Summary of the Guidelines
These guidelines aim to put forward comprehensive strategies to address and prevent the rising rates of hate speech and hate crime against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) young people in Europe.
Hate speech and hate crime based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and/or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) affect the safety, well-being and human rights of the individuals directly targeted. Hate speech and hate crime also represent a threat to the broader LGBTQI community and society as a whole by undermining the principles of equality and non-discrimination and having a chilling effect on democratic participation.
Most instances of hate speech and hate crime against LGBTQI young people occur in schools or are perpetrated by peers or family members. LGBTQI young people face significant barriers to reporting these instances of hate-motivated violence due to fears that they will not be taken seriously, reluctance to report family members to authorities and worries of being outed. This means that any measures to address and prevent hate speech and hate crime must be specifically adapted to the unique nature of the violence faced by LGBTQI youth and the challenges they encounter in reporting it.
In 2023, IGLYO organised an International Conference on Hate Speech and Hate Crime to better understand these challenges and to gather input from LGBTQI youth activists across Europe. The conference brought together over 20 youth participants, serving as a platform to share their experiences of hate-motivated violence and to strategise on how to combat and prevent such incidents. The discussions and insights from this event played a key role in shaping these guidelines.
The guidelines cover key areas of hate speech and hate crime against LGBTQI young people, including online hate speech; hate speech and hate crime in educational settings; addressing hate speech and hate crime through education and training; hate speech and hate crime in the family context; and community-based approaches to hate speech and hate crime. The guidelines also discuss definitions of hate speech and hate crime as well as different international, regional and national legal and policy frameworks that seek to address them. Finally, the guidelines also highlight the need for an intersectional approach when addressing hate speech and hate crime against LGBTQI young people.
We hope that these guidelines can serve as a resource for policymakers, educators, civil society, parents and carers, youth activists and anyone working to protect and promote the rights of LGBTQI young people and to safeguard them from hate-motivated violence and discrimination. We also hope that these guidelines can contribute to the broader effort of creating safer, more inclusive societies where all young people can live free from discrimination, violence, bullying and harassment.
