Posted in

Çavaria welcomes Belgian LGBTQI+ action plan but warns violence requires greater urgency

by Timothy••14

2026 marks the nineteenth (19th) edition of Antwerp Pride. From Wednesday 5 to Sunday 9 August, Antwerp in Belgium will once again be taken over by rainbow vibes. Prides are a mix of celebration – parties – and activism and advocacy. For the 2026 edition, the organising committee focuses on fearing less and being fearless.

Belgian LGBTQI+ rights organisation çavaria has welcomed several measures in the federal government’s new LGBTQI+ Action Plan for 2026-2030, but says the plan still falls short on protecting fundamental rights and tackling the growing threat of violence and hate against LGBTQI+ people.

Federal Equal Opportunities Minister Rob Beenders (Vooruit) presented the federal contribution to the new Interfederal LGBTQI+ Action Plan ahead of Antwerp Pride.

Çavaria praised the government’s decision to maintain Belgium’s international commitment to LGBTQI+ rights, improve the safety of LGBTQI+ people in asylum reception centres and work towards better healthcare for LGBTQI+ people.

However, the organisation said key legal protections remain absent, including statutory protection for intersex minors, a legal framework for intended and surrogate parents, and reforms to hate speech legislation.

“It is positive that there is a new LGBTQI+ action plan and that it contains good measures,” said Olivia Wittock, policy officer at çavaria. “A number of important human rights remain unprotected. There also needs to be a greater sense of urgency about violence against LGBTQI+ people.”

Violence remains a major concern

The organisation argues that the action plan should place much greater emphasis on guaranteeing safety. According to Çavaria, eight out of ten LGBTQI+ people experience hatred, intimidation or violence. It also points to the deadly attack during this year‘s Pride event in Berlin, the foiled attack on Leuven Pride in 2024, research showing that one in five young people in Flanders believes violence against gay people can be acceptable in some circumstances, and the record number of violence-related reports received by the Belgian LGBTQI+ helpline Lumi in 2025.

Wittock said many victims still do not report incidents to the police because they fear they will not be taken seriously or that their complaints will lead nowhere. She also noted that Belgium does not systematically record whether victims of violent crime were targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, making it difficult to measure the true scale of anti-LGBTQI+ violence.

Belgium slipping behind

Belgium also slipped from second to fourth place in ILGA-Europe‘s Rainbow Index this year, reflecting the fact that other countries have strengthened their legal protections more quickly. Wittock said the federal action plan contains promising measures, including reviewing police training on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime complaints, but stressed that previous action plans had often failed because they were not treated as political priorities.

Online hate

Çavaria also criticised the government’s approach to online hate speech, saying that calls for violence and online abuse targeting LGBTQI+ people often go unpunished in practice.

“It is good that the action plan includes measures on online safety and that Minister Beenders wants to encourage people to report online hate,” said Thomas Jans, spokesperson for Çavaria. “But a reporting platform without effective prosecution will not solve the problem.”

Education and implementation

The organisation also argues that rising intolerance among young people requires a stronger educational response. It says education about diversity and respect should become compulsory policy rather than depending on the willingness of individual teachers. According to Wittock, the increasing polarisation of public debate and the role of social media algorithms in amplifying extreme views are contributing to the problem.

While welcoming the 28 measures in the action plan, which range from police training and diversity initiatives at Infrabel and NMBS / SNCB to improving healthcare protocols for intersex people, çavaria notes that many of them are not legally binding and focus on further research, training and developing new instruments rather than concrete obligations.

“We already know there is a great deal of violence. The community has sounded the alarm often enough. There is no longer a single Pride event without an incident. Part of public opinion is also becoming more negative. As far as I am concerned, no more research is needed,” Wittock said.

Queer Belgium

Antwerp Pride 2026-2027

Antwerp Queer Arts Festival 2026

Reclaim Our Pride 2026

Beyond Darklands 2027

The latest on LGBTQIA+ events such as prides in Belgium

🇧🇪 Blogger, keen vexillologist, train conductor NMBS/SNCB, traveller, F1 follower, friend of Dorothy.

Mentions

  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy
  • Timothy

Leave a Reply

Your post must include a link to this post.

How does this work?
Write a response on your own website and include a link to this post. Then submit your response’s URL here. Your response may appear here after moderation. To update or remove it, edit or delete your original post and submit the same URL again. Learn more about Webmentions.