A passionate conference titled “Addressing Violence and Discrimination Against LBQ Women” was held on 4 December 2024 at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg. The event featured prominent PACE members active in LGBTI rights, alongside key human rights advocates and NGO representatives, including PACE Secretary General Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis and Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The conference built on the groundbreaking PACE Resolution 2576 (October 2024), informed by the findings of Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo.
Discrimination and gender-based violence affect women in diverse and complex ways, with LBQ women constituting a particularly vulnerable group. Yet, women fighting for human rights refuse to be defined solely as victims; they are survivors, leaders, and agents of change.
Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo (Monaco), ALDE Group Vice-President and PACE General Rapporteur for the Rights of LGBTI People, emphasized that LBQ women face increased stigmatization and discrimination based on both gender and sexual orientation. They also endure marginalization as “women who do not conform to societal expectations.” She reminded that “affirming and protecting the rights of LGBTI people, including LBQ women, does not take away the rights of others.”
Parliamentarians can play a pivotal role in combating violence and discrimination against LBQ women. However, even within Council of Europe member states, achieving a society free from such discrimination remains a distant goal, hindered by backsliding in human rights, the silencing of public figures, and the pervasive spread of hate rhetoric. A stark example was shared by ALDE-PACE member and new ALDE Party Vice-President Lucia Plavakova (Slovakia), who highlighted the persistent challenges faced by LBQ people in Slovakia, even within the parliamentary setting. She recounted being the first MP asked to leave the chamber simply because her laptop displayed a rainbow sticker. “When leaders spread lesbophobia and hate speech, hateful acts proliferate in society,” she warned.
