New data has revealed the “unprecedented reversal” of trans rights in Europe and Central Asia.
On 13 May, the Trans Europe and Central Asia (TGEU) organisation released its Trans Rights & Map 2025 report, which “shows country-specific requirements for legal gender recognition, protections for trans asylum seekers, hate crime and speech laws, and more.”
For the first time in its 13-year history, the report revealed that setbacks in human rights for trans people across Central Asia and Europe now outweigh progress.
Out of the 54 countries in the aforementioned regions, only 39 countries have legal or administrative measures in place that make legal recognition of gender available to trans people. Of those select countries, 24 require a mental health diagnosis, 12 demand sterility and 12 countries base legal gender recognition procedures on self-determination.
In regard to trans asylum seekers, only 27 countries out of the 54 reviewed offer explicit international protection on the grounds of gender identity.
When analysing hate speech and crime, the report revealed that 24 countries have laws in place that prohibit hate crimes against trans people, with 16 of those territories being European Union member states.
Regarding non-discrimination practices, only 20 of the 27 EU member states protect against discrimination in employment based on gender identity.
Of the 27 EU member states, 17 protect against discrimination in access to goods and services on the grounds of gender identity, while only 15 protect against housing discrimination based on gender identity.
Lastly, Iceland and Malta are the only two countries that have effectively depathologised trans identities, and 10 out of the 54 reviewed states prohibit conversion practices on the grounds of gender identity.
“The data confirms what trans people have been saying and feeling it. It shows a historically low amount of progress and historically high levels of stagnation,” TGEU senior research officer Freya Watkins said in a statement.
“In 2025, we saw more than twice as much regression as progress on our Map. This marks the first time in the 13-year history of the project when clearly more rights have been taken away than have been gained.”
TGEU Executive Director Ymania Brown echoed similar sentiments, calling on the EU to “actively defend trans people’s dignity and human rights by adopting an ambitious EU LGBTIQ Strategy.
“Despite the unmistakable deterioration of the situation for trans people, many political leaders halt progress and recoil from solidarity action–– as if this could stop the attack. The opposite is true. Only going forward will stop the attack on our rights and our value system,” Brown said.
“How the EU responds to this threat within its own borders sets the tone globally. In Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, Human rights protections are visibly eroding. This is a critical moment. Europe can defend or it can lead. But it cannot look the other way. Dignity is not optional. Equality is not negotiable. And most important of all, freedom, is not for the few.”
The recent report comes at a time when trans people worldwide are facing increased scrutiny and attacks from politicians and conservative figures worldwide.
From the UK Supreme Court’s rulling excluding trans women from the legal definition of womanhood to the 47th president of the United States issuing several anti-trans executive orders, the rights of trans people are being dismantled from every corner.
To view the entire 2025 Trans Rights & Map, click here.
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