LGBTQIA+ & worldwide politics: what will 2026 bring?

What will 2026 bring regarding LGBTQIA+ issues in (world) politics? Lucy Middleton made some predictions for Context, the news site of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. A year likely to be shaped by elections, court rulings and legislative reforms.

After a period marked by funding cuts and legal setbacks, the global outlook remains uncertain. In the United States, President Donald Trump (R) halted longstanding funding for international rights initiatives and HIV prevention programmes, while governments in Ghana, Kazakhstan and Turkey introduced or strengthened restrictions affecting LGBTQIA+ people. 

At the same time, there were notable advances, including the introduction of marriage equality in Thailand and Liechtenstein and the first same-sex civil partnerships in Lithuania, although Burkina Faso and Trinidad and Tobago moved in the opposite direction by criminalising same-sex relations.

Rulings and elections

Courts in countries such as Japan, Botswana and Hungary are expected to issue rulings that could shape national LGBTQIA+ policies, while elections in Uganda, Peru, Colombia, Bulgaria, the United States and New Zealand may bring further changes. 

In Colombia, Bogotá’s mayor Claudia López could become the country’s first female and openly lesbian president, whereas Peru’s leading candidate Rafael López Aliaga opposes same-sex marriage and abortion. 

The International Olympic Committee is also expected to announce new eligibility rules for transgender athletes following the creation of a working group to review protections for women’s sport.

Africa

Across Africa, a same-sex couple in Botswana is challenging the government over the right to marry, Ghana’s proposed Family Values bill could further criminalise same-sex relationships, and Zimbabwe is expected to begin recognising intersex people through legal reform. 

Asia

In Asia, Japan’s Supreme Court will consider lawsuits on same-sex marriage, Indonesia’s new law criminalising sex outside marriage effectively outlaws same-sex relations, and lawmakers are working on legislation that could censor LGBTQIA+ content online.

Europe

In Europe, Poland is expected to introduce cohabitation contracts for couples, Kazakhstan has implemented a law banning so-called LGBTQIA+ propaganda, and the European Union Court of Justice is due to rule on Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and a case involving gender recognition for a Bulgarian trans woman. In the United Kingdom, a new code of practice on access to single-sex spaces is anticipated following a Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

North America

In North America, a Texas judge is challenging the legality of same-sex marriage in the United States, while the Supreme Court is set to decide cases on conversion therapy bans and restrictions on transgender athletes in sports. 

Several states in Mexico are expected to classify the killing of trans women as a specific crime of transfemicide.

South America

In South America, Chile is likely to introduce anti-bullying measures covering sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.

Oceania

In Oceania, the state of Victoria in Australia may ban non-consensual intersex surgeries on minors, while New Zealand’s restrictions on puberty blockers for minors will face judicial review.

Overall, Middleton’s analysis suggests 2026 will be a pivotal year, with progress and backlash unfolding simultaneously across different regions and legal systems.

LGBTQIA+ and travel

• BELGIUM | Safer in theory, harsher in reality: violence and polarisation mark 2025 for LGBTQIA+ people.
• Europe reaches new low as LGBTQIA+ people face renewed criminalisation.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2025 | United Kingdom, Hungary and Georgia drop dramatically on LGBTQIA+ rights ranking.
• RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2024 | These are the LGBTQIA+ friendly and LGBTQIA+ unfriendly countries in Europe.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2024 | Malta, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal the most gay friendly destinations; Belgium now 21st.
• SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2025 | USA and Eastern Europe under observation.
• 2025 | 65 countries where gay sex is illegal.
• ILGA-EUROPE | New era of coordinated attacks on foundations of Fundamental Rights, as EU bins Equal Treatment Directive.
• West of Ireland to host EuroPride 2028.
• GRINDR UNWRAPPED 2025 | Belgium and the Netherlands still love twinks, Taipei’s popularity rises.
• GRINDR UNWRAPPED 2024 | Belgium and the Netherlands still love twinks.
• The best cities to visit as a gay solo traveller.
• EUROPEAN UNION | Pride events do raise awareness for LGBTQIA+.
• Gay Hong Kong.
• Mr Gay Europe 2026 contest to cruise with VACAYA at summer’s end.
• How gay friendly are trending travel destinations Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina with Republika Srpska, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine?.
• ILGA WORLD | Despite more legal protections for LGBTI people, stark opposition has been a recurring theme in debates in every UN member State.
• Spartacus Travel Awards pinpoint Brussels and Taiwan as top LGBTQIA+ destinations.
• Pride movement in Europe expecting increased hostility.
• QUEER ANDORRA | Entre Nous, the only gay bar in the village.
• Europeans more accepting of LGBTQIA+ people than their political leaders.
• Queer Iceland & Rainbow(baiting) Reykjavík.
• Heading for the sun in gay destination Torremolinos.
• Manchester’s gaybourhood around Canal Street.
• 13 US states still officially punish gay sex.
• Sang Young Park, an insight on queer life in South Korea.
• Pride in Valladolid, Yucatán and queer encounters in Mexico.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Eye-opening encounters in Miami.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Key West.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Fort Lauderdale.
• FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | National Pulse Memorial and Museum in Orlando.
• Queer in a hostile world: more likely to be arrested for looking gay than for actual homosexual acts.
• Travel guide for people with HIV.
• LGBTQ+ get-together on Majestic Princess.
• HOW TO | Travel to the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Gays failing at being gay? ‘LGBTQ Mix & Mingle’ on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas lacked enthusiasm.
• Gay Tel Aviv: pinkwashing or genuine?.
• To be or not to be out and proud LGBTQ when travelling?.
• A plea for LGBTQ travel in post-communist Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Gay Taipei with misterb&b.
• VIDEO | Looking for intimacy in a crowd of strangers in Japan and South Korea.
• Are you travelling to a hostile destination?.