As the world marks the 2025 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) on 17 May, the call to action has never been more urgent.
Under this year’s theme — “The Power of Communities” — the day not only honours LGBTQIA+ resilience but also shines a spotlight on the mounting global backlash against our rights, identities, and lives.
Established in 2004, IDAHOBIT commemorates the World Health Organization’s landmark 1990 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Over the past two decades, it has evolved into a pivotal moment each year to draw attention to the injustices still faced by LGBTQIA+ people around the globe.
This year’s commemorations come at a time when anti-gender and anti-rights movements are gaining ground in alarming ways. From legislative rollbacks to public vilification, communities are under siege — with women, trans, and intersex individuals often bearing the brunt of these escalating attacks.
According to ILGA World, 64 UN member states continue to criminalise consensual same-sex relations, while 61 impose restrictions on freedom of expression related to sexual and gender diversity. Only a handful of countries offer robust legal protections against hate crimes based on gender identity, expression, or sex characteristics.
The last year has been particularly harrowing, noted the IDAHOBIT secretariat in a statement. Organisations have been forced to shut their doors due to funding cuts and aid freezes. In Mali, same-sex relations were criminalised for the first time, while Trinidad and Tobago reversed a previous court ruling that had decriminalised such acts.
In Europe, Hungary has tightened its constitutional grip on LGBTQIA+ freedoms by banning Pride events, and the UK Supreme Court narrowed the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act — a blow to trans inclusion.
Across the Americas, regressive policies are also taking root. The United States continues to push laws that marginalise trans and intersex people under the guise of “protecting women”, while Argentina has banned gender-affirming care for minors. In Peru, a new law threatens anyone who exposes young people to content on sexual diversity with imprisonment.
In Southern Africa, LGBTQIA+ lives continued to be lost in suspected hate crimes, including that of gay Imam Muhsin Hendricks, while one of South Africa’s most prominent politicians, Helen Zille, undermined the humanity and dignity of trans people. At the same time, the country’s beleaguered justice system has often failed to deliver justice to queer victims.
These developments reflect a troubling global trend: a coordinated and well-funded effort to erase LGBTQIA+ people from public life, healthcare systems, legal recognition, and history itself. And yet, amid the hostility, rays of hope shine through — thanks to the unwavering commitment and unity of communities.
In the past year alone, Dominica and Namibia have decriminalised same-sex relations. Marriage equality has been achieved in Thailand and Liechtenstein, and Poland has dismantled its last remaining so-called “LGBT-free zone”. More countries are banning harmful practices like “conversion therapy” and unnecessary medical interventions on intersex youth, while others are adopting inclusive legal gender recognition policies.
These hard-won victories are not the work of individuals alone, but of communities rallying together — organising, resisting, healing, and building. It is precisely this collective strength that the 2025 IDAHOBIT theme seeks to honour and amplify.
“The Power of Communities” celebrates the enduring efforts of LGBTQIA+ activists, human rights defenders, and allies — including feminist and reproductive justice movements — who continue to push forward, even in the darkest of times. Their work reminds us that solidarity is not a slogan; it is a force for survival and transformation.
“We invite everyone to act,” said the IDAHOBIT secretariat. “Visibility isn’t enough. Rights are being taken away, and silence is complicity. This IDAHOBIT, stand with LGBTQIA+ communities. Speak out, show up, and fight back.”
