The UK has plummeted down the rankings for LGBTQ+ rights for European countries to 22nd out of 49, ILGA data shows.
ILGA’s rainbow map ranks countries on their legal and policy practices for LGBTQ+ people, accounting for things like hate speech, asylum conditions and legal gender recognition.
The UK was 13th last year and was once ranked first in Europe for four years in the early 2010s, but this fall down the ranking reflects a tumultuous time for the LGBTQ+ community in Britain.
West London Queer Project (WLQP) founder Aubrey Crawley said: “As a gay man, the level of homophobia that we’re getting is increasing, and that’s online and social media.
“It’s still a lot better than a lot of the world, but we’’’re certainly feeling that increase in hostility and hate.”
Crawley described an incident just a few weeks ago where three members of WLQP, who are young and vulnerable refugees, were physically targeted at an event.
He claimed incidents like these are on the rise.
In his inclusion strategy for the city, London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “In the past few years, I have marched in solidarity with members of our city’s LGBTQ+ community.
“It has made me realise that a commitment to diversity is at the very core of our identity as Londoners.
“But I also know that we are not perfect and more needs to be done to build bridges between our communities, and to strengthen the bonds between people from different walks of life.”
The main reason for this ranking drop is April’s Supreme Court ruling the definition of a ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010 referred to biological sex assigned at birth.
The ILGA data give the UK a score of 12/15 for the legal gender recognition category.
Crawley said: “I think it’s incredibly short-sighted, it’s very uninformed, it’s very cruel.
“In my circle of friends, I don’t know one that is comfortable with this ruling.
“The spotlight is shone on the wrong crowd. It should be sexual predators – that’s the issue.
“People can’t get away from calling LGBTQ+ people paedophiles and groomers.
“It’s a million years away from that, it has nothing to do with that.”
Picture credit: Free to use from iStock
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