The UK was once the most LGBTQ-friendly place in Europe – now we’re far from it

The United Kingdom has plummeted in their ranking for LGBTQ+ friendliness in the last decade, new research has shown.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association’s (ILGA-Europe) annual Rainbow Map has ranked the UK 16th out of 49 European countries on their legal and policy practices for LGBTQ+ people.

Until 2015, ILGA described the UK as one of the most friendly places for the LGBTQ+ community.

One of the reasons for the dip is due to the UK not following on its promises to ban conversion practices.

Another contributing factor is the NHS announcement of a ban on prescriptions of puberty blockers to children this year – a move which the UK government said it ‘welcomed’.

But trans charities condemned the decision as ‘deeply disappointing,’ and said the move is more evidence that the government is ‘failing trans youth’.

This year’s Rainbow Map ranking shows that the UK is trailing behind Ireland, France, Germany, Finland, Spain and number one Malta.

Mermaids is an organisation which supports transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse children and young people.

A spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Mermaids knows from the trans children, young people, and families we support, how difficult it is to exist as a trans person in the UK today.

‘The NHS has consistently failed trans youth who now face a waiting list of 5+ years for a first appointment; trans students are at risk of being outed to their parents by their teachers and being misgendered in the classroom; and there has been an 11% rise in transphobic hate crime, all of which has been fuelled by a sustained and extremist anti-trans rhetoric coming from our Tory government.

‘Against this backdrop it is of little surprise to learn that the UK currently ranks at 16th place in the Rainbow Map.’

Plans to off-shore some asylum seekers to Rwanda have also imperiled vulnerable LGBTQ+ migrants fleeing from poverty and persecution.

ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel, said: ‘Across Europe, LGBTI people are being targeted by hate speech and violence and their human rights are being actively undermined, yet we still see too many countries across the region stalling in moving legal protection forward and not renewing their commitments through national strategies and action plans.

‘This non-action is dangerous, as without proper legislation in place to protect minorities, including LGBTI people, it will be much too easy for newly elected governments to quickly undermine human rights and democracy.’

This year’s ranking is one up from last year, however, when the UK ranked 17th.

Last year, Robbie de Santos, a communications and external affairs director for LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, told Metro.co.uk: ‘This year’s (2023’s) report shows that our European neighbours continue to surge ahead while the UK stagnates.’

Since 2009, ILGA-Europe has ranked each country out of 100. A score of 0% means it grossly violates human rights, while 100% means they do anything but.

The group looks at all the puzzle pieces that make up LGBTQ+ rights: equality and non-discrimination, family, hate crime and hate speech, legal gender recognition, intersex bodily integrity, civil society space, and asylum.

The worst country for LGBTQ+ people in Europe is Russia, ranking at number 49.

The others in last place are Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Belarus, Monaco, San Marino and Poland.

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