Chantelle Billson

A number of countries took steps to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people this year.

From enacting bans on so-called conversion therapy to introducing reforms that facilitate easier changes to gender markers, here are some of the countries that did the right thing in 2024.

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Honduras

In November, the Central American nation struck down a ban on LGBTQ+ blood donations, meaning men who have sex with men are now able to give blood. 

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Germany 

Germany’s parliament passed the Self-Determination Act, making it easier for trans and non-binary people aged 14 and older to legally change their first name and gender by making a straightforward declaration to the registry office.

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Curaçao 

Same-sex marriage has become legal in Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, after the Netherlands’ supreme court ruled that queer couples had the right to marry. 

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Denmark 

Denmark lifted its deferral period for blood donations from men who have sex with men, in July. In the past, they could not donate if they had had sex in the previous four months. Rules regarding donations now apply to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. 

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Czechia

In July, Czechia started allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood.

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Latvia 

Latvia’s law allowing same-sex couples to establish civil unions took effect on 1 July, in a first for the Baltic nation.

Couples in civil unions are afforded certain tax and social security benefits, as well regarding hospital visiting, although they still have fewer rights than married couples. Legally speaking, marriage is still defined as only between a man and a woman.

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Namibia 

Consensual same-sex activity became legal in Namibia after the High Court ruled that laws criminalising such intimacy were unconditional and invalid. 

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Mexico 

Conversion therapy was banned. Practitioners breaking the law face between two and six years in prison and fines. In addition, the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, on the country’s Pacific coast, classified the practice as a crime, with punishment of up to six years in jail.

The state of Tabasco legalised same-sex adoption in April, a month after the Congress of Yucatán unanimously approved a self-ID bill for trans nationals. 

Same-sex adoption became legal in Baja California, and the first gay couple adopted in February. 

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Greenland 

The Law on Equal Treatment and Anti-Discrimination, which was approved in May, made LGBTQ+ discrimination illegal. It bans discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and gender characteristics. 

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Peru 

In May, the health ministry reiterated that doctors should not perform conversion therapy. 

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Bermuda

Blood donations by men who have sex with men became legal in May. Certain requirements need to be met, including not having had anal sex with a new partner, or more than one sexual partner, in the previous three months. 

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Dominica

The Caribbean country’s High Court overturned a colonial-era ban on consensual same-sex activity, in April. It also legalised gay sex. 

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Lesotho

In Lesotho, in Southern Africa, The Labour Code banned discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. The code also outlawed violence, harassment and sexual harassment based on gender identity.  

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Estonia 

Estonia became the first former Soviet Republic to legalise same-sex marriage in 2023 and the legislation officially came into force on New Year’s Day. Same-sex adoption was legalised at the same time. 

Blood donations from men who have sex with men has been legal since March. 

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Portugal 

A bill banning conversion therapy that was passed by Portugal’s parliament signed into law by president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa took effect on 1 March. 

In January, serving openly in the military as trans and non-binary became legal. 

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Greece 

LGBTQ+ discrimination became illegal this year, while same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage became legal. 

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The Netherlands 

Blood donations by men who have sex with men became legal at the beginning of the year.

LGBTQ+ veterans who were ejected from the military due to their sexuality will be able to receive up to £70,000 in compensation from today 13 December. 

The ban on openly gay soldiers, which was lifted in 2000, had resulted in veterans being prohibited from serving in the armed forces due to their sexuality or gender identity.

Those who were discovered to be LGBTQ+ faced horrific treatment, including physical and sexual abuse, so-called ‘conversion therapy’ and blackmail, as well as dismissal from the service.

Now, veterans eligible for compensation can apply to receive a £50,000 payout under the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme.

An additional £20,000 can be applied for by those who endured harassment or ill-treatment while serving in addition to being dismissed or discharged. All eligible veterans can also request to have their rank restored and discharge reason amended. 

‘Moral stain on our nation’ 

Defence secretary, John Healey said: ”The historic treatment of LGBT veterans was a moral stain on our nation.

“Our government is determined to right the wrongs of the past and recognise the hurt that too many endured.”

Government modelling has estimated that the maximum number of impacted veterans is 4,000. It isn’t known how many will apply for compensation. 

In September, LGBTQ+ veterans who were awarded a special badge of their service refused to wear it until they were paid compensation for the injustice they faced while in the UK’s armed forces. 

In August, LGBTQ+ veterans charity, Fighting With Pride, was awarded a grant to help create the UK’s first memorial to LGBTQ+ veterans. 

The charity, which campaigned to get justice for servicemen and women affected by the pre-2000 ban on homosexuality in the armed forces, was awarded a £350,000 government grant to create the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. 

Lawmakers in the West African nation of Mali have voted to criminalise homosexuality.

Mali’s National Transitional Council voted 131-1 in favour of the proposed legislation, which, if signed into law by military leaders, who seized power in 2021, would outlaw gay sex between men. 

It isn’t yet known what sanctions will be placed on those convicted. 

The head of the country’s junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, removed French as one of Mali’s official languages in June last year, and minister of justice and human rights Mamadou Kassogue has previously warned that “there are provisions in our laws that prohibit homosexuality in Mali”, adding: “Anyone who indulges in this practice, or promotes or condones it, will be prosecuted.

“We will not accept our customs and values being violated by people from elsewhere.”

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In July, Ghana’s supreme court dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the country’s Criminal Code of 1960, which prohibits same-sex acts – branding them “unnatural carnal knowledge” – with punishment of up to three years in jail. 

Under the criminal code, which dates back to British colonial times, LGBTQ+ people in the country face discrimination, but if the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill passes into law, things are only likely to get worse.

More than three-quarters of young pupils in the UK have heard homophobic language at school, new research has revealed. 

In conjunction with VotesforSchools, LGBT+ young people’s charity Just Like Ussurveyed 31,875 pupils, including 4,307 aged between nine and 11 at primary schools.

The survey, held in June, found that the 78 per cent of primary-school children had heard homophobic language at school. That figure increased to 80 per cent for secondary school pupils, aged 11 to 18. 

Among the primary-school children, some noted that the homophobic language was intended as a “joke”. One said: “We mainly hear people call each other ‘gay’ as an insult or a joke. This is because we see it trending on TikTok.” 

LGBTQ+ dad Matt said his son had been pressured into playing a TikTok game where if you guessed wrong you would be called gay. The boy refused to play, saying it was “hurtful” to use the word as an insult. 

A pupil in a Glasgow primary school said: “Because I’m a boy and have long hair, I have been called gay as an insult.” 

Now, Just Like Us has launched resources for schools in a bid to tackle homophobia in classrooms. 

‘Real-life consequences’

Laura Mackay, the charity’s chief executive, called the findings of the survey “deeply concerning”, adding: “Homophobic language should never be dismissed as ‘just a joke’ because we know it has real-life consequences, impacting the self-esteem and feelings of shame among LGBT+ young people and those from same-sex families.

“We are worried about young people reporting a rise in games aimed at children on TikTok where gay is being used as a derogatory insult.” 

Last year, a gay teacher shared his concerns after witnessing more overt examples of hatred, spurred on by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the media. 

Another gay educator spoke out about students learning misogyny and anti-LGBTQ+ hate from the internet, with one name being repeated by his students: Andrew Tate, the influencer who facing trial in Romania where he has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.