Tenth place in Europe: Germany creates better conditions for queer people

According to a Europe-wide ranking, the situation for queer people in Germany has noticeably improved again since May 2023. As can be seen from the annual “Rainbow Map” published by the organization Ilga-Europe, Germany is in tenth place this year among the 49 European countries considered – and has thus improved by five places compared to the previous year.

According to the information, in a European comparison, Germany meets around two thirds of the criteria that the organization considers relevant for legal equality for the LGBTIQ community. Malta comes in first, followed by Iceland, Belgium, Spain and Denmark, both of which take fourth place. Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia are at the bottom.

The English abbreviation LGBTIQ includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and other queer people. As an umbrella organization with 700 members, Ilga-Europe represents its interests across Europe.

For its annual Rainbow Map, the organization examines legal developments for queer people in seven topic areas, including non-discrimination, family law, protection from hate crime and recognition of gender identity. All new regulations that have come into force since the last map was published in May 2023 were taken into account for the 2024 evaluation.

Better protection against hate crime

Germany has therefore improved particularly in terms of protection against hate crime and legal equality for homosexuals. Since 2023, it has been forbidden to discriminate against homosexual and bisexual men and transgender people when donating blood. Germany has also changed a passage in the criminal code: Since last summer, “gender-specific” and “against sexual orientation” motives in crimes have been viewed as explicitly aggravating the punishment.

This change is intended to better protect women and queer people from hate crimes. The self-determination law, which was recently passed in the Bundestag and is intended to make it easier to change the gender entry at the registry office, has not yet been included in the ranking for 2024.

The federal government’s queer commissioner, Sven Lehmann, said he was pleased with the result. “No other country in Europe has risen so significantly since last year,” Lehmann told the German Press Agency. The goal is to get into the top five. “We can do that if we implement the outstanding projects agreed in the coalition agreement.” For example, Lehmann advocates further strengthening the legal recognition of rainbow families and enshrining sexual orientation as a reason for non-discrimination in the constitution. The Ilga-Europe organization also sees gaps here.

Lehmann was concerned about developments in other European countries. “In recent years, right-wing extremist and anti-feminist movements have been gaining strength across Europe.” They would mobilize “well-connected” against queer people. This is also why more protection and better laws are needed.