Like ethnic minorities, and women, violence against people from the LGBTQ+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer...) is on the rise in Europe and Central Asia. As the NGO ILGA-Europe explains in its annual report published on Monday, a federation of more than 600 organizations in 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia, "2022 was the most violent year for LGBTQ+ people in the entire region in more than a decade [...], following increasingly widespread hate speech".
The NGO also notes an "increase [in the number] of reported suicides" of LGBTQ+ people, citing "that of a young couple in Armenia victim of harassment" as well as those of "three trans women in Italy and one in Moldova". "In the last twelve months there has been a sharp increase not only in violence against LGBTQ+ people but also in the intensity of this violence," ILGA-Europe worries in the 12th edition of its annual report.
The France is no exception to this sad rise
According to the NGO, homophobic physical or verbal attacks are on the rise in France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
ILGA-Europe notes, however, that convictions for the perpetrators of these crimes are higher, notably in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Spain and Ukraine.
"At ILGA-Europe, we have been saying for years that hate speech in all its forms translates into physical violence," commented ILGA's Director of Europe, Evelyne Paradis.
"Across Europe, many politicians have reacted with horror to the killings of LGBTQ+ people this year and, while solidarity is still needed, it does not address the root of the problem," she added, calling on "progressive leaders to find effective ways to combat hate speech."
- Society
- Homophobia
- LGBT Movement
- Homosexuality
- European Union (EU)