International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

Progress has been made by some member states and the EU to ensure that we live up to the fundamental rights upon which our Union is built. Legislative developments, case law  and policy initiatives have all tangibly improved peoples’ lives and contributed towards building more equal societies.

Despite these advancements, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer people continue to be subjected to discrimination, harassment, persecution, incarceration and even murder – simply for being who they are, as the recent ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map shows us. All this occurs within a context of an anti-gender and anti-LGBTIQ movement that dilutes our objective of equality for all.

From schoolyard bullying to workplace discrimination, cyber-harassment to physical assaults, the situation remains dire. Though it should not be the case, these violent realities challenge the mere existence of LGBTIQ people.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia is a good day for the European Commission to take stock of the ongoing work.

The adoption by the commission of its LGBTIQ equality strategy was an important first. We proposed to strengthen legal protection against discrimination by enhancing the powers and independence of equality bodies in all EU member states. We want to improve protection against hate speech and hate crime.

That is why we proposed to introduce measures against these, including those taking place specifically against LGBTQI+ people, to the list of crimes taking place across national borders in the EU.

Despite advancements, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer people continue to be subjected to discrimination. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

We proposed harmonised rules at EU level regarding private international law relating to parenthood. With this we want to protect and respect the fundamental rights of all children in cross-border situations within the Union. Finally, but of no less importance, we are empowering and funding civil society organisations to advance equality rights across the EU.

As part of the strategy, we will present the first EU-wide study on the socio-economic situation of intersex people. The research has revealed the difficulties experienced by intersex people in all areas of life and provided account of the prevalence of non-consented and non-vital medical interventions on intersex people in Europe.

By shedding light on the experiences of discrimination faced by LGBTIQ people, we will be able to better address these challenges as we pursue implementation of our LGBTIQ equality strategy.

We owe it to LGBTIQ people to do our utmost to build a Union of Equality where all its citizens and non-citizens are safe and free to live their lives.  

Helena Dalli – European Commissioner for Equality