If a few years ago it led Europe in an annual ranking of rights for the LGBTQIA+ population, now the UK is witnessing consecutive declines. From 10th place last year, the country went to 14th in the most recent edition of the comparison of 49 nations organized by the International Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex and released this Thursday (12).
Activists have cited the British government’s retreat from not including trans and non-binary people in the ban on the practice of “conversion” therapy, which seeks to change or suppress citizens’ sexual orientation or gender identity, as one of the main factors for the fall of the country in the European index focused on the subject.
“The UK is going backwards,” the association’s executive director in Europe, Evelyne Paradis, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “LGBTQIA+ groups are in a defensive moment, trying to avoid setbacks, something shocking coming from a country like this.”
The country now led by Boris Johnson was ranked first in 2015, but since then, experts have said the government has failed to implement rights for these population groups.
Boris faced sharp criticism in April when he lifted a blanket ban on conversion therapy. Shortly after, under pressure, he backed down, but included only sexual orientation in the description of what therapy could not try to change, leaving out gender identity — that is, taking trans people off the list.
At the time, a spokesperson attributed the decision “to the complexity of the issue and the need for more careful reflection.”
At the time, Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty International told The Guardian that banning conversion therapy to the exclusion of trans and non-binary people is not a real ban on the practice. “Human rights cannot be applied selectively.”
The government’s proposed law will protect those under 18, and it does not apply to people over 18 if they have consented to therapy. About 5% of the 108,000 LGBTQIA+ people who responded to a government survey in 2018 said they received some form of conversion therapy, while 2% sought it.
In the UK report, the association also mentions the fact that proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without a medical diagnosis were also dropped.
The Equality Hub, the British government body that oversees equality-oriented laws, has defended government policies and said through a spokesperson that the country has a history of comprehensive and robust legislative protection for LGBT people.
Evelyne Paradis, in turn, also stated that a toxic climate has been established in the country not only because of the legislative practice, but also because of what she describes as an anti-trans narrative by the media and sectors of society.
Now in 14th place, the UK is behind countries like France (7th), Iceland (9th), Portugal (10th), Netherlands (13th) and even Montenegro (8th), although the latter does not legally recognize marriage between people. of the same sex.
First in the ranking is Malta, which has led the list since 2016, when it became the first European country to criminalize conversion therapy. Poland, among the members of the European Union (EU), is the one with the lowest ranking – 44th. Last is Azerbaijan.
