IDAHOBIT 2026: A Call to Action Against LGBTQ Discrimination

Every year on May 17, the world marks IDAHOBIT — the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. But this year feels different. More urgent.

In his official message for IDAHOBIT 2026, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning about the global rollback of LGBTQ rights.

His words were simple but powerful: “Being who you are should never be a crime.” Yet for millions of LGBTQ people, it still is. And this year we need to focus on much more.

There have been escalating attacks through hate campaigns, censorship, political scapegoating, restrictions on healthcare, and attempts to erase LGBTQ visibility and rights.

• Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is becoming mainstream in parts of politics, media, and religion again.
• Transgender young people and their families are being deliberately targeted.
• Online hate ecosystems are fuelling real-world harm.
• Hard-won protections are increasingly being challenged under the language of “free speech” and “parental rights.”

In Australia, we’ve seen targeted attacks on gay men by gangs, reminding us of the “poofter bashings” of decades past when gay men were thrown off cliffs.

For the first time in years, the number of countries criminalising consensual same-sex relationships is not declining; it is rising again

Yes, it’s increased!!!

Most of us assumed progress was inevitable, but parts of the world are moving backward.

This year’s IDAHOBIT theme is: “At the Heart of Democracy”

That matters because this is no longer just about sexuality or gender identity. It is about whether minorities can be turned into political targets whenever fear becomes useful.

Around the world, we are watching discrimination reframed as “freedom,” exclusion reframed as “protection,” and harm reframed as “care.”

We have seen this before.

For more than 25 years I’ve worked overcoming religious ignorance about sexuality and gender identity and with survivors of LGBTQ conversion practices. I know how devastating the consequences can be for vulnerable young people growing up believing there is something wrong with them.

This is why IDAHOBIT still matters.

We cannot afford complacency, because silence and invisibility are still killers. And history repeatedly shows us that rights can be lost faster than people imagine.

So this IDAHOBIT, don’t just post a rainbow graphic and move on.

• Speak up.
• Challenge ignorance.
• Support organisations doing the hard work.
• Protect vulnerable people.
• Hold the line.

Because this moment matters more than many people realise.

… a special IDAHOBIT message from: