10. Defending the LGBTIQ+ community in times of democratic backsliding and war
Across several countries in our region, 2025 saw intensified legislative efforts to restrict LGBTIQ+ rights and shrink civic space. The NHC supported local partners, documented legal regressions, and mobilised international solidarity to counter restrictive legislation.
In 2025, LGBTIQ+ marginalisation—especially of trans and gender-diverse people—intensified across Europe and Central Asia and was also echoed in policy shifts in Washington. It is becoming increasingly evident how a country’s protection of LGBTIQ+ rights reflects its democratic health: when these rights erode, authoritarianism grows.
The NHC integrates equal rights into our broader support for democracy and human rights, collaborating closely with local activists in Norway and abroad. Together with our partners, we continued to defend hard-won progress, keep LGBTIQ+ issues on international agendas, and reduce harm to defenders, organisations, and affected communities.
Legislative attacks on LGBTIQ+ rights
In recent years, we have seen anti-LGBTIQ+ legislation proposed and adopted across Europe and Central Asia, and in 2025, the effects of this trend have had an enormous effect on both the community and civil society. As governments and political actors increasingly use law and public rhetoric to frame LGBTIQ+ people as threats to “traditional values,” introduce proposals targeting so-called “LGBTIQ+ propaganda,” and restrict expression, assembly, and civil society work, LGBTIQ+ persons are targeted by courts and marginalised in society.
Russia’s expansion of the use of so-called “LGBT propaganda” and extremism legislation has resulted in the criminalisation of public expression, restrictions on organisations, and the prosecution of activists and other individuals. The designation of the “international LGBT movement” as extremist has created a legal framework that enables broad repression of LGBTIQ+ communities and their supporters.
Similar patterns are visible across the region. In Türkiye, repeated attempts to introduce legislation criminalising “LGBTIQ+ propaganda” have contributed to a hostile environment for activists and organisations in 2025. In Georgia, legislation from 2024 claiming to defend family values and ensure protection of minors has effectively restricted freedom of expression and assembly for LGBTIQ+ people. Comparable dynamics are emerging in parts of Central Asia, for example, Kazakhstan, where draft laws using broad “morality” language risk criminalising LGBTIQ+ expression. In Belarus, authorities continue to suppress the LGBTIQ+ community and label queer lives as pornography – while preparing a law prohibiting so-called LGBT-propaganda.
Within this environment of shrinking civic space, our work has focused on supporting local partners, documenting legal regressions, and mobilising international solidarity to counter restrictive legislation.
Türkiye: Defending human rights defenders
In Türkiye, the case of human rights defender Enes Hocağulları became a focal point for international advocacy. Charged under broadly defined public order provisions frequently used to suppress dissent, he faced accusations of “inciting public hatred” related to his speech in the Council of Europe, against police brutality and for freedom of expression.
Together with Norwegian partners and international allies, we called for the charges to be dropped and mobilised international attention to the case. On 23 February 2026, the court acquitted Hocağulları, marking an important victory for civil society and freedom of expression. The outcome demonstrated the impact of sustained international solidarity in the face of politically motivated prosecutions against human rights defenders.
Norway: Challenges at home
In Norway’s 2025 elections, anti-gender rhetoric resurfaced. Together with the national human rights community, we urged political parties to commit to a hate free campaign, but not all agreed to commit, and one of the parties used their election campaign to promote anti-LGBTIQ+ policies.
We also advanced work on intimate partner violence (IPV) in LGBTIQ+ communities — still poorly addressed in policy and support systems. Through events and advocacy, we highlighted violence in same-sex and gender-diverse relationships and the barriers survivors face. At Pride House, we secured a State Secretary’s pledge to maintain government focus, and NHC contributed to civil society initiatives to develop new IPV resources and to a national conference on this issue.
We will not give in
Supporting LGBTIQ+ rights is essential to our broader mission of defending human rights and democratic values. It ensures freedom of expression, access to justice, protection from violence, and the right to live with dignity. When LGBTIQ+ rights come under attack through laws, policies, or political rhetoric, broader civic freedoms are also threatened.
During Oslo Pride, our annual solidarity platform gathered 20 human rights defenders from high-risk countries across Europe, showing that while autocratic leaders learn from each other, so do we. In a time when their global stage is rapidly shrinking, their voices took centre stage at Oslo Pride, sharing stories from their contexts.
In 2025, our work proved that strategic solidarity, legal action, and long-term partnerships can deliver real impact: court wins, political commitments, visibility, and empowered civic actors. The fight for equal rights continues, and so does our commitment to stand with those who defend them in Europe and Central Asia – including Norway.