What are human rights? Why do they matter? How have they been used to secure positive change for LGBTQIA+ people? How can they be used to achieve a more fair, equitable and just society?
On the 10th of December each year, globally we celebrate Human Rights Day. This date coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first international document that declared that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’
For LGBTQIA+ people, that has not always been our reality, nor is it a reality now for many in our community. Through our engagement and research, we know that for many LGBTQIA+ people across the country, their experience too frequently falls far below the standard of protection that our human rights should afford us. Especially those who face marginalisation on multiple fronts.
Human rights have been crucial in achieving real and lasting change for our community and in shifting public attitudes in the UK. Over the years, we have seen some of our rights and equality improve – whether driven by human rights arguments initially or leading to greater human rights realisation for LGBTQIA+ people in practice – including: decriminalisation, the repeal of section 28, legal gender recognition, equal marriage, LGBTQIA+ inclusive education and hate crime law.
Progress must not stop there nor is it guaranteed. In the current climate we need to assert, defend and utilise our human rights and to push back against harmful policies, actions and narratives that have emerged to the detriment of our community.
Human rights are the universal guarantees and minimum standards that we need to be able to live a life with dignity. They are not a luxury, they are essential for our safety, wellbeing and participation in society. Every human being has them simply by virtue of being human, regardless of identity or status, including their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Human rights are a fundamental part of our daily lives; where we live, work or exercise; what we eat, study or believe; who we have relationships with, vote for and have protection from. Our human rights come from various sources of international law from bodies like the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. Those bodies also protect and defend human rights through specific institutions, for example, the European Court of Human Rights. There is no dedicated treaty to LGBTI+ rights in international law but in 2016, the United Nations created the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, who is tasked with exploring ways to better protect LGBTQIA+ people who suffer from violence and discrimination on a global scale.
All human rights obligations in the treaties that the UK has signed up to apply to LGBTQIA+ people. However, human rights protection in domestic law in Scotland and the UK is paramount to ensuring that we can rely on our rights in court in the UK, challenge decisions from public bodies and access appropriate public services.
Some of our international human rights have been incorporated into UK or Scots law, but most have not.
The UK enshrined the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into law when it passed the Human Rights Act 1998, which protects rights like private and family life, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment and freedom of expression. Those rights also must be applied without discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
More recently, the Scottish Government incorporated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law and is set to incorporate, subject to the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, four additional UN treaties in the proposed ‘Human Rights (Scotland) Bill’. This will include rights like just and favourable conditions at work, an adequate standard of living and the highest attainable standard of health.
When the human rights of every individual are protected, everyone benefits. It leads to safer and more cohesive societies, better and fairer laws, improved quality of life, protection from discrimination and harassment, free speech and exchange of ideas, and the freedom to live authentically. All of these are foundations for a strong democracy.
Human rights also act as an important tool to hold those in power to account for abuses of that power or failing to realise people’s basic rights.
The Human Rights Act 1998 states that it is unlawful for any public body to act in a way that is incompatible with the ECHR. If they do, they can be challenged in court on human rights grounds. When national governments respect, protect and fulfil human rights, it leads to greater transparency, trust in public institutions and participation in society.
Human rights are for everybody. They also ensure that minorities and people who are marginalised have access to the same rights as everyone else. For LGBTQIA+ people, this is crucial. In a changing political and social climate, regardless of the government of the day or changing public opinion, regardless of domestic law and policy, we still have our legally protected international human rights whether they are fully realised or not. For example, our right to be free from discrimination, to privacy, to our gender identity, and our right to protest at Pride. Governments and public bodies must adhere to them or risk breaking international or domestic law.
International human rights are constantly developing and can create new impetus for positive change. In October 2025, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (of which the UK is a member) published a Recommendation on Equal Rights for Intersex Persons. It is the first of its kind that highlights the various abuses of the human rights of intersex people and those with variations in sex characteristics (I/VSC) that persist today. It is a call to action on national governments to improve the rights protection for those with an I/VSC across all areas of life, offering a holistic set of recommendations. If implemented in domestic law, policy and practice, this would create a better quality of life for intersex people and address many of the current challenges and clear human rights violations they continue to face.
Human rights and the international human rights system have been a catalyst for change to the lives of LGBTQIA+ people in many ways. Below are two examples of court decisions against the UK which have led to greater rights protection, autonomy, dignity and equality in law for the community in the UK and across Europe.
This was a landmark human rights judgment delivered in 1981 by the European Court of Human Rights which concerned the right to private life of gay men. At the time, Northern Ireland still criminalised consensual homosexual acts between men in private, despite these laws having been repealed in England and Wales in 1967 and in Scotland in 1980 (coming into effect in Scotland in 1981). Jeffrey Dudgeon, a gay man living in Belfast, complained that the existence of this law violated his right to respect for family life under Article 8 ECHR. He argued that the threat of prosecution caused fear, distress and impacted his ability to live openly. The UK Government argued that due to the political and religious situation in Northern Ireland, such a law was justified. The Commission found that Dudgeon’s right to private and family life had been violated, and that such an interference with his right was not proportionate or justified in a democratic society. This forced the UK Government to change the law in Northern Ireland in 1982, and it set a precedent at European level for later cases, including those from Ireland and Cyprus, which became the basis for decriminalisation across Europe.
This case from 2002 also originated from the European Court of Human Rights and was significant to the rights and identity of trans people. A trans woman, Christine Goodwin, had undergone gender affirming surgery and fully lived as a woman, but could not obtain legal recognition of her gender under UK law. As a result, her national insurance records outed her to her employer, she faced difficulty when accessing social security and she could not marry a man (as the law treated her as male and equal marriage in the UK had not yet been introduced). She argued this breached her right to respect to private and family life (Article 8 ECHR), her right to marry (Article 12 ECHR) and her right to non-discrimination (Article 14 ECHR). The UK Government argued that since there was no European consensus on this matter, they should have greater flexibility in how they regulate gender identity, which should be left to the UK Parliament. The court found in favour of Goodwin that her right to private life and to marry had been violated, and that the UK’s refusal to recognise her gender in law resulted in a serious interference with her personal autonomy. This subsequently led to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, passed by the UK Parliament, allowing trans people to obtain full legal gender recognition and obtain new birth certificates, if certain criteria were met. It also created a European level benchmark and triggered a wave of gender recognition cases and laws across Europe.
Whilst human rights have been an impetus for change for LGBTQIA+ people, we still face consistent, current, and serious threats to the realisation of our rights. Unfortunately, we cannot take progress and our rights for granted. LGBTQIA+ rights have become somewhat of a ‘ground 0’: a breeding ground for the rise of harmful narratives, a manufactured ‘culture war’ and the regression of rights in practice.
Anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-gender and more specifically, anti-trans narratives and action, are increasing globally. Scotland is certainly not immune to these influences. Populist ideals, far-right rhetoric and mis/dis-information paint human rights as a hindrance or as a threat.
For LGBTQIA+ people specifically, the present risk to our human rights is felt throughout the community as we see:
In the current climate, it can be difficult or daunting for some LGBTQIA+ people to assert and defend their rights, as well as for a variety of other reasons. Having human rights is not the same as being able to use them, and many barriers exist which prevent people from doing so, including:
However, our human rights do belong to us – we can and should be able to use them to push for better, and to close the gap between the protection of our rights on paper and in practice. We can all take small actions in our daily lives and whilst present in the lives of others to advance LGBTQIA+ human rights.
We can:
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Equality Network is a national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights charity.
The Equality Network is a registered Scottish charity: SC037852, and a company limited by guarantee: SC220213.
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