‘We’re Afraid to Hold Hands’: LGBTQIA+ Alert in Belgium

LGBTQIA+ associations in Belgium are raising the alarm over rising hatred, warning that many people now fear even holding hands in public. The warning comes as new official figures show homophobic violence persists at a rate of roughly one report per day — and just days after a deadly attack at Berlin Pride deepened anxiety across Europe’s LGBTQIA+ communities, as RTBF reported.

“No one should ever be afraid to hold their partner’s hand,” said Erynn Robert of Prisme, a Belgian LGBTQIA+ federation, in the RTBF report. “But for people in same-sex couples, it is a real fear.” Robert spoke of “a rise in fear,” noting that “Unia’s figures are constantly increasing.”

Context: A Pioneer Facing a Widening Gap

Belgium was a European pioneer on LGBTQIA+ rights, legalising same-sex marriage in 2003 and adoption in 2006. But activists argue that legal progress has not translated into safety in everyday life. On this year’s ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map, Belgium dropped to fourth place behind Spain, Malta and Iceland, with campaigners pointing to impunity for online hate as a key factor, BRUZZ reported.

Key Figures: One Report a Day

On 13 May, Belgium’s equality body Unia and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEFH) published their annual joint report ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. Unia said it received 311 reports of homophobic violence in 2025 — almost one per day — essentially unchanged from 2024. Nearly half of those reports (49%) became official case files, compared with an average of 24% for other protected criteria. The main contexts were daily life and public-space assaults (61 files), rising workplace harassment, and insults on media and social networks.

Of the 142 closed case files, penal facts such as assault or harassment were found in four out of ten cases, with gay and bisexual men representing the largest share of victims. Discrimination reports rose (39% of reports) and hate speech accounted for 22%, though officials stress that under-reporting remains widespread.

For trans, non-binary and intersex people, IEFH recorded 94 discrimination reports and 454 transphobic hate speech reports, most of the latter stemming from a single media publication. A separate IEFH study found that eight in ten trans and non-binary people had experienced discrimination in the previous two years, that 70% perceive rising intolerance, and that 84.8% blame media and social networks. The Lumi helpline saw a 15% increase in calls related to anxiety and depression.

Criminal justice data tells a similar story: ten homophobic violence cases reached the courts between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, and in nine of them the discriminatory motive was confirmed.

Unia director Patrick Charlier said the figures should end any complacency: “We would be wrong to think that the fight against homophobia and biphobia has been won… discrimination and acts of violence persist.” IEFH director Michel Pasteel described LGBTI+ discrimination and violence as “a worrying and largely under-reported reality.”

Fear Intensified by Berlin Pride Attack

The sense of threat has been amplified by events abroad. On 25 July, a van rammed into crowds at Berlin Pride, killing one person and injuring more than 29 others. German authorities described the assault as an Islamist terrorist attack after investigators found a pledge-of-allegiance video to the Islamic State group, NPR reported. The attack deepened feelings of vulnerability across European LGBTQIA+ communities and forms the backdrop to the Belgian associations’ warning.

The contrast with visibility is striking: Brussels Pride celebrated its 30th edition on 16 May with some 216,000 participants. But the same week Belgium slipped in European rights rankings, and ministers acknowledged stagnation. Flemish minister Caroline Gennez conceded: “We are scoring the same as last year, but other countries are moving forward and overtaking us.” Federal minister Rob Beenders added: “Progress is never a given, and acquired rights only remain strong if we continue to protect them.”

Analysis: Why the Law Isn’t Enough

The gap between Belgium’s strong legal framework and lived experience has become a central theme for activists. Thomas Jans of the Flemish organisation cavaria said: “We see that hatred against LGBTQIA+ people is increasing, so we must remain very vigilant and continue to protest,” as DeWereldMorgen reported.

Part of the problem, campaigners say, is legal. Under Belgian constitutional law, hate speech is treated as a “press offence” (drukpersmisdrijf), requiring a trial by assizes that in practice never takes place. This leaves much online hatred effectively unpunished. Activists see the European Union’s Digital Services Act as a key accountability tool, but say its implementation is meeting resistance.

There are also broader currents at play. Research cited by RTBF points to anti-gender and masculinist movements as a transatlantic dynamic, partly funded by US conservative and evangelical networks and, according to Robert, Russian money. Activists argue this backlash is no longer marginal: it shapes public discourse and feeds a climate in which hostility toward LGBTQIA+ people becomes more visible.

What’s Next

The political response is slowly taking shape. An interfederal LGBTQ+ action plan is expected, while Wallonia and the French Community have already adopted their own action plan, to be monitored by Unia. In June, the Walloon Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution against homophobic entrapments.

For activists, the message is clear: legal equality is not enough. The warning at the heart of the RTBF piece — “we are afraid to hold hands” — captures a reality that the data now confirms. The question for Belgium in the coming months will be whether its pioneering reputation on paper can be matched by protection in practice.