Results of the monitoring of repression and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in Belarus in 2025

In 2025, government policy Belarus toward LGBTQ+ people has ultimately transformed into a targeted suppression system, characterized not only by stricter legislation but also by an expansion of mechanisms for direct interference in private life. This conclusion is drawn in the TG House initiative report. According to monitoring data, the authorities have shifted from formal restrictions to a strategy of covert persecution, including raids on cultural events, set-up dates, and doxing.

Legislative Sanctioning of Discrimination

Changes to regulations became a key tool for exerting pressure in 2025. In July, amendments to the Law “On the Rights of the Child” were adopted, under which information about same-sex relationships, gender transition, and childlessness is deemed harmful to children’s “psychological health.”

At the same time, the House of Representatives approved in the first reading the introduction of new Article 19.16 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which imposes heavy fines and imprisonment for “LGBT propaganda.” Experts point out the following critical aspects of this law:

The following may be classified as “propaganda” any public statements, educational activities, or publications about their private lives.

The law equates same-sex relationships and gender transition with criminal offenses — pedophilia.

According to human rights activists, the state monopolizes the right to determine the norms of private life, which affects not only the LGBTQ+ community, but also feminists and people who identify as “childfree.”

The Pathologization of Transgender Identity and Barriers in Medicine

The situation for transgender people in 2025 had deteriorated significantly due to deliberately complicating medical procedures. In September, the Ministry of Health removed a sexologist from the gender reassignment commission and replaced him with a psychiatrist specializing in addiction. This decision effectively classifies transgender identity as a severe “mental disorder,” depriving people of their right to self-determination.

The situation is exacerbated by system failures:

• In fact, there is now only one doctor left in the country (Alexandra Kuchinskaya) who is authorized to perform gender-affirming procedures; her absence at any time brings the process to a complete halt for hundreds of people.
• At the June 2025 committee meeting, only the following were approved: 26% участников. However, by December, a shift had begun to take shape — 44% of those who applied received approval, which was the highest rate in three years.
• The committee members continue to ask humiliating questions about the candidate's personal life and daily living skills that have nothing to do with medicine.

Ideological Offensive and Censorship

State propaganda is actively constructing a narrative of conflict between “traditional values” and “Western influence.”

Government officials and members of the clergy publicly refer to LGBTQ+ people as “sick” and call for their isolation. Information Minister Marat Markov compared the book ban to “health checks” and a “vaccine” against “information poison.”

"Western toys" (such as "transgender dolls") and more than 170 print publications deemed "harmful to the country's interests" have been banned.

The online resource “DazHip” was designated as extremist, and the import of literature from Russia was restricted under the pretext of combating “propaganda.”

Direct Repression: Raids, Doxing, and Violence

Security forces have begun to employ tactics mass roundups. On September 19, 2025, at the “Reactor” club in Minsk, OMON officers detained up to 15 people; the detentions were discriminatory in nature, as they targeted men who expressed themselves in a feminine manner. In July, a similar raid took place at a private drag queen party at the “RIO” restaurant after photos were published on pro-government channels.

Fake Dates

Drug enforcement officers use the app Hornet to lure gay men into meetings where they are interrogated and their phones are searched.

Pressure on Families

There have been documented cases in which security forces have terrorized the parents of activists who have left the country by conducting searches and interrogations at their homes.

Criminal Prosecution

Activists are receiving actual prison sentences for participating in educational projects, while the mere act of gathering information about repression is interpreted as “collaboration with extremist groups.”

Critical Situation in Prisons

For queer people who end up in the prison system, the risks increase significantly. Prison administrations use a system "low-status" as a means of punishment. Prisoners in this category are subjected to systematic torture, isolation, and death threats. The cases of Sergei Tikhanovsky and Vadim Ermaschuk (Vadimati) confirm that non-heteronormative sexual orientation in Belarusian prisons is grounds for inhumane treatment, which is ignored by the administration.

International Context

At the end of 2025, Belarus ranked 45th out of 49 в рейтинге Rainbow Europe, соблюдая лишь около 10% стандартов прав человека в отношении ЛГБТК+. В стране создана атмосфера абсолютного страха, вынуждающая многих покидать родину.

Human rights activists from TG House They emphasize that the international community must take into account the specific nature of the Belarusian context: the absence of official detention documents should not be an obstacle to providing protection, as security forces often release people without official records after subjecting them to abuse and threats. The only way to counter this policy is to systematically document instances of discrimination and expand emergency assistance programs for victims.