A step back for human rights in Europe as Hungary outlaws legal gender recognition

On May 19, the Hungarian Parliament voted 133 in favour, 57 opposed, to approve an omnibus bill which prohibits the legal gender recognition of transgender and intersex people in Hungary.

Article 33 of the omnibus bill requires that the national registry of birth, marriages and deaths records an individual’s “birth sex” (“születési nem”) and that this designation can no longer be changed at a later date. Therefore, once an individual’s “sex at birth” is recorded, it cannot be amended, and will be reflected on all their identification documents.

This move, as several international human rights bodies have pointed out, including the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, and the United Nations Special Procedures, contravenes international human rights standards. 

As the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity Víctor Madrigal-Borloz has stated, “Everyone has the right to recognition as a person before the law, including persons of diverse gender identities”. He added “Paradoxically, at a time when the pandemic is showing the importance of enacting gender recognition processes, the Hungarian Government is introducing legislation that would do precisely the contrary.”

This legal change puts trans people - already facing a hostile environment in Hungary - at further risk. Lack of access to legal gender recognition is a violation of the right to private and family life, impacts access to vital services, and exposes trans and intersex people to stigma, discrimination and violence in almost all aspects of their daily life.

The latest edition of the European Fundamental Rights Agency’s LGBTI Survey, published last week, shows that 76% of trans Hungarians believe that the Hungarian government “definitely does not effectively combat prejudice and intolerance against LGBTI people”, compared to an EU-28 average of only 38%.  In addition, 84% of trans respondents in Hungary reported that the main reason for increasing prejudice, intolerance, or violence in the country was “Negative stance and discourse by politicians and/or political parties”. 21% of intersex Hungarians believe that barriers to legal gender recognition are their biggest obstacle. Furthermore, when the "sex" marker cannot be changed, this could increase the pressure on parents of intersex children and their doctors to perform non-consented surgeries and other interventions on intersex infants and children, a practice which is universally condemned in the international human rights law framework as torture, cruel or inhumane treatment, or harmful practice.

APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights Chair Crispin Blunt MP stated, “That Hungary seems determined to remove the rights of an already vulnerable community is cruel enough, but it is particularly shocking that the Hungarian government has taken this regressive step in the middle of a global pandemic. The international community must take immediate action to ensure the rights of all Hungarian citizens, including those who are trans or intersex, are upheld. The APPG will be writing to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to raise this concerning issue."

Vice-chair Stewart McDonald MP added, “Such a brazen assault on human rights should be universally condemned, but we should also use this to spur us into reaching out to those targeted by this decision, whether at home or abroad. The assault on LGBT rights is a coordinated, global effort. The fight back must be too.”

The APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights stands with trans and intersex people in Hungary. We support Hungarian civil society as they call the President of the Republic János Áder asking him to send the law for review to the Constitutional Court, and call upon the international community to take action to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used as a cover to further roll back the human rights of the most marginalised in our society. We call on the UK Government, as co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition, to show global leadership on this issue and work bilaterally to promote and protect trans and intersex people’s rights. Trans and intersex people in Hungary must not be denied their human rights. 

A long way to go for LGBTI equality - FRA EU-wide LGBTI survey results released today

“My girlfriend and I were walking down the street in South London, holding hands. A man spat at us, and shouted that we were disgusting.” (United Kingdom, Bisexual Woman, 25)

Today the APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights welcomes the release of the results of the second EU LGBTI Survey conducted by the European Fundamental Rights Agency, but it is unacceptable that LGBTI people across the region continue to face inequalities and more dedicated work is urgently needed to improve their lives.

“Too many LGBTI people continue to live in the shadows, afraid of being ridiculed, discriminated or even attacked. Even though some countries have advanced LGBTI equality, our survey findings show that overall there has been too little real progress, leaving many LGBTI people vulnerable. Their job and healthcare difficulties may worsen due to COVID-19. Policymakers should take note and do more to actively promote full respect for rights of LGBTI people,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty.

In 2012, some 93,000 LGBT people responded to the first LGBT survey which FRA carried out to discover the everyday issues affecting LGBT people. This second survey, conducted in 2019, provides comparable data from almost 140,000 LGBTI people across the EU, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia and Serbia. This time the survey also included Intersex people and young people between 15 and 17 years old.

The survey shows that LGBTI people face continued inequalities in all regions, including in the UK.

Key survey findings include:

• Openness: 6 in 10 avoid holding hands in public with their partners.

• Harassment: 2 in 5 respondents say they were harassed the year before the survey

• Attacks: 1 in 5 trans and intersex people were physically or sexually attacked, double that of other LGBTI groups

• Discrimination: 1 in 5 feel discriminated against at work and over 1 in 3 feel discriminated against when going out to eat, drink or being social.

• Schooling: 1 in 2 LGBTI students say someone among their peers or teachers supported LGBTI people.

• Economic situation: 1 in 3 LGBTI people say they have difficulties to make ends meet. The situation is worse for intersex and trans people (about 1 in 2).

Results from the UK also showed:

• 61% avoid often or always holding hands with their same-sex partner in the UK. For the EU-28, it is 61%.

• 34% in the UK avoid often or always certain locations for fear of being assaulted. For the EU-28, it is 33%.

• 56% are now fairly or very open about being LGBTI in the UK. For the EU-28 it is 47%.

• 21% felt discriminated against at work in the year before the survey in the UK. For the EU-28, it is 21%.

• Discrimination affects many areas of life, such as going to a café, restaurant, and hospital or to a shop. Overall, in the UK in 2019 42% felt discriminated against in at least one area of life in the year before the survey. For the EU-28, it was 42%.

• 1 in 5 trans and intersex people were physically or sexually attacked in the five years

  before the survey, double that of other LGBTI groups.

• 43% in the UK say they were harassed the year before the survey. The EU-28 is 38%.

• 11% in the UK had been attacked in the 5 years before the survey. The EU-28 is 11%.

• 22% went to the police in the UK to report physical or sexual attacks. It is 14% across

  the EU-28.

• 15% reported their discrimination experiences to an equality body or another organisation in the UK. For the EU-28, it is 11%.

• 42% in the UK say that LGBTI prejudice and intolerance has dropped in their country

  in the last five years. It is 40% across the EU-28.

• 36% in the UK say that prejudice and intolerance have risen. This is 36% for the EU-28.

• 48% in the UK believe their national government effectively combats prejudice and intolerance against LGBTI people. For the EU-28, it is 33%.

• Among young people (18-24), less people (41%) hide being LGBT at school. In 2012,

  it was 47%.

• 20% of LGBTI students (15-17 years old) in the UK say were hiding being LGBTI at school. This was 30% in the EU-28.

• 51% of LGBTI students (15-17 years old) in the UK say that in school someone often or always supported, defended or protected their rights as an LGBTI person. This was 48% in the EU-28.

• 68% of LGBTI teenager respondents (15-17 years old) in the UK say their peers or teachers have often or always supported LGBTI people. In the EU-28, this was 60%.

• 46% of LGBTI of teenager respondents (15-17 years old) in the UK say their school education at some point addressed LGBTI issues positively or in a balanced way. In the EU-28, this was 33%.

The full data for the UK can be found collated here.