Lucy Middleton profile background image
Lucy Middleton profile image

Lucy Middleton

LGBTQ+ Correspondent

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Lucy Middleton is LGBTQ+ Correspondent for Context based in London.

February 04, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has used his first weeks in office to sign multiple executive orders impacting the lives of LGBTQ+ Americans, restricting access to healthcare, military jobs and protection from discrimination.

Last week Trump announced he would stop schools from using federal funds for curriculum, teacher certification or any other purposes related to "gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology".

January 29, 2025

Panicking families, suicide risk and spikes in calls to helplines - LGBTQ+ and rights organizations say they are already feeling what they see as foreboding impacts of U.S. President Trump's measures to undo protections for the community.

Trump started his term on Jan. 20 by issuing an executive order "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism," which declared the government will only recognize two sexes - male and female.

January 09, 2025

France's state-owned railway has been ordered to stop collecting passengers' gender markers when they buy tickets online, in what is being hailed as a landmark case for non-binary recognition in the European Union.

Train operator SNCF Connect only offered passengers the choice between selecting "monsieur" or "madame" on their website, which LGBTQ+ groups argued broke the governing principles of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

January 06, 2025

After a year that saw both major gains and a spate of setbacks for rights, 2025 is set to be another mixed year for LGBTQ+ people, with some countries achieving marriage equality and others criminalising diverse sexualities and genders. 

Last year progress was made through marriage equality in Greece and Thailand, the decriminalisation of gay sex in Namibia and Dominica and self-identification laws in Germany and Ecuador, which ease the process of changing legal gender.

December 23, 2024

Despite some important gains for the LGBTQ+ community in Europe in 2024, the continent still became more polarised over gay and transgender rights as elections took place in more than 30 countries and voters chose a new European parliament.

Marriage equality became law in Estonia and Greece, while countries including Bulgaria and Georgia introduced anti-LGBTQ+ bills and policies to restrict rights. Hate crime and harassment cases also rose to an all-time high. 

December 16, 2024

Britain has announced an indefinite ban on puberty-blocking drugs, a contested treatment for children experiencing gender dysphoria, or discomfort over the sex they were assigned at birth.

The decision faces pushback from trans activists, while the British Medical Association (BMA) - the professional body for doctors - has called for the ban to be lifted.

November 13, 2024

An LGBTQ+ activist aiming to become Romania's first openly gay MP says he is fed up with politicians lacking the "courage" to recognise same-sex civil unions despite a 2023 order to do so by a top European court.

Florin Buhuceanu is running for Renewing Romania's European Project (REPER), a liberal minority party, and is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to stand for election in the socially conservative country.

October 23, 2024

Georgia could be on the verge of a health crisis if recent legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community is not rolled back, activists say, adding that they are pinning their hopes for change on this month's parliamentary election.

Two laws passed this year have already curbed LGBTQ+ rights and activists fear that if the ruling Georgian Dream party wins an unprecedented fourth term on Oct. 26, there could be more crackdowns, with serious consequences for healthcare.

October 17, 2024

If Georgia's ruling party wins an unprecedented fourth term in this month's parliamentary election, LGBTQ+ activists fear further government crackdowns after a legislative package curbing LGBTQ+ rights was signed into law in early October.

Georgians vote on Oct. 26, and the Georgian Dream party, which introduced what it calls a “family values” law, hopes to boost conservative support in the election.

September 25, 2024

When a Danish court ruled that a transgender inmate should not be transferred to a women’s prison unit because of her violent past, the case failed to ignite the kind of political storm gender identity issues have sparked elsewhere.

Activists credit the country’s long-standing self-identification law, which allows people to change their gender without a medical evaluation, for helping to lower the temperature in conversations about transgender issues.