Today marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, and ILGA-Europe (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) has taken the opportunity to release the most recent data from its annual report that classifies and analyzes the legal and political situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) people in 49 European countries.

In this assessment, Portugal rose one point and is now in 10th place, "in a European context of stagnation" of the rights of these people, and the report "continues to show that the legal protection of LGBTI+ people is the fundamental step towards guaranteeing their rights and a powerful tool to combat the increase in hate speech and hate crimes, which are growing somewhat throughout Europe".

Although Portugal has improved its position in this 'ranking', mainly thanks to the approval of the ban on conversion practices, ILGA Portugal warns that "the country has seen an 185% increase in hate speech on social media and an increase in attacks and invasions of LGBTI+ events and venues by ultra-conservative extremist groups".

"We assess Portugal's rise in the 'Rainbow Map' ranking positively, however, (...) today's political scenario is different and, with the growth of the extreme right in parliament, there is a serious risk of seeing a setback in the rights of LGBTI+ people", says ILGA Portugal, in a statement.

For the association, the increase in hate speech is "a consequence of the legitimization and normalization of violence and harassment caused by the growth of anti-democratic forces in institutions", which has resulted in "several recent attacks on LGBTI+ people".

ILGA argues that it is necessary to "stop the impunity of these acts of violence", considering that "human rights are not debatable and are not ideologies".

The association emphasizes that, for Portugal, ILGA-Europe recommends the inclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression and sexual characteristics in the Constitution, the introduction of asylum policies that specifically protect LGBTI+ people, especially migrants, and the legal guarantee of non-binary gender.

ILGA emphasizes that this report "identifies a divided Europe in the protection of LGBTI+ rights", while "far-right movements and parties are increasingly using LGBTI+ people to mobilize their electorate and polarize society".

On the other hand, it highlights that no country has yet implemented effective mechanisms to monitor the ban on medical interventions on intersex minors, and there is also "none that complies with all the recommendations to guarantee the integrity and bodily autonomy of intersex people".

Read Also: Do you know what it is to be intersex? And non-binary? Clarify all doubts (Portuguese version)