Scotland Leads Ranking Of LGBT Rights

Via press release:

According to ILGA-Europe’s annual review of LGBTI equality and human rights laws across the continent, published today, Scotland now comes ahead of the rest of the UK and Europe in the legal protections offered to LGBTI people. The ‘Rainbow Europe Index’ measures progress in European countries on LGBTI equality against a 48-point criteria that includes legal protections from discrimination in employment and services, measures to tackle hate crime, rights and recognition for transgender and intersex people, and equality in family law including same-sex marriage and parenting rights.

Following the legalisation of same-sex marriage last year, Scotland now meets 92% of ILGA Europe’s criteria, compared to 86% for the UK as a whole. The UK’s overall figure is brought down by lack of protections for intersex people in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland’s failure to respect LGBTI human rights in a range of areas including its refusal to legalise same-sex marriage. 

Scotland (92%) is joined in ILGA-Europe’s ranking of the top five countries for LGBTI legal equality by the rest of the UK (86%), Belgium (83%), Malta (77%), and Sweden (72%). The five countries ranked worst for LGBTI legal equality in Europe include Azerbaijan (5%), Russia (8%), Armenia (9%), Ukraine (10%) and Monaco (11%). With a few exceptions, the human rights of LGBTI people are better respected in Western Europe than Central Europe, and are least protected in Eastern Europe.

(Tipped by JMG reader Timothy)