The European Commission today, on International Lesbian Day, unveiled its new EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, confirming its engagement for LBTIQ women and for an intersectional approach. The 2020 EU LGBTI Equality Strategy was the first European policy to specifically mention LBTIQ women. It led the way, bringing visibility to women in the community at the international level and inspiring other instruments that have since been adopted.
At a time when several Member States governments continue to violate the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people, we welcome this renewed commitment by the European Commission. In recent years, we have witnessed serious violations of LGBTIQ rights in several EU countries, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia. Such attacks undermine the very foundations of the European Union: democracy, the rule of law, and equality.
As the EL*C Advocacy Director Ilaria Todde puts it: “While Trump has slashed the budgets of many NGOs protecting Human rights, the commission is confirming its commitment to increasing funding of EU civil society. This is great news!”
We call on the Commission to continue its engagement in line with this Strategy and step up its efforts to ensure rights are respected and protected across the Union.
The Strategy is, by nature, a programmatic document, and a lot will depend on its implementation. EL*C stands ready to work with the EU institutions on concrete actions for LBTIQ women in all areas. In particular:
- Increase support for lesbian civil society
- Address hate-motivated violence, including online abuse and algorithmic bias against lesbian content
- Ensure an LBTIQ-inclusive transposition of the Violence Against Women Directive
- Tackle conversion practices and related social phenomena that disproportionately affect women
- Advance socio-economic inclusion and empowerment, with a strong focus on gender equality
- Ensure the visibility of LBTIQ women in the EU’s external action on democracy and human rights
We will continue to ensure that LBTIQ women’s realities are fully recognised in the EU’s equality agenda.
For media inquiries, please contact:
To request interviews with any of the speakers or EL*C Co-Directors, please contact:
- Kika Fumero, Media Officer of EL*C
- Phone number (WhatsApp,Telegram and Signal): +34 666 899 735
- Email address: kika.fumero@lesbiangenius.org
