Italy is still moving backwards on LGBTQIA+ rights and the new Rainbow Map 2026 report by ILGA-Europe photographs an increasingly isolated country in the European panorama.
With just 24% in the overall score on civil rights and protections for LGBTQIA+ people, Italy falls to 36th place in the European ranking, very far from the European average and now close to countries such as Hungary and Poland, often criticized for their discriminatory policies.
The most significant figure, however, is another: in the last ten years our country has lost over 16 points, marking one of the worst setbacks in the whole of Europe. While countries such as Spain, Malta or even Greece continue to expand rights and protections, Italy seems to be proceeding in the opposite direction.
According to ILGA-Europe, what matters is not only what is still missing – egalitarian marriage, full recognition of same-parent families, effective laws against hate crimes – but also the progressive dismantling of some existing protections and the increasingly hostile political climate towards the LGBTQIA+ community.
Among the most critical points highlighted by the report are:
The law on Gestation for Others also comes under scrutiny, transformed into a “universal crime” by law 169/2024. A measure which, according to many associations, represents an almost unique case in Europe and risks creating further legal and social isolation for the families involved.
What makes the situation even more difficult is the absence of specific legislation against hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity. A legislative void that leaves millions of people more exposed to discrimination, violence and hate speech.
The situation of trans and non-binary people is also particularly delicate. The report denounces bureaucratic restrictions, obstacles to gender affirmation paths and political and media campaigns considered stigmatizing. Furthermore, Italy continues not to provide a law based on self-determination for the exchange of documents.
Meanwhile, just as Italy is going backwards, the European Commission has decided to ask member states to ban so-called “conversion therapies”, pseudo-scientific practices that claim to change sexual orientation or gender identity and which the UN considers forms of cruel and degrading treatment.
Brussels, however, will not introduce a binding European ban: the Commission will limit itself to recommending member states to legislate autonomously, claiming that it does not have sufficient direct competence to impose a ban at EU level.
The lie is to think that LGBTQIA+ people have something to correct – declared the European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib. According to European data, one in four LGBTQIA+ people have undergone conversion practices, a percentage that rises to almost one in two among transgender people.
To date, only eight European countries have explicitly banned these practices.
And so, while a part of Europe at least tries to strengthen protections, Italy continues to slide towards what many associations now define as a real “grey zone” of civil rights.
