Rights for HBTQI+ people in EECA

Laws and rights of LGBTQI+ people in the EECA region deteriorated and due to that LGBTQI+ people became vulnerable to being persecuted by the government. Their position in society has also worsened. Sometimes these people are stalked and hunted down even by their families and get into life-threatening situations due to the countries´ culture and religion. Activists engaged with a number of EECA countries will present their work with LGBTQI+ questions that include helping people of the community. Their tasks vary from helping people to get better when it comes to mental health to getting them out of the country to safer places, including the EU.

In Russia the already ongoing persecution of LGBT people intensified with the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2023 the state had invented the so-called “international LGBT movement” and then labelled it as an extremist organization. Since then security forces had conducted multiple raids on LGBT-affiliated establishments and intensified the pressure against media publishers to ban certain works depicting LGBT experiences. Various independent actors also feel emboldened by the signals coming from the Kremlin and use this as an opportunity to spread hatred, engage in harassment and violence against LGBT people.
In Central Asia persecution levels vary country by country, from everyday discriminatory practices to laws banning certain relationships and procedures altogether. In many cases queer people are largely unable to lead open lifestyles, with the society’s attitude towards them being highly unaccepting. The situation is exacerbated by regular public condemnation of the LGBTQ community by certain Muslim leaders, which leads to radicalisation of an already conservative population.