Equality: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2023

The European Commission today celebrates the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Amphiphobia and Interphobia (IDAHOT), which has been established to raise public awareness of the discrimination and violence still faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTQI) people. Today we fly the rainbow flag at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels and in our offices across Europe as a symbol of our fight against hatred and discrimination.
Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency, said: “Everyone in our Union should feel that they can safely show affection publicly, without feeling threatened. However, this is still not a given for the LGBTI community, whose members continue to experience physical and verbal violence, both in real life and online. We strongly oppose this violence and stand up for equality and safety for all, without prejudice or restriction, because everyone needs to feel safe in order to develop and reach their full potential.”
Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli added: “Every year on 17 May, we reaffirm our support for the LGBTI community and our commitment to fighting all forms of discrimination, hatred and violence against LGBTI people. We must continue to fight for a Union of equality, in which every person can be themselves and love the person they choose."

In April 2023, the European Commission published a report on the implementation of its Strategy for LGBTI equality 2020-2025, assessing the progress made so far. According to the report, the strategy has helped increase EU member states' interest in LGBTI equality policies by creating new forums for dialogue, while also contributing to mainstreaming LGBTI equality in policies, legislation and funding. More than 100 projects promoting LGBTI equality received EU funding under Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme.