We may not be Russia, Hungary, or the United States, but we don’t live on an island either, writes Bruno De Lille Battaille in response to Hungary’s ban on Gay Prides. “If what is happening worldwide teaches us anything, it is this: rights are never guaranteed. They are often the result of years of struggle, but they can be taken away very quickly. The legal, cultural and social progress of LGBTQI people is fragile. Here as well.”
Hungary has written the ban on Gay Prides into its constitution. In the United Kingdom, librarians are increasingly being asked to remove books on LGBTQI topics from the shelves.
And who, just a few years ago, would have imagined that Belgium would warn its LGBTQI+ citizens to think twice before traveling to the United States?
Some people think this backlash is temporary, that the tide will inevitably turn again, that it’s just our misfortune that Orbán has it in for us, or that it’s merely one of Trump’s crazy outbursts and he’ll soon move on to another target.
They are mistaken. This is not coincidence but the outcome of a long and deliberate process — a coordinated, well-funded strategy by religious organizations, conservative think tanks and lobby groups, (far-)right media, and populist politicians.
This scenario could just as easily unfold in Belgium. That is why it is urgent that we push back.
A strong legal framework, broad political support
Belgium is not Russia, Hungary, or the United States. Our country has a strong legal framework on LGBTQI rights. Marriage has been open to same-sex couples for more than 20 years. Joint adoption by same-sex couples is allowed. Discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression is a criminal offense. Trans people can change their official gender registration and first name at the civil registry on simple request. And so-called conversion therapies, aimed at changing or suppressing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, are banned by law.
Most political parties support this framework and actively helped shape it, often even across majority-opposition lines. There is also broad support among Belgians for same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, and the belief that LGBTQI people should be free to live their lives as they choose. In the media, we are more visible than ever.
In recent years, Belgium has consistently ranked in the top three of ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Index. That is something to be proud of.
But European research (2023) shows that nearly two-thirds of Belgian LGBTQI people were bullied at school. Fifteen percent of Belgians reported being victims of physical or sexual violence in the past five years because they are LGBTQI. Slightly more than half of Belgian LGBTQI people said they were rarely or never open about their orientation at work, and more than half of lesbian and gay couples avoid walking hand in hand in public.
What is striking is that on these points Belgium often scores around the European average. Many Belgians see our country as a rainbow frontrunner — and in terms of legislation we truly are pioneers — but socially we are much less so.
Other studies confirm this. The Call It Hate report (2019), for example, showed that a quarter of Flemish and Brussels respondents said there was too much attention paid to sexual orientation. Nearly one in three felt that LGBTQI people should not exaggerate about the problems they face.
So not only does discrimination and violence against the LGBTQI community in Belgium persist, it is also not always taken seriously. That makes us victims twice over.
A turning point
What is particularly worrying is that the positive trend of past years is stalling.
Each year, the percentage of Belgians who believed that lesbian, gay and trans people should be free to live their lives had been rising. Last year, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) noted that more LGBTQI people across Europe than ever before felt able to be open about their orientation, gender identity or expression.
But at the same time, the agency also reported that intimidation, bullying and violence against LGBTQI people are once again on the rise. And the major youth study (2023) by Fien Pauwels of the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO) found a clear and statistically significant increase in homophobia among young people between 2018 and 2023. This increase was significant across every social group.
After years of steady progress, we now see a reversal.
No island
As I said in my introduction: this is not coincidence. We may not be Russia, Hungary, or America, but we don’t live on an island.
The conservative and religiously inspired anti-abortion and anti-gay lobby of the 1980s and 1990s in the US has increasingly gone international and has inspired a wave of new activist groups worldwide. These groups were often created to influence political debates on same-sex marriage, adoption by lesbian or gay couples, abortion, or sex education. We see them building a base in Europe and even in Belgium, mobilizing people and pushing their way into the public debate with varying degrees of success.
Authoritarian and ultraconservative regimes worldwide — such as Russia, Hungary, Poland under its previous government, and now also Italy — use the LGBTQI+ community as a scapegoat to strengthen their grip on society, destabilize liberal democracies, and form alternative geopolitical alliances. They cooperate across borders and actively share tactics and laws with one another. Alarmingly, Belgians are also present at the conferences and events they organize and in the networks they build.
And what is happening in the US is not without consequences for us. Think of Trump’s hostility to diversity and inclusion policies (DEI), something he even tries to impose on our companies. Or think of social media platforms like X and Facebook, where hate speech against LGBTQI people now circulates much more easily, emboldening trolls and hatemongers who feel they can act with impunity.
Some Belgian politicians seem to see the American approach as a model. They stoke fear and negative feelings about LGBTQI people and present themselves as those who will stop it. It is true that, politically, Vlaams Belang has so far been the most openly critical of LGBTQI rights, but within N-VA and MR some also actively position themselves as “anti-woke,” giving the impression that a “culture war” is under way — something I believe is not the case in Belgium. The result is that legitimate questions about inclusion, safety, or equal rights are more easily dismissed as exaggerated or activist.
This is no coincidence
If what is happening worldwide teaches us anything, it is this: rights are never guaranteed. They are often the result of years of struggle, but they can be taken away very quickly. The legal, cultural and social progress of LGBTQI people is fragile. Here as well.
The key lesson is that this backlash does not come out of nowhere. It is policy that was prepared. Sown. In words, in culture, and finally in laws and regulations.
We must therefore urgently sound the alarm. And by “we” I do not just mean the LGBTQI movement in our country, but everyone who cares about the freedoms we enjoy today. Because it will not stop here.
A barometer
Because the rainbow community is relatively small, we are often the first target when authoritarian or ultraconservative forces want to undermine democratic freedoms. Because we are not many, because subcultures sometimes make us appear “strange,” and because for many heterosexuals our struggle feels distant.
But what begins as restrictions on freedom of speech, association, or visibility for LGBTQI people can easily be extended to other minorities, to critical media, or to any citizen who dares to ask questions.
If a society allows one group to be publicly stigmatized or excluded, the norm of what is socially or politically acceptable shifts. Today, trans people are the main target; tomorrow it may be journalists, activists, or academics. In that sense, the fate of LGBTQI people is a barometer of the health of a democratic society.
Scholars call it democratic erosion: human rights and fundamental freedoms rarely disappear with a shock, but rather through a series of small shifts to which we react too little or too late. That is what we are seeing here. That is what we must all resist now.
What can we do?
We are at a turning point. Either we assume that things will be fine and that there will always be enough people to defend us — but we have seen where that led in America. Or we wake up. Right now.
We must show that everyone knows or loves someone who belongs to the LGBTQI community. Our opponents like to paint us as a detached elite imposing something on ordinary people. But we are those ordinary people: we are workers, teachers, students, civil servants, bank employees… We are seventh-generation Belgians and migrants, young and old, people with disabilities, rural and urban residents…
We must communicate clearly and not allow others to hijack our words or set the frame. If we let others reduce our identities to an “ideology” or describe our families as “indoctrination,” we are suggesting that our very existence is up for debate. And it is not. We are not asking for privileges or for a revolution, but for equal rights, respect and safety. And if that means repeating it a thousand times, then so be it.
We must also actively seek alliances. LGBTQI rights are connected to women’s rights, social justice, anti-discrimination and anti-racism, the right to self-determination… We must build coalitions with these movements, making it harder for opponents to portray LGBTQI rights as only relevant to a small group.
And we must be present and visible wherever decisions are made. We must keep engaging with politicians, parties, (local) authorities, trade unions, education networks… Not only at election time. We must show that these issues affect our daily lives, even when the evening news is not covering them.
As a movement, we will also need to prioritize more often. Not every issue has to be on the table at the same time, not every battle can be fought simultaneously. Sometimes we are so considerate toward one another that we treat every demand as equally important. Unfortunately, we live in a time when our fundamental rights and protections are under renewed attack, and we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by issues that are mainly symbolic.
And finally, we must also organize internationally. Hungary, Russia, the United States, Uganda, Iran… they may be far away. But the ideas they stand for cross borders. Not only their own citizens are victims; they are also trying to undermine our rights here. The truth is simple: as an LGBTQI person, you are only truly safe when all LGBTQI people are safe. And what conservative networks do, we can do as well. So let us inspire one another, share tactics and legal texts, and support one another worldwide.
The fight has only just begun
The backlash here is not yet massive, but it is real. LGBTQI rights in Belgium can also come under pressure. Not because Belgians are fundamentally intolerant — they are not — but because indifference and the attitude of “it will be fine anyway” are powerful allies of regression.
We too face growing (political) polarization, we too see extremes becoming normalized, we too live in an era where disinformation spreads faster than nuance, and our system too is not immune to democratic erosion.
But we also hold strong cards: a solid legal framework, broad public support, and an active movement. It is up to us to play those cards well. Not to wait until travel advisories are also issued for Belgium. But to act today: by broadening our support base actively and intensively, by finding partners willing to stand up for us, by thinking and acting more strategically and internationally.
So let us not drift along, but take matters into our own hands.
Bruno De Lille Battaille is a former Brussels Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities. He is the General Director of a Brussels school group.
>> Please note that this is a machine generated translation