Transparency data

Gender equality and promoting and protecting the rights of LGBT+ people

Updated 26 August 2022

1. Overview

The UK promotes and defends the full range of universal human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. The UK strongly encourages all States to abide by and fulfil their obligations under international law. FCDO human rights objectives currently include a particular emphasis on promoting gender equality and women and girls’ rights. This includes work to fulfil every girl’s right to education, to empower women socially, economically, and politically, to end violence against women and girls, including a major new push to shatter the culture of impunity around sexual violence in conflict, and to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights. Achieving gender equality is the only way to create a fairer, safer and more prosperous world where human rights are upheld and the Sustainable Development Goals are met.

Human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people. We are fundamentally opposed to all forms of discrimination and work to uphold the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people in all circumstances.

In recent decades there has been a dramatic and positive shift in both societal attitudes and political acceptance of LGBT+ people and their rights across many parts of the world. However, there is still a long road ahead until LGBT+ people globally can enjoy full equality and equity.

Across the world, LGBT+ people face ongoing, serious and profoundly concerning violations of their civil, political and economic rights. The authorities of many countries continue actively to persecute LGBT+ people. Sixty nine countries continue to criminalise private, consensual sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex – 35 are in the Commonwealth.

The UK is committed to the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  FCDO promotes and protects the rights of LGBT+ people.

2. Objectives on gender equality and promoting and protecting the rights of LGBT+ people

The UK government is committed to a foreign policy that consciously and consistently delivers gender equality. This has meant providing funding to support:

• the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative in:

  (i) strengthening justice for survivors of sexual violence in conflict and holding the perpetrators to account.

  (ii) supporting all survivors and children born of conflict-related sexual violence, and tackling the stigma they face.

  (ii) preventing and responding to sexual violence in conflict, including through militaries and police.

• the opportunity for all girls to receive 12 years of quality education. Focus on providing support for out of school girls, tackling the barriers that are stopping girls from accessing and staying in education, and ensuring their safe return to school
• the promotion protection of women and girls’ rights including freedom from violence, the right to education, access to health services, and political and economic empowerment
• women’s meaningful inclusion in peace processes; and increasing support and protection to women resolving conflict; countering violent extremism; and building peace at the grassroots level

The UK is a champion for the human rights of LGBT+ people around the world. We support and advocate for the right for all people, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, to live with dignity, free from prejudice, violence, or discrimination. Our objectives are to improve the lives of LGBT+ people through:

• improving institutional protection against discrimination including through removing or amending discriminatory laws, policies and practices
• reducing hate speech, violence or harassment based on discrimination
• improving access to services

3. Official Development Assistance (ODA) and gender equality and promoting and protecting LGBT+ rights

This programme is supporting work in more than 40 countries around the world. This programme strand is a blend of ODA and non-ODA. ODA expenditure within this programme is limited to ODA-eligible countries.

The programme has supported projects on:

• gender-based violence
• sexual and reproductive health and rights
• support for women’s rights organisations
• girls’ education
• the promotion of women and girls’ rights, including legislation reform, and women’s political empowerment,
• technical and legal expertise and support for the reform of laws or policies that discriminate against LGBT+ people
• reducing hate speech, violence or harassment based on discrimination of LGBT+ people
• increasing the participation of minority groups including LGBT+ people in political and public life, including in positions of leadership and influence

The programme is also supporting the work of embassies and missions around the world ensuring that local, grassroots initiatives receive the funding and support they need to protect the most vulnerable.

This programme complements the FCDO’s wider work on gender equality and inclusion including projects under the cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

4. Supporting gender equality and the rights of LGBT+ people objectives for FY 2021/22

The work on gender equality and LGBT+ rights supports the FCDO’s strategic objective to project our global influence as a force for good. It helps to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular SDG5 (Gender Equality).

A key pillar of the SDGs is the promise to “leave no one behind,” recognising that to eradicate poverty and create a sustainably developed world, the 169 targets need to be met for all segments of society, including marginalised groups and vulnerable populations. This principle is especially relevant for LGBT+ persons who are systematically excluded from society based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.

The FCDO’s work in this area includes:

• work to strengthen legislation on gender-based violence, supporting women victims/survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence
• initiatives to increase the political participation of women
• support for women’s rights organisations in protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls
• the empowerment of women to participate in national dialogue and decision-making processes

5. Supporting gender equality and promoting and protecting LGBT+ rights Programme during FY 2020 to 21

In 2020 to 2021, the programme supported projects across the range of themes. The FCDO publishes an Annual Human Rights report, including delivery through policy programmes.

6. Support gender equality and promoting and protecting LGBT+ rights Programme Allocation for FY 2021 to 22

The ODA allocation for 2021 to 22 for work on gender equality and promoting and protecting the rights of LGBT+ people was £1,295,000 (and non-ODA allocation was £1,900,000). This amount was agreed as part of the one-year FCDO spending review, completed in 2021.