some important legal victories recently in upholding LGBTQI rights, it says not enough has been done to ensure governments, especially those in the EU, adhere to obligations on those rights.

“Court rulings across Europe show that laws protecting LGBTI rights are in place and can be enforced. However, legal victories do not always translate into lived equality, and many people still face discrimination and violence. Some governments are openly defying these judgments or not implementing them. It is important for communities and allies to continue pushing for stronger protections and implementation,” said Hugendubel.

“Politicians at both European and national levels must act decisively to counter the growing attacks we are seeing on the cornerstones of democracy. The normalization of anti-LGBTI rhetoric is not just a threat to one community—it is now a proven direct assault on the democratic principles that underpin our societies,” she added.