01 Dec ECRI published recommendations on preventing and combating intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI persons

In September 2023 the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe published General Policy Recommendation No. 17 on preventing and combating intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI persons. 

ECRI called on policymakers at the local, regional, and national levels to take into account diversity within the LGBTI community and an intersectional approach in tailoring their measures. That means that policymakers should recognise the different subcategories that the LBGTI community comes from and their other characteristics, including “race”, ethnic or national origin, citizenship, religion, gender, and disability status which may impact various forms of discrimination they face. ECRI also emphasised the “unique experiences, challenges, and vulnerabilities faced by lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex women”.

Despite the progress made in protecting and supporting for the rights of LGBTI in CoE members, there are still significant challenges that persist, which highlight the need for further efforts to address the concerns faced by the LGBTI community. The challenges encompass a range of concerns, including the absence of reliable data, the need for inclusive education, the recognition of same sex couples and family ties, lack of gender recognition, intersex person rights, hate speech, anti-gender campaigns, among others.

Hence, the ECRI has provided guidelines aimed at assisting member states in preventing and addressing instances of intolerance and discrimination against the LGBTI community which should be done in collaborative efforts with the community.

Recommendations are provided across several areas, encompassing general principles, policies, institutional coordination, prevention, protection, investigation, prosecution, and procedural law measures. These recommendations include the following:

• measures taken to combat discrimination and intolerance against LGBTI people are carried out at all administrative levels (local/regional and national), and facilitate the involvement of a wide range of actors from different sectors of society;
• develop laws, policies, action plans, and measures, which acknowledge different personal characteristics of LGBTI people and intersectionality approaches;
• ensure that national criminal legislation covers acts of a criminal nature with an anti-LGBTI motive, and that any such motive can be considered as an aggravating circumstance in determining penalties;
• provide an effective legal framework for the recognition of LGBTI partnerships and other family ties of LGBTI people in cross-border situations;
• ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in policy-making and in all administrative and judicial decisions for LGBTI children and for the children of LGBTI persons;
• guarantee that obtaining legal gender recognition is not contingent upon people submitting to abusive requirements, including involuntary sterilisation and/or medical procedures, mental health diagnoses;
• take steps to adopt comprehensive, effective and dissuasive legal measures, which prohibit the performance of medically unnecessary surgeries  and other non-therapeutic treatments until such time as intersex children are able to participate in decisions;
• ensure that curricula at all levels of education, including comprehensive relationships and sexuality education, address LGBTI issues in a manner which is sensitive, age-appropriate and easy to understand;
• ensure that victim support services, including helplines, incident reporting systems, legal and other counselling services and victim shelters, are available to adequately deal with LGBTI victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes;
• ensure that, where a crime is committed against LGBTI people, those who are perceived to be LGBTI, or persons who are associated with LGBTI people, the possibility that it was motivated by anti-LGBTI bias is investigated from the beginning and forms an integral part of the investigation.

In conclusion, it is important to emphasise that while ECRI adopted number of General Policy Recommendations that address discrimination and racism across different domains and target different marginalised groups, this is the first case in which it specifically targets intolerance and discrimination against the LGBTI community.