On Thursday 11 March, the European Parliament voted to declare the European Union (EU) an ‘LGBTIQ Freedom Zone’ where all LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer) persons can ‘enjoy the freedom to live and publicly show their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear of intolerance, discrimination or persecution’. The motion was proposed by the LGBTI Intergroup, a cross-party group in the European Parliament composed of MEPs from nearly all political groups, and passed with overwhelming support (491 votes to 141).
MEPs emphasised that any discrimination against LGBTIQ persons is in breach of European fundamental values and called on the European Commission to ‘use all tools […] to address violations of the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere in the Union’. The declaration came largely in response to developments in Poland, where more than a hundred conservative regions and municipalities have adopted resolutions declaring themselves to be ‘LGBT-free zones’ over the last two years. It also addresses a wider context of rising levels of homophobic and transphobic hate crime across Europe.
The move draws attention to widespread deteriorations in democracy, fundamental rights, and the rule of law within the bloc and therefore should be commended on many fronts. However, the language of the resolution risks creating a restrictive understanding of the spaces where LGBTIQ people can exist freely. On the one hand, it sends a powerful message of support to LGBTIQ individuals and activists and recalls the urgent need to address violations of their human rights. On the other hand, when discrimination persists on many levels, what does it mean to declare the existence of a zone devoid of intolerance and persecution? And what is implied when freedom for LGBTIQ people is only sought within a certain bounded space?
This article will discuss why the European Parliament’s declaration should not distract the EU from efforts to continue to push back against anti-LGBTIQ discrimination and ensure the full and complete enjoyment of fundamental rights both within its borders and beyond.
A strong political message
In recent years the EU has stepped up its efforts to promote equality and fight discrimination against members of the LGBTIQ community. In 2015, the European Commission presented a List of Actions to Advance LGBTI Equality, the first policy framework specifically combatting discrimination against LGBTI people. In her 2020 State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that ‘LGBTQI-free zones are humanity free zones [which] have no place in our Union’. The European Commission later adopted its LGBTIQ Equality Strategy for the period 2020-2025 in November of that year.
Despite this, discrimination against LGBTIQ people persists throughout the EU. A 2019 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and sex characteristics is on the rise. The figures demonstrated that 43% of LGBTIQ people felt discriminated against in 2019, compared to 37% in 2012. On average across the EU-28, 61% of respondents said they always or often avoid holding hands with a same-gender partner in public for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed.
Certain countries have become especially notorious for their openly discriminatory policies. Poland’s right-wing populist ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), has made its opposition to ‘LGBTQ ideology’ a central tenet of its campaigns ahead of national and European elections, laying the groundwork for the establishment of the aforementioned ‘LGBT-free zones’. In 2020 Hungary introduced a de facto ban on legal gender recognition for trans and intersex people, putting them at greater risk of harassment and discrimination when using identity documents that no longer match their gender. EU lawmakers in Brussels were also recently reminded that homophobia persists closer to home when a gay man was fatally attacked in a park outside the northern Belgian city of Antwerp in March 2021.
Given this wider context, there is a clear need for more decisive action on LGBTIQ human rights. The European Parliament’s declaration on the EU’s status as an ‘LGBTIQ freedom zone’ sends a strong message that the EU aspires to be open, inclusive, and willing to fight for the rights of marginalised groups. It also sends a political signal to anti-LGBTIQ parties and movements in Europe stressing that their acts of hate and discrimination will not be tolerated and constitutes a show of support to activists and human rights defenders.
The problems with boundary-making: a limited geographical imaginary?
However, the announcement may have implications for how European publics, including LGBTIQ people themselves, view the geographical extent of LGBTIQ rights and freedoms. The concept of a ‘freedom zone’ has obvious parallels with the idea of ‘safe spaces’, referring to ‘a place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm’.
The need for LGBTIQ safe spaces has long been recognised, especially in university settings. LGBTIQ people have historically found refuge in cities where attitudes are typically more cosmopolitan and accepting, or within specific queer-centric spaces like gay bars, nightclubs and pride parades.
The declaration of the EU as a ‘LGBTIQ Freedom Zone’ therefore raises two concerns. First, despite good intentions, the announcement remains largely symbolic. With 38% of LGBTIQ people in the EU-28 experiencing anti-LGBTIQ harassment in the 12 months before the 2019 FRA survey, at EU-wide level the promise of a ‘safe space’ rings hollow. By making overwrought claims about the reality of LGBTIQ people’s lives, the European Parliament risks merely paying lip service to the need for concerted policies and an underlying shift in cultural attitudes.
Second, drawing a boundary around the space which LGBTIQ individuals can (allegedly) safely occupy creates a distinction between an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’. By creating these sharp delineations, the EU’s rhetoric of universalisation when it comes to LGBTIQ fundamental rights is diminished. Indeed, during the European Parliament debate a French MEP from the liberal Renew Europe group, Pierre Karleskind, called on cities and villages of Western Europe to declare themselves ‘LGBTIQ freedom areas’. Such a move on the local level could theoretically lead to the spatial marginalisation of LGBTIQ communities within certain ‘free’ zones, while those areas which do not declare themselves as such could be perceived to be absolved of the need to push for further rights and protections for LGBTIQ communities.
The same principle applies at a wider scale. The EU’s foreign policy is guided by the principles of human rights and democracy on the international scene and in its bilateral relations with foreign countries. In 2013 the EU adopted a set of Guidelines to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by LGBTI Persons. The guidelines give a comprehensive overview of possible actions in response to the human rights violations of LGBTI people outside the bloc. By explicitly ‘zoning’ tolerance within its borders, however, the EU risks opening up possibilities for backsliding in regions beyond its purview. Considering this, the EU should ensure that it sustains anti-discrimination efforts both at home and abroad and avoid the possibility that declarations of ‘LGBTIQ freedom zones’ may conceal lapses in affirmative action elsewhere.
Conclusions
The European Parliament’s declaration that the EU is a ‘LGBTIQ Freedom Zone’ is a noteworthy and ultimately welcome development. In an era where human rights are under threat and LGBTIQ people face institutionalised discrimination in EU countries like Poland and Hungary, there is a clear need for strong political statements. However, the reality of LGBTIQ lives shows that the announcement should not be a cause for complacency.
As a political union rooted in the promotion of core values and fundamental rights, the EU should proactively integrate LGBTIQ equality in all policy areas and guarantee that the voices and experiences of LGBTIQ people are heard in negotiations. At Member State level the EU should continue to address LGBTIQ human rights violations, but also encourage the deep-rooted social change that is needed to bring about attitude change. Ultimately, though, the EU should ensure that its approach to LGBTIQ rights does not become spatially constrained, whether at local levels within the bloc or beyond its borders. At a moment of crucial progress in the long fight for LGBTIQ liberation and rights, it cannot afford to restrict the geographical imaginary of LGBTIQ lives.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are personal to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation or employer.
Comments