The organization ILGA-Europe, which brings together more than 700 European and Asian entities that defend the rights of the LGBTI group, published this Thursday its annual report, in which it points out Vox and the PP as the main opponents of the new trans law promoted by the Spanish government. The report warns of the increase in political speeches hostile to LGBTI people, as well as the spread of transphobic news, which between the years 2019 and 2022 have doubled. At the same time, he denounces that more and more acts of pride “are the object of vandalism” and identifies crimes against the LGBTI group in Spain as one of the most common, only surpassed by racist crimes.
The study regrets that hate speech against the State remains “frequent” and mentions cases in which far-right leaders compared the LGBTI flag to pederasty or incidents such as the one that happened last April in Tarragona, when several transphobic messages appeared one morning on different streets in the city center.
At the same time, ILGA-Europe places Spain as one of the countries – along with others such as France, Poland, the United Kingdom or Bulgaria – where the number of court rulings motivated by political prejudices has increased.
Alarming data on violence and discrimination
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior collected in the report, in 2022 there were 459 crimes against people who belong to the LGBTI group in Spain, a figure similar to that of the previous year and which is only overcome by racist crimes. In the State, in addition, almost one in ten people (8.6%) of the LGBTI group has suffered at least one physical or verbal attack during the last five years.
Along the same lines, the document indicates that three out of ten people in the group have suffered some form of harassment, while one in four have suffered some form of discrimination.
Faced with these data, the ILGA-Europe organization points out that more than half of LGBTI people in Spain (57%) hide their sexual orientation from their family for fear of rejection.
Other types of discrimination
Beyond physical or verbal aggression, the organization detects other types of discrimination in different areas of everyday life. An example is in employment, where 75% of the LGBTI people surveyed affirm that they have fewer professional opportunities simply because they are part of the group.
The text also refers to asylum applications submitted by LGBTI people, which in the state represent 10% of the total procedures. According to the report, the acceptance rate for these processes dropped from 16% in 2020 to 10% in 2021.
Another case to which the organization refers is that of sport, where despite the approval of rules prohibiting discrimination against people who are part of the LGBTI group, cases have been detected in which prevented the participation of trans athletes in certain competitions.
References to Catalonia
Despite the concern in several areas, ILGA-Europe positively values the steps Spain is taking to guarantee the rights of LGBTI people in the country. Within this section, the organization makes two special mentions in Catalonia for some of its initiatives.
Firstly, it highlights that the Government decided to offer free legal advice to victims of assaults and other crimes against the LGBTI group. On the other hand, it highlights the recognition that Catalonia received last April at the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards, where it came second – only behind Gdansk (Poland) – in the award for promoting LGBTI equality.