Bulgaria ranks 39th in Europe according to Rainbow Map 2024

ILGA-Europe publishes its 16th annual report Rainbow Map.

Rainbow Map annually ranks 49 European countries on a scale between 0% (gross human rights violations, discrimination) and 100% (respect for human rights, full equality) based on laws and policies that have a direct impact on the rights of LGBTI people.

This year’s report presents a complex picture of LGBTI rights in Europe. The results show that while authoritarian leaders in Europe continue to use narratives against LGBTI people to divide society and mobilise their electorate, others are showing strong political will to uphold their commitments to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTI people.

For the ninth consecutive year, Malta continues to hold the top spot with a score of 88%, followed by Iceland and Belgium. The report highlights positive developments in several European countries. Countries such as Germany, Iceland and Greece show progress in the areas of same-sex marriage, hate crime legislation and increased measures against discrimination. This progress contrasts with the situation in Bulgaria, which remains stagnant on these key issues. Bulgaria continues to be among the laggards, especially in terms of legal protection and public expression of LGBTI citizens – the country is in 39th position with 23.22%.

The report assesses Bulgaria’s legal framework for recognising the rights of LGBTI people as inadequate, particularly in view of the lack of legal protection for trans people, the absence of legislation on registered partnerships, and Bulgaria’s failure to ensure the safety of public LGBTI events.

For Bulgaria, the report recommends:

• Adopt registered partnerships for same-sex couples and allow automatic recognition of cohabitation for all couples so that children born to couples, regardless of the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of the partners, face no barriers to being legally recognized from birth by their parents.
• Introduce hate crime and hate speech laws that explicitly cover all bias-motivated crimes based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and gender characteristics.
• Adopt an equitable legal framework, based on administrative measures, for the legal recognition of gender based on a process of self-determination.

These are crucial steps towards a more inclusive and equitable society to improve the legal and political situation of LGBTI people, especially because of the rise of far-right political forces that reinforce the need for stronger legal frameworks and plans to combat hate speech and discrimination against the LGBTI community.

More information on Bulgaria’s rating can be found at here.