Global study reveals anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric used in elections across 51 countries

A recent NGO study encompassing 60 countries and the European Union has revealed a concerning trend of politicians employing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during election campaigns in at least 51 countries. The rhetoric ranged from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign imposition to denouncing "gender ideology."

The report, conducted by Outright International, an NGO dedicated to promoting LGBTQ+ rights globally, also highlighted positive developments. Openly gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals pursued political office in at least 36 countries, marking the first instance in Botswana, Namibia, and Romania, although without success. Brazil saw the number of LGBTQ+ elected officials double, reaching at least 233.

Alberto de Belaúnde, a director at Outright International, noted the increasing "weaponization of hate," attributing it to a coordinated, well-funded global effort to undermine LGBTQ+ people. He stated that far-right activists and politicians often scapegoat LGBTQ+ individuals for societal problems.

The Guardian reports that the study documented instances of online hate speech directed at LGBTQ+ candidates from opponents and their supporters in El Salvador, Finland, Pakistan, and the US, where Sarah McBride made history as the first transgender member of the House of Representatives.

In the United States' 2024 elections, Republican campaigns invested $200 million in anti-transgender advertisements on network television, according to data from AdImpact.

During Georgia's parliamentary elections, the ruling Georgian Dream party accused LGBTQ+ activists of being "foreign agents" seeking to undermine the country's "traditional values."

In Ghana, both major parties pledged to protect "family values" while accusing each other of pro-LGBTQ+ stances during election campaigns.

Prior to the EU elections, the Fidesz-KDNP coalition in Hungary claimed that the "Brussels elite and the Soros network" were waging an ideological war to indoctrinate children with "gender propaganda."

The National Human Rights Commission in Indonesia condemned reports of politicians vowing to "eradicate LGBT."

While all major parties in Pakistan pledged to respect transgender rights, trans candidates reported experiencing verbal harassment during the election.

The Outright International report emphasized that rising discrimination against minorities has accompanied increasing authoritarianism, with LGBTQ+ communities being among the first casualties of anti-democratic actions.