The UK has – quite literally – reached new lows in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, as the latest rankings show it has slipped further down the list of LGBTQ+ friendly countries in Europe.
The ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map and Index has been released annually since 2009 and ranks all 49 European nations on their LGBTQ+ rights.
Each country is scrutinised by ILGA-Europe across seven categories; equality and non-discrimination, family, hate crime and hate speech, legal gender recognition, intersex bodily integrity, civil society space, and asylum.
The results are then combined and used to create a hierarchical list, where nations are scored between 0 per cent (gross violations of human rights, discrimination) and 100 per cent (respect of human rights, full equality).
The 2023 Rainbow Map and Index examined the on-the-ground situation at a national level between January and December 2022.
ILGA-Europe’s results show the United Kingdom has once again dropped down the list, from 14th position in 2022 to 17th place in the latest report, with a current score of 53.37 per cent
Up until 2015, the UK consistently ranked as the best place in Europe for LGBTQ+ rights – something which feels a distant memory now.
In the 2023 report, ILGA-Europe cites the increasing anti-trans rhetoric, lack of legislation banning conversion therapy, rising hate crime rates and plans to send LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to Rwanda as just some of the reasons for the UK’s faltering position.
The independent international organisation said the anti-trans rhetoric “continued to cause serious damage in the UK again this year”, with “hostile” reporting in mainstream media outlets a major factor in this.
Malta, however, took the top spot for the eighth year in a row with a score of 89 per cent.
The island nation has become a global leader in LGBTQ+ rights and despite having a population of just 500,000 has introduced progressive legislation, ensuring the entire Maltese population can live their lives in freedom and dignity.
At the other end of the scale, Azerbaijan scored just two per cent, putting it firmly at the bottom of the list in 49th place.
ILGA-Europe highlighted significant violence and oppression against LGBTQ+ people in the country, as well as a campaign of hate speech against the community by national media.
Commenting on the outcome of the 2023 Rainbow Map and Index, LGBTQ+ Journalism Network founder Sophie Perry said: “The results of the latest Rainbow Europe map are shameful, but certainly not surprising.
“The rapid anti-trans narrative which has infiltrated the media, politics and day-to-day life is not without consequence, and the UK’s flatlining position in these rankings is testament to that. This rhetoric is having a harmful impact on trans people and their families, emboldening bigots to commit violence against queer people and harming the UK’s standing on the world stage.
“Not that long ago the UK was a world-leader in LGBTQ+ rights, people looked to this country for inspiration – that is no longer the case.”
She added: “The government and media must act now to rectify this situation. Narratives and policies which actively harm LGBTQ+ people are completely unacceptable and should be scrutinised by the press and politicians, not given a platform to spread hate.
“It is vital the government bans conversion therapy, reforms the Gender Recognition Act and supports LGBTQ+ refugees.”
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