Press Release
Outright International Launches Pride Around the World Report
New Pride Report Showcases LGBTIQ Resilience. Report was Published with Support from Google.org.
New York, New York - June 23, 2023 - Outright International’s latest Pride Around the World Report, “‘We Remain Resilient’: Pride Around the World in 2022,” tracks Pride and other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) visibility events around the world as a measure of the persistence and resistance of LGBTIQ movements everywhere. The report, which was published with support from Google.org, sheds light on how Pride serves to make LGBTIQ communities visible even in the face of armed conflict and repression and how it provides a space for celebration to reaffirm the identities of LGBTIQ people.
The report finds that Pride took place in 105 countries around the world in 2022, and in 63 of those countries, it extended beyond capital cities. It documents LGBTIQ movements’ struggles and successes through Pride: from Ukraine, where activists organize in the face of prolonged Russian aggression, to Namibia, where legal reform is piecemeal; from Sri Lanka, where a first Pride march was built on protest, to Malta, where the government works hand-in-hand with LGBTIQ communities to extend Pride beyond the main island. Activists work through the criminalization of same-sex acts between consenting adults, the absence of legal gender recognition, the invisibility of intersex people and queer women, and other forms of social and legal discrimination to promote inclusivity, create awareness, demand recognition and protection of rights, and celebrate progress.
“Human rights activists worldwide have long insisted that for meaningful change to take place, you don’t sit back and wait for governments to give you rights. Instead, you demand and claim those rights,” said Neela Ghoshal, Outright International’s Director of Law, Policy, and Research. “Pride is the perfect example of activists building social justice from the ground up, demanding recognition of their very existence, a demand that persists even where Pride looks more like a celebration than a protest.”
LGBTIQ people worldwide shared powerful reflections of what Pride means to them. In their words, Pride is “unquestioned inclusivity for all” and a reminder that “we are here and will always be.”
The report shows how Pride can thrive even in countries like Jamaica and Sri Lanka, despite the criminalization of same-sex intimacy. In Türkiye, another face to this resilience was found. LGBTIQ activists have consistently challenged government crackdowns on Pride from 2015 until now, despite a record number of arrests in 2022. This report provides stories of shared hope, unwavering strength, and courage.
In the report, there’s a special focus on groups that have historically been decentered in Pride events: intersex people, trans people, and LBQ women. For these groups, Pride is a pathway to visibility both within LGBTIQ communities and beyond.
“Every year we see increased attempts at cracking down on LGBTIQ rights globally, and every year in response, LGBTIQ people show up to provide safe spaces, community, collective care and raise awareness about LGBTIQ peoples’ needs. Pride and LGBTIQ visibility events in 2022 continue this resilience trend.” - Ohotuowo Ogbeche, Global Researcher at Outright International.
Outright International is committed to ensuring continued pressure on governments that do not allow freedom of assembly for LGBTQ people. Through this report, the organization wants to help provide activists with tools to fight against this repression, and to support their efforts to hold pride and to keep on claiming their rights until people can march openly in the streets in every country in the world.
To learn more about the report, please go here.
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