World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Russian Supreme Court declared global LGBTQ rights movement ‘extremist’
NEPAL
The marriage between Maya Ram Bahadur Gurung and Surendra Pandey this past week in the Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu is being hailed by the country’s LGBTQ rights activists. Gurung, a transgender woman and Pandey, who is gay, was registered by the local municipality ward office four months after the Himalayan nation’s highest court legalized same-sex marriages in an interim order.
Sunil Babu Pant, the former executive director/CEO and founder of the Blue Diamond Society, first LGBTQ rights organization in Nepal, who has also served in the country’s parliament was present for the civil ceremony telling the Associated Press: “After 23 years of struggle, we got this historic achievement, and finally, Maya and Surendra got their marriage registered at the local administration office.”
In a later interview with Naya Prakashan news Pant noted. “A wedding in Nepal today can become the signpost in South Asia for a more equal tomorrow.”
Human Rights Watch reported that Gurung, a trans woman who is legally recognized as male, and Pandey, a cisgender gay man, held a Hindu wedding ceremony in 2017. They first attempted to legally register their marriage in June this year at the Kathmandu District Court, following an interim order by Nepal’s Supreme Court instructing authorities to register same-sex marriages while considering a case that argues for marriage equality across the country.
When that court rejected their registration, saying it did not need to recognize a couple that was not one legal male and one legal female, they appealed to the Patan High Court in September.
But the high court judges rejected the appeal, saying that it was the responsibility of the federal government to change the law before the lower authorities could register such marriages, HRW reported.
Nepal’s civil code currently only recognizes marriages between one man and one woman. The Supreme Court attempted to rectify that by ordering the creation of an interim registry for nontraditional marriages until parliament changes the law. The two lower courts then reversed the logic by claiming that the national law must be changed first.
MALAYSIA
Malaysian LGBTQ rights activists are decrying efforts by the Johor state government to establish a “rehab” center for “people in same-sex relations,” which would use the globally debunked conversion therapy to change sexual orientation.
Malaysian society is predominately Muslim and conservative. Human Rights Watch has noted that the government authorities in the Malay Archipelago are willing to enforce the rigid gender roles by which they compel all Malaysians to abide with few exceptions.
Speaking at the Johor state assembly on Wednesday, the state’s Islamic Religious Affairs Committee Chair Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said 400,000 ringgit ($86,000) has been allocated for the rehabilitation center, which was expected to open in July next year the South China Morning Post reported.
“This rehabilitation center is established … for them to get back on the right path,” Fared told the assembly.
Aside from same-sex individuals, Fared proclaimed that the centre would also house “those who are deemed deviant” from the state-prescribed religious Islamic orthodoxy, which includes the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and Baha’i among some 42 groups, the state’s religious affairs body has identified as “deviant.”
The Malaysian government relies on the force of law to prohibit expression and conduct that fall outside of a heterosexual, cisgender norm. It is one of only a handful of countries that explicitly makes gender nonconformity a criminal offense.
Reacting to the rehab news, Justice for Sisters, a trans rights group, told the South China Morning Post that detaining people was a violation of the Malaysian Constitution, which safeguards personal liberty, privacy, dignity, equality and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.
“Detaining people on the grounds of changing their SOGIE — sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression — amounts to torture without a doubt,” said the group’s spokesperson, Thilaga Sulathireh.
Malaysia also criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct at both the federal and state levels. Its officials frequently insist that the laws criminalizing lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people are intended not primarily to punish, but rather to return them to “the right path,” statements echoed this past week by Johor’s Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman.
Human Rights Watch notes that officials under successive Malaysian governments have typically coded their approach to sexual and gender diversity in a logic of “prevention” and “rehabilitation,” backed by the threat of punishment. Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was in office between March 2020 and August 2021, described LGBTQ people as a threat to Islam, backed by “foreign influences” and a “disorder” that requires counseling.
THE VATICAN
Pope Francis this past week further disciplined another American prelate, retired Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has publicly critiqued Francis over the pope’s ongoing efforts for reforming the Catholic Church, especially over issues centered on LGBTQ Catholics and the LGBTQ community.
The Associated Press reported that Francis revoked Burke’s subsidized Vatican apartment and retirement salary, according to sources because he was a source of “disunity” in the church.
The move is “unprecedented in the Francis era,” Christopher White, a Vatican observer who writes for the National Catholic Reporter, told the BBC.
“Typically, retired cardinals continue to reside in Rome after stepping down from their positions, often remaining active in papal liturgies and ceremonial duties,” he said. “Evicting someone from their Vatican apartment sets a new precedent.”
Burke, who spends much of his time in the U.S. at the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine he founded in his native Wisconsin, has not yet been notified of the pope’s actions according to the AP.
At the end of October, the pope convened a month long conference, known as a Synod of Bishops, followed an unprecedented two-year canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics. During the conference Jesuit Fr. James Martin, a popular spiritual author and editor of the LGBTQ Catholic publication Outreach, noted that on LGBTQ issues, “There were widely diverging views on the topic,” he said.
In early November, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Eastern Texas was “relieved” of his position as head of the Diocese of Tyler by Francis after Strickland’s refusal to resign in a dispute over the church’s LGBTQ inclusion in Catholic practices. Strickland often had echoed Burke’s positions.
Although retired in 2014, Burke had an incredibly anti-LGBTQ public record since, especially in vocalizing his opposition to plans to be inclusive of the LGBTQ community. Burke was once a high-ranking U.S. archbishop and head of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican court, but was repeatedly demoted under Francis and then forced to retire.
In March 2020, Burke laid blame on the coronavirus pandemic on the LGBTQ community. As churches were forced to close during the lock-downs ordered by health officials, Burke wrote:
“Worship is particularly needed now because of ‘how distant our popular culture is from God,’ he wrote, noting abortion and euthanasia, then attacking the LGBTQ equality movement, particularly activism for recognition of trans identity.
“‘We need only to think of the pervasive attack upon the integrity of human sexuality, of our identity as man or woman, with the pretense of defining for ourselves, often employing violent means, a sexual identity other than that given to us by God,” he said. “With ever greater concern, we witness the devastating effect on individuals and families of the so-called ‘gender theory.'” Burke went on to say, “There is no question that great evils like pestilence are an effect of original sin and of our actual sins.’”
Burke once compared lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to murderers.
UNITED KINGDOM
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss is said to be backing a private bill to be introduced into the House of Commons that will ban minor children under the age of 18 from accessing hormone therapy and block the National Health Service and the UK government from recognizing their social transition.
After Truss was one of 20 backbencher MPs to be selected to bring forward a bill, a source reportedly said she chose the legislation because she believes under-18s need to be protected from “making irreversible decisions about their bodies.”
PinkNewsUK pointed out that argument fails to consider the fact that trans under-18s are typically prescribed physically reversible puberty blockers and are only permitted to do so after lengthy medical checks.
Physically reversible puberty blockers are also typically only given to teenagers over the age of 16. It is exceptionally rare for under-16s to be prescribed puberty blockers.
Despite this, Truss is expected to formally present the bill on Wednesday during a House of Commons hearing where its MP backers will also attend, PinkNewsUK also reported.
A spokesperson for the UK government said in a statement: “This government is clear on the fundamental importance of biological sex.”
A magistrate’s court found a 51-year-old man guilty of a hate crime in an assault on Drag Race UK star The Vivienne this past June at a local McDonald’s. Alan Whitfield told the court that he had struck James Lee Williams, aka The Vivienne, in the face claiming that his actions were not motivated by homophobia but by what he described as “banter.”
During his testimony, 31-year-old Williams said he was subjected to a “barrage of abuse” from Whitfield after entering the fast food restaurant PinkNewsUK reported.
“He [Whitfield] carried on, then after the fourth ‘look at the state of you’ I said ‘look at the state of you’, I said ‘look at the state of your face’, to which he said ‘I’ve got skin cancer’ and then punched me straight in the face.”
PinkNewsUK reported that the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star, who took home the crown in the first series in 2018, argued that the attack was motivated by homophobia because there were “countless other people” in the McDonald’s at the time.
Whitfield maintained throughout the proceedings that the assault “was nothing to do with him [Williams] being gay,” reiterating that he has LGBTQ members of his family.
After court deliberation, Justice Anthony Canning said that Whitfield’s evidence was “not credible.”
“Having considered this incident from beginning to end, we believe beyond reasonable doubt that the hostility shown by yourself from that outset was motivated and down to the perceived sexuality of the complainant and this was homophobic in nature.”
Whitfield will be sentenced in January.
IRELAND
A 25-year-old second year law student at the University College Cork is set to make history the first openly trans person in history to run for local election in Ireland.
Saoirse Mackin, who co-founded Trans+ Pride Cork in 2022, was nominated by the Social Democrats to run in Cork City North West’s 2024 election. Mackin, who transitioned in 2017, told LGBTQ+ media outlet GCN – Ireland, that if elected, one of her top priorities will be eliminating the excessive healthcare barriers that are in place for trans women in Ireland.
Mackin also advocates for better cycling infrastructures, as well as affordable housing and improved public services GCN noted.
She said, “If elected, my priority areas will include the provision of more affordable housing, improved public services, universal access to healthcare and the development of quality cycle infrastructure in Cork. I will also campaign for better local amenities, such as upgraded parks, green spaces, playgrounds and sports facilities.”
In addition to being a trans activist, Mackin is also a law student and community organiser who has bravely spoken up against the growing far-right movement in Ireland. She was also named in the Irish Examiner’s 100 Women of 2022 list.
RUSSIA
Russia’s Supreme Court this past week ruled that “the international LGBTQ movement” is “extremist” which, legal experts and human rights advocates say will lead to all LGBTQ groups and organizations in Russia being banned.
The Russian Justice Ministry had lodged an administrative legal claim with the High Court to recognize the International LGBTQ public movement as extremist and ban its activity in Russia. Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko did not specify whether it was seeking the closure of any specific groups or organizations, or if the designation would apply more broadly to the LGBTQ community, causes and individuals.
Speaking with Agence France-Presse, the head of the Sphere human rights group, which advocates for the Russian LGBTQ community, had criticized Chuychenko‘s actions.
“Russian authorities are once again forgetting that the LGBTQ+ community are human beings,” said Sphere head Dilya Gafurova, who has left Russia.
Authorities “don’t just want to erase us from the public field: They want to ban us as a social group,” Gafurova told AFP. “It’s a pretty typical move for repressive non-democratic regimes — the persecution of the most vulnerable. We will continue our fight,” he added.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in a statement issued from Geneva after the ruling said:
“This decision exposes human rights defenders and anyone standing up for the human rights of LGBT people to being labeled as ‘extremist’ — a term that has serious social and criminal ramifications in Russia,” said Türk. “No one should be jailed for doing human rights work or denied their human rights based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“I call on the Russian authorities to repeal, immediately, laws that place improper restrictions on the work of human rights defenders or that discriminate against LGBT people. The law must uphold and defend the principles of equality and non-discrimination. The law must never be used to perpetuate inequality and discrimination,” Türk added.
Laws that must be reformed include those prohibiting gender-affirming medical and administrative procedures, and banning so-called “LGBT propaganda,” which made it illegal to discuss LGBT issues in Russia on penalty of substantial fines, Türk said.
The Türk also pointed out the wide use of the “extremist” label is more generally used to prosecute all those perceived as opponents, including politicians, journalists, human rights defenders and others.
“LGBTIQ people exist in every country, and a legal ban on the undefined ‘international LGBT movement’ will result in more violence, discrimination, and isolation of LGBTIQ people in Russia, who are already targeted for being who they are,” said Maria Sjödin, executive director of Outright International.
“Russia, which has already restricted access to information about LGBTIQ issues, is yet again violating the human rights of LGBTIQ people by restricting freedoms of association and expression. This is a great concern not just for human rights defenders focused on protecting the rights of LGBTIQ people but for everyone who believes in human rights for all,” Sjödin added.
Within 48 hours of the High Court’s ruling, multiple Russian Law enforcement agencies executed a series of raids multiple queer venues in the Russian capital. At one club located on Ulitsa Malaya Yakimanka Street in the center of Moscow, there were approximately 300 people gathered when Russian security forces burst in under the pretext of searching for drugs in the establishment. Several persons were detained.
“In the middle of the party, they stopped the music and began to enter the halls [the police]. There were also citizens of other countries at the party. At the exit, they photographed passports without permission to do so,” an LGBTQ rights activist who had previously spoken to other media outlets told the Washington Blade in a phone call Sunday.
The raids took place in at least four venues, and were reportedly expected by the clubs management and owners.
Security forces arrived at an establishment near the Avtozavodskaya metro station and a themed strip club for men near the Polyanka metro station in central Moscow. The administration of the clubs warned visitors about the events in advance, the Moscow Times reported.
According to an eyewitness to the police raid on Mono, a bar also located in the city’s central district on Pokrovsky Boulevard, “there was the usual party, then the owner came out and said that within an hour law enforcement would arrive in connection with the recent ruling by the Supreme Court. Within 20 minutes the dance floor started to empty,” Ostorozhno Novosti, an independent Russian news outlet reported.
The Moscow Times could not independently verify Ostorozhno Novosti’s reporting, and employees from at least two of the clubs believed to have been targeted on Friday denied the reports, which they called “fakes.”
“I wake up … and I’m reading the news, and, of course, it’s hilarious. Where was [this raid] when we had nothing going on?” the manager of the club Mono said in a video posted on social media Saturday.
The Blade has also been unable to verify Ostorozhno Novosti’s reporting on the Mono bar raid but in a series of phone calls and Telegram chats was able to determine that multiple raids had in fact taken place across central Moscow and that gay clubs and LGBTQ safe spaces were targeted.
In the Baltic city of St. Petersburg, the largest gay club, Central Station, according to independent news outlet Sota, reported the club’s management said that they were denied further rental of the site due to the “new law.”
Additional reporting from Pahichan Media, the South China Morning Post, Human Rights Watch, The BBC, PinkNewsUK, Agence France-Presse, The Moscow Times, GCN Ireland, the Vatican News and the Associated Press.
Japan
Report: LGBTQ exclusion costs Japanese economy billions a year
Open for Business findings coincide with marriage equality fight
LGBTQ exclusion may be costing Japan as much as ¥16.42 trillion ($10.35 billion) annually, according to a new report by Open for Business, which argues that greater inclusion could help address the economic pressures facing a country with a shrinking population and workforce.
Japan’s population is projected to decline from 126.15 million in 2020 to about 87 million by 2070, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. As the country confronts a shrinking workforce; the economic stakes of retaining talent, improving productivity, and ensuring that LGBTQ people can participate fully in the economy are becoming increasingly significant.
Open for Business estimates that the costs extend beyond lost earnings.
The organization attributes between $25.1 billion to $75.1 billion annually to the excess economic burden associated with depression, suicide and self-harm, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS, and another $12.2 billion to $26.2 billion to lost earnings linked to the LGBTQ wage gap.
A 2026 survey by Dentsu Japan, the Japanese arm of global advertising and public relations company Dentsu Group, found that 10.6 percent of respondents aged 20-59 identified as LGBTQ, up from 9.7 percent in 2023. The survey polled 46,658 people living in Japan.
The report argues that Japan already has the foundations for greater LGBTQ inclusion; pointing to public support, corporate leadership, and growing legal momentum. Progress on these fronts, it says, could reduce the economic costs of exclusion, strengthen workforce participation and help Japan remain competitive.
“For Japan, LGBTQ inclusion is not simply a question of fairness. It is part of the country’s economic resilience,” the report states.
Japan does not legally recognize same-sex marriages at the national level, but partnership systems have spread across local governments. As of 2024, municipalities operating such systems covered nearly 93 percent of Japan’s population. The certificates can help couples access certain services, but they do not carry the same legal status as marriage, including in areas such as inheritance and medical decision-making.
The absence of marriage recognition can leave same-sex couples facing uncertainty over hospital access, medical decisions, and survivor benefits. It can also complicate employers’ decisions about spousal health coverage, relocation assistance and family leave, particularly when policies depend on a marriage recognized under Japanese law.
Japan’s PRIDE Index, administered by the nonprofit Work with Pride since 2016, evaluates corporate initiatives related to LGBTQ employees across five categories, awarding Bronze, Silver or Gold ratings. In 2025, 931 companies headquartered in Japan were assessed, with 80 percent receiving the highest, Gold rating.
Despite progress in corporate inclusion, workplace practices remain uneven.
A 2026 workplace white paper by Nijiiro Diversity found that 55 percent of surveyed employees reported no concrete LGBTQ measures at their workplaces. A separate 2025 survey found that 30 percent of professionals had experienced workplace discrimination or bias based on sexual orientation, while 27 percent reported bias based on gender identity. Only about one-third said they felt comfortable disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity at work.
The report also points to disparities in HIV and STI outcomes.
Men who have sex with men accounted for an estimated 82 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Japan, according to the report. In a separate study at a Japanese gender-affirming clinic, researchers screened 275 transgender and gender-diverse patients and found that 6.2 percent tested positive for HIV or another sexually transmitted infection. All were asymptomatic when tested.
The report also estimates substantial losses from the LGBTQ wage gap.
It puts Japan’s total earned income at about $1.81 trillion, of which LGBTQ workers account for an estimated $175 billion, or 9.7 percent. Applying a wage gap of 7 to 15 percent, a range the report says is supported by OECD analysis, yields an estimated $12.3 billion to $26.3 billion in lost wages annually. Japanese research cited in the report also points to economic disparities among transgender workers, who are disproportionately represented in non-regular employment and lower-income groups.
“Public attitudes and many leading companies have moved considerably, but national frameworks and everyday workplace experience have not yet caught up. That creates both a challenge and an opportunity,” said Open for Business CEO Ken Janssens. “Japan’s population is projected to fall from roughly 125 million in 2020 to fewer than 87 million by 2070, while its working-age population is already contracting. The country ranks 14th globally for talent appeal but 55th for talent readiness, according to the report. In that context, Japan simply does not have talent to waste. Every worker who is less healthy, less productive, pushed into lower-paid work or unable to participate fully because of discrimination represents a cost that becomes harder to absorb as the labour force shrinks.”
Janssens further told the Washington Blade that the report’s ultimate message is that LGBTQ inclusion is a question of fairness, but in Japan, it is increasingly a question of economic resilience as well. The foundations for further progress are already there. The challenge now is to convert visible corporate leadership and social momentum into consistent practice and clearer protections.
Akira Nishiyama, a spokesperson for the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, told the Blade that Japan’s business sector has pushed for stronger legal protections for sexual and gender minorities.
In 2017, the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, announced a policy calling for nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Its chairperson also stressed the importance of legislation explicitly prohibiting such discrimination in 2023.
Nishiyama added Japan’s laws addressing workplace power harassment cover harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, outing someone without their consent, and forcing or pressuring someone to disclose or conceal their identity. Employers and local governments are required to take measures to prevent such harassment.
“While such legal frameworks and social momentum continue to advance, a law prohibiting discrimination based on SOGI has still not been enacted,” said Nishiyama. “In other words, legal measures to address discriminatory treatment, such as discriminatory hiring refusals, unreasonable transfers, and coerced resignations, are still insufficient. When legislations are needed to bridge this gap, I believe that initiatives promoted by the business sectors as well as the issuance of clear policies aimed at prohibiting discrimination, will serve as one of the major driving forces in this effort.”
Makiko Terahara, co-representative and leader of the business collaboration team at Marriage for All Japan, told the Blade that the figures are estimates and that the report does not claim legal reform alone would eliminate the economic losses.
“But the connection is real. Without marriage, same-sex couples have no spousal status for inheritance, tax, social security or medical decision-making. Without anti-discrimination legislation, employees have no clear legal remedy. This insecurity drives the concealment, stress and wage gaps that the report quantifies. So yes, I believe stronger legal protections would have a measurable impact on health, retention and Japan’s ability to attract talent,” she said.
Terahara also noted to the Blade the report cites a study finding that living in a municipality with a partnership system was not associated with better mental health. She said symbolic recognition without legal rights is not enough.
“The report confirms that Japanese society and business are already ahead of national law,” said Terahara. “Public opinion and leading companies have moved, and the remaining gap is in legislation. The report shows that marriage equality is not only a human rights issue but also an economic one, and that the cost of inaction is being paid now.”
The Open for Business report can be read here.
Afghanistan
ICC unseals arrest warrants for Taliban officials accused of persecuting LGBTQ people, women
‘For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously’
The International Criminal Court this week unsealed arrest warrants for four Taliban officials in Afghanistan accused of targeting LGBTQ people, women, and others who defy the group’s strict gender norms.
The warrants the ICC unsealed on Oct. 5 are for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The ICC also unsealed warrants for Education Minister Habibullah Agda and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.
The ICC last year announced warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani, as the Washington Blade previously reported.
“In the warrants of arrest, the (Pre-Trial) Chamber (II), in line with current developments in international law, found that the definition of ‘gender’ in the Rome Statute necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond a purely biological conception of sex,” reads the ICC’s Oct. 5 announcement. “It considered that it requires acknowledging the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with individuals on the basis of their sex. The Chamber considered that these societal constructs, commonly referred to as ‘gender norms,’ form part of the contextual lens through which acts amounting to gender-based persecution under article 7(1)(h) must be assessed.”
“It found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women, and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women,’” it adds. “These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, and have continued until at least Jan. 20, 2025.”
The Rome Statute established the ICC, which is in the Dutch city of The Hague, in 2002 after 60 countries ratified it.
The U.S. is among the countries that do not recognize the ICC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced U.S. sanctions against the ICC, which he described as a “rogue court.”
Then-ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in January 2025 announced a request for warrants against Taliban officials over their treatment of women and other groups since they regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. It marked the first time the ICC specifically named LGBTQ people as victims in a gender persecution case before it.
A report that Outright International released in 2023 notes Taliban officials have systematically targeted LGBTQ people — especially gay men and transgender women.
Taliban officials have subjected them to physical and sexual assault as well as arbitrary detention. The Outright International report also notes Taliban authorities have carried out public floggings for alleged same-sex sexual relations, and have collected intelligence on LGBTQ activists and community members.
Artemis Akbary, executive director of the Afghanistan LGBTIQ Organization, on Oct. 5 described the additional arrest warrants as “huge.”
“For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously,” he said. “It strengthens the understanding that gender persecution can also capture persecution based on non-conformity with imposed gender roles, identities, and expressions.”
“This is an important development for accountability in Afghanistan, and potentially far beyond it,” added Akbary.
Central America
Alianza para la Inclusión fortalece la defensa de derechos LGBTQ en Centroamérica
Se implementa el proyecto en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras
Promover, proteger y defender los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQ en Centroamérica es el propósito del proyecto “Alianza para la Inclusión: hacia la promoción de derechos LGBTIQ+ en Centroamérica”, una iniciativa subvencionada por la Unión Europea, Global Gateway, Oikos Cooperação e Desenvolvimento y Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, que articula esfuerzos en Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras.
El proyecto, cuya implementación se desarrolla entre 2025 y 2028, busca fortalecer a organizaciones, liderazgos comunitarios y redes regionales frente a contextos marcados por la discriminación, la violencia y la reducción del espacio cívico.
A través de procesos de formación, atención integral, protección, fortalecimiento organizativo, incidencia y articulación regional, la iniciativa procura generar condiciones más seguras y dignas para que las personas LGBTQ puedan ejercer plenamente sus derechos.
Formación y fortalecimiento de liderazgos
Durante los primeros 18 meses de ejecución, el proyecto ha desarrollado acciones de formación y acompañamiento, otorgado subvenciones a colectivos comunitarios, impulsado estrategias de seguridad integral y respaldado procesos regionales de articulación e incidencia.
Uno de los resultados reportados es la participación de 489 personas LGBTQ de Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras en procesos formativos relacionados con la desnaturalización de la violencia, organización e incidencia. Asimismo, 41 personas líderes LGBTQ de El Salvador y Guatemala fortalecieron sus capacidades para la formulación de proyectos.
Para Pedro Campos, coordinador de Oikos — Cooperação e Desenvolvimento en El Salvador, estos procesos tienen una dimensión que trasciende lo técnico.
“Desde hoy estamos cada día más convencidas y convencidos de que la gestión de proyectos más que técnica o administrativa es esencialmente humana. Nunca debemos olvidar que la persona en toda su diversidad es el centro de nuestro quehacer. Y si un día la empatía y el amor nos abandonan, habremos perdido la esencia de nuestro trabajo”.
La formación también ha significado una oportunidad para fortalecer liderazgos comunitarios. Josh Hernández, persona no binaria y codirectore de Espacios Seguros El Salvador, destaca el impacto que tuvo su participación.
“Esta experiencia me ha fortalecido como activista y como parte de una organización comunitaria, y me ha permitido ampliar mi visión y soñar con nuevas actividades que contribuyan a construir una cultura de paz en nuestra sociedad salvadoreña”, comenta Hernández.
Atención integral para personas LGBTQ en situación de vulnerabilidad
En El Salvador, uno de los componentes del proyecto se ha enfocado en brindar atención integral a personas que enfrentan situaciones de violencia, discriminación o vulnerabilidad.
A través de COMCAVIS TRANS, el proyecto permitió atender a 128 personas, mediante servicios psicosociales, legales y de resguardo temporal en su albergue.
La atención incluyó orientación para activar mecanismos de denuncia y medidas de protección, además de contención emocional, manejo de crisis y acompañamiento para la estabilización de condiciones básicas.
La experiencia también se ha extendido a Honduras. Loren López, directora ejecutiva de la Asociación de Mujeres Lesbianas y Bisexuales LITOS, resaltó el valor de generar espacios seguros para mujeres lesbianas, bisexuales y personas LTBQ (lesbianas, trans, bisexuales y queer).
“Me quedo con la satisfacción de haber contribuido a crear espacios donde una mujer LTBQ+ pueda sentirse segura, escuchada y reconocida, sin tener que esconder quién es. Esta experiencia fortaleció a LITOS y nos dejó nuevas herramientas y posibilidades para seguir trabajando por los derechos y la eliminación de la discriminación”, agrega López.
La seguridad integral como herramienta de protección
En contextos donde quienes defienden derechos pueden enfrentar diferentes tipos de riesgos, el proyecto ha incorporado la seguridad integral como un componente fundamental.
Durante 2026, 140 personas LGBTQ pertenecientes a seis organizaciones participaron en procesos de formación sobre seguridad integral, abordando dimensiones físicas, digitales y emocionales.
Como resultado, seis organizaciones elaboraron y consolidaron sus propios planes de seguridad integral, incorporando medidas de prevención y respuesta ante riesgos físicos y digitales, con especial énfasis en la protección de información sensible, el uso seguro de plataformas digitales y la gestión de incidentes en entornos virtuales.
Incidencia para transformar políticas y garantizar derechos
La iniciativa también ha acompañado procesos de incidencia y litigio estratégico en Guatemala.
La Asociación LAMBDA, junto con la Comisión Presidencial por la Paz y los Derechos Humanos (COPADEH), acompañó una consulta nacional con personas LGBTQ para contribuir a la elaboración de una Estrategia Nacional para las personas LGBTQ, cuyo proceso se encontraba en elaboración y cuya aprobación se esperaba para finales de 2026.
Asimismo, en julio de 2026 fue presentada ante la Corte Constitucional de Guatemala una acción de inconstitucionalidad como parte de una estrategia nacional de litigio estratégico orientada a la aprobación del matrimonio igualitario. Al cierre de la actualización de resultados de este año, el proceso permanecía pendiente de resolución.
El acompañamiento jurídico también ha permitido apoyar procesos individuales relacionados con el reconocimiento de la identidad.
Uno de estos casos es el de Paula Escobar, mujer trans guatemalteca acompañada por LAMBDA en el proceso de cambio de nombre en sus documentos de identidad.
“Ha sido el paso más grande de mi vida, pues me libró de momentos incómodos y de dar explicaciones para ser reconocida como la mujer que soy”.
De acuerdo con el testimonio, la organización se encargó de la gestión legal y aproximadamente seis meses después obtuvo una respuesta favorable.
Redes regionales para ampliar el alcance de la defensa de derechos
La articulación regional constituye otro de los componentes del proyecto. La iniciativa ha apoyado a redes latinoamericanas que buscan fortalecer y posicionar el trabajo de organizaciones LGBTQ.
Entre ellas se encuentra la Alianza Centroamericana y del Caribe de Hombres Trans, que articula organizaciones y personas transmasculinas de Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica y Panamá.
Durante su primer año, ALICAHT desarrolló su Plan Estratégico y Reglamento Interno 2025-2030, además de su identidad gráfica y sitio web.
Otro proceso regional respaldado fue el III Congreso Regional de CORPORA en Libertad, realizado en Guatemala en diciembre de 2025. El encuentro reunió esfuerzos orientados a fortalecer la defensa, promoción y garantía de los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQ privadas y exprivadas de libertad en América Latina y el Caribe.
El espacio permitió fortalecer la articulación regional y compartir experiencias y estrategias frente a los desafíos que enfrentan las personas LGBTQ dentro y fuera de los sistemas penitenciarios.
Ari Vera, fundadora de CORPORA, ha destacado la importancia del trabajo en red como una herramienta para generar transformaciones y fortalecer las capacidades colectivas.
Inclusión más allá de las palabras
Durante el Foro “El Impacto de Incluir”, uno de los planteamientos centrales fue que la inclusión requiere transformaciones concretas y no únicamente el uso de conceptos o siglas.
Jason García, técnico PMA de Monitoreo, Evaluación y Aprendizaje para Oikos El Salvador, señaló una de las barreras que persisten en los proyectos. “Una de las barreras en los proyectos es que son binarios y no se reconocen las otras identidades”.
Desde esta perspectiva, un proyecto inclusivo no se limita a utilizar la palabra inclusión o incorporar las siglas LGBTQ, sino que requiere revisar prácticas, metodologías, mecanismos de participación y formas de reconocer la diversidad.
Como parte de este proceso también se preparó una guía práctica que sistematiza instrumentos y mecanismos del Sistema Internacional de Derechos Humanos, destacando su importancia histórica en la ampliación y protección de derechos.
La compilación fue presentada en la X Conferencia de la Red ILGA LAC y en el 18º Encuentro de la Red Centroamericana de Intercambio Académico en Derechos Internacionales, realizado en la Universidad de El Salvador.
Cooperación centrada en las personas
Los resultados alcanzados durante los primeros 18 meses reflejan una estrategia que combina formación, atención directa, protección, fortalecimiento institucional, incidencia y construcción de redes.
Para la Unión Europea, colocar a las personas en el centro constituye un elemento fundamental de la cooperación. Duccio Bandini, embajador de la Unión Europea en El Salvador, expresó “Desde la Unión Europea seguiremos apostando para una cooperación que pone en el centro a las personas. Porque el verdadero impacto de influir se mide en vidas transformadas, en derechos conquistados y en sociedades que celebran con orgullo su diversidad”.
Con una implementación prevista hasta 2028, la Alianza para la Inclusión continúa articulando organizaciones nacionales y redes latinoamericanas para fortalecer capacidades y generar herramientas que permitan a las personas y organizaciones LGBTQ enfrentar los desafíos de sus contextos y avanzar en la promoción, protección y defensa de los derechos humanos.
Más allá de las cifras y los productos alcanzados, el proyecto coloca en el centro una premisa: la inclusión se construye cuando las personas pueden participar, organizarse, defender sus derechos y vivir su identidad con dignidad y seguridad.
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