The recognition of LGBTI rights in Europe still poses a challenge to this day, since it appears that in several cases, states and societies have failed to respond adequately. ILGA- Europe in collaboration with Rainbow Index conducted a report and found that several European countries can be described as “unfriendly” toward the LGBTI community. They are far from fulfilling 100% of the 48 criteria that have been set on national legislations and the extent to which they recognize or violate the rights of the LGBTI community. Greece’s overall score was 39%, ranking 21st among European countries in regards to respect toward the LGBTI community’s rights. “Disapproval of LGBTI people remained high, stirred up by comments from the Greek Orthodox Church and right-wing politicians. This led to several homophobic and transphobic attacks. Positively, the parliament adopted a law punishing bias-motivated speech and crime, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Rules were also modified to punish homophobic or transphobic behavior among the police,” noted the report. “Greece continued to drag its feet on the implementation of a 2013 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, still forbidding same-sex couples from entering registered partnerships available to different-sex couples,” it added. The highest score was recorded in the United Kingdom (86%) while, according to a report in the Independent, Scotland appears to be the most LGBTI-friendly UK area, since it meets 92% of the criteria. The United Kingdom was followed by Belgium with 83%, Malta 79% and Sweden with 72%. On the other hand, the lowest rates were recorded in Russia and Azerbaijan –two countries that were also included in the report- which scored just 8% and 5% respectively.
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