Pride in backlash? LGBTQ+ rights at a crossroads

By Enrique Anarte

In my almost eight years reporting on LGBTQ+ rights I’ve seen big and small steps towards social and legal equality for LGBTQ+ people around the world. But this is the first time Pride month feels like a backslide.

This past year, governments from Washington D.C. to Kampala and Moscow have been cracking down on LGBTQ+ people’s right to live freely and without fear. I’ve witnessed a global rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, and changes in legislation, funding, and personal safety for many LGBTQ+ people.

Pride is a celebration - a chance for LGBTQ+ people to be visible and celebrate wins towards equality, freedom and living authentically. But it is also, fundamentally, a protest against injustice and unfairness.

As this year’s Pride month rolls around during major shifts in social perspectives worldwide, I can’t help but consider the stories of those bearing the brunt of this changing tide, and those working to turn it back.

In Kenya, Ronnie, a bisexual asylum seeker from Uganda, is trapped in legal limbo without the right to work or even open a bank account as anti-LGBTQ+ movements gain momentum in his new home. On Namibia’s coast, Ruann, a young trans woman and sex worker, might run out of HIV prevention pills as a result of U.S. president Donald Trump’s foreign aid cuts. In Bulgaria, teachers like Ivan, a gay man, fear losing their jobs if parents accuse them of “propaganda” for simply talking about their partners. Across Europe, trans people are increasingly being depicted as a threat - despite still making up some of the most marginalised communities in our societies.

Governments, organisations, and individuals are rolling back LGBTQ+ rights in covert and overt ways across the globe. These are the stories of what this global backlash looks like, and what the LGBTQ+ community and allies are doing to fight back.