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Blog: Strengthening the Rights of LGBTQI+ Detainees in Europe

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In 2024 and 2025, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights, undertook a comprehensive examination of the situation of LGBTQI+ detainees in the EU. This blog summarises the key findings of this work, and we encourage you to read the full report to learn more.

LGBTQI+ people have long been an overlooked population within detention settings. Detention environments can amplify existing vulnerabilities: discrimination, harassment, violence, and social exclusion frequently intersect with rigid prison cultures that stigmatise diversity and reinforce hypermasculinity. Limited data collection and visibility mean that their experiences often remain hidden, making it difficult for authorities and oversight bodies to identify risks and design protective measures.

Together with partners in Austria, Italy, Greece and Hungary, the Ludwig Bolzmann Institute sought to address this lack of data through a project examining the situation of LGBTQI+ detainees in the EU. The report looked at several countries, including – in their terms – the UK and Scotland. The resulting report, The Situation of LGBTIQ Detainees in the EU: Standards, Challenges and Recommendations, provides a consolidated overview of legal standards, lived experiences, and practical realities in detention settings, alongside concrete recommendations for improving the treatment and protection of LGBTQI+ detainees.

Key Findings

The report found recurring challenges with regard to LGBTQI+ people across EU countries, including:

  • Lack of Reliable Data: Most prison systems do not systematically collect information on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This can leave detainees without adequate support, while those who are visibly LGBTQI+ may face harassment or discrimination. Transgender detainees are the most visible group in available data, while experiences of non-binary and intersex detainees remain particularly under-represented.
  • Limited or Non-Existent Policies: In many EU countries, there are no formal guidelines addressing the specific needs of LGBTQI+ detainees. Decisions regarding placement, accommodation, body searches and access to gender‑affirming items often rely on individual staff discretion, resulting in inconsistent and sometimes discriminatory practices. Existing policies, where they do exist, tend to focus solely on transgender detainees.
  • Placement and Safety Concerns: Placement typically depends on sex assigned at birth, leading many trans women, for example, to be housed in male facilities where they may face harassment or violence. Protective measures often involve segregation or solitary confinement, which can exacerbate isolation and negatively impact mental health.
  • Healthcare Barriers: Access to healthcare, particularly gender‑affirming medical care and tailored mental health support, is inconsistent and often inadequate. Knowledge gaps among medical and custodial staff compound these issues.
  • Daily Life and Dignity: Restrictions on personal items that affirm identity, limited support networks, and staff attitudes significantly affect wellbeing. Many LGBTQI+ detainees conceal their identity for safety reasons, further isolating them and limiting access to support.

Promising Practices

Despite the challenges, some European countries and prison systems are beginning to develop inclusive policies. The project emphasises the importance of clear guidelines, respectful treatment, access to appropriate healthcare, confidential complaints mechanisms, and meaningful involvement of LGBTQI+ organisations, and underscores the need for all jurisdictions to keep pace with approaches that centre dignity, safety and equality for LGBTQI+ people in detention.

This study helpfully compares the treatment and conditions for LGBTQI+ people held in criminal justice settings across Europe. It focussed mainly on the four countries mentioned before, taking information from other countries such as the UK from written sources. An implicit set of values shapes the account that it gives, so that the vigour of debate within the UK, for example, is not quite represented within its pages.

It illustrates how the formative Yogyakarta Principles (2006, revised 2017), although they have never been adopted by the UN, provide a good basis for approaching these issues, not least in the treatment of trans people, which has recently been a key issue in the UK as elsewhere.

Those engaged in preventive monitoring could benefit by diving into the specific sections which are a valuable part of this report. There are specific recommendations relating to each:

  • Admission, placement and the risks of segregation
  • Access to healthcare
  • Work and recreation
  • Gender-affirming clothing and products
  • Use of pronouns
  • Contact with the outside world
  • Safety from harassment and violence
  • Body searches
  • Complaints handling
  • Staff (and detainee) training

This blog was created with support from Microsoft Copilot Generative AI, guided and reviewed by the NPM Central Team, in line with UK Government AI policy. If you are interested to learn more about any of the topics discussed in this blog, please contact the UK NPM team.