UN Report Exposes Violence Against LBQ Women

A historic United Nations report has placed the experiences of lesbian, bisexual and queer women at the centre of an international human rights discussion.

Presented during the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026, the thematic report examines violence and discrimination experienced by LBQ women around the world. It addresses a persistent problem: queer women are frequently overlooked both in policies concerning women’s rights and in broader LGBTQ+ frameworks.

This absence is not merely a question of representation. When governments fail to collect relevant data or recognise LBQ women as a group facing specific risks, their experiences may remain invisible in healthcare, policing, housing, employment and services for survivors of violence.

The structural invisibility of LBQ women

International advocates supporting the report described LBQ women as largely absent from official data. Without reliable and safely collected information, governments may fail to understand the scale of violence and discrimination—or create policies capable of addressing it.

LBQ women can experience discrimination connected to both gender and sexual orientation. Other factors, including race, disability, poverty, migration status and gender identity, may create additional barriers.

Reported concerns include:

• Violence and rejection within families

• Forced or coercive marriages

• Sexual and gender-based violence

• Discrimination in healthcare

• Workplace and housing exclusion

• Police harassment

• Barriers to reporting abuse

• Criminalisation of same-sex relationships

• Attempts to change or suppress sexual orientation

• Invisibility within public policy

The report also recognises that transgender LBQ women can face the combined effects of misogyny, transphobia and queerphobia.

Why this report matters

Lesbians and other queer women have often been treated as an afterthought in international policy. Laws criminalising same-sex relationships may be discussed primarily through the experiences of men, while policies concerning violence against women may assume that every woman is heterosexual and cisgender.

The result is a serious protection gap. A lesbian experiencing domestic violence may not trust a service that does not recognise same-sex relationships. A bisexual woman may be dismissed because of her current partner. A trans lesbian may encounter discrimination in both women’s services and wider LGBTQ+ spaces.

The report calls attention to the need for inclusive laws, properly trained institutions, accessible support services and better data.

From recognition to action

Publication of a report does not automatically change anyone’s life. Governments must translate its findings into policies, funding and accountability.

Necessary measures include:

• Decriminalising consensual same-sex relationships

• Introducing effective anti-discrimination protections

• Training healthcare workers, police and judges

• Supporting community-led LBQ organisations

• Making survivor services inclusive

• Protecting LGBTQ+ human rights defenders

• Collecting data without endangering participants

• Including LBQ women in decisions that affect them

The report represents an important moment because it names a pattern that queer women have understood for generations: invisibility can itself become a form of harm.

Recognition at the United Nations does not complete the work. It does, however, create another tool for activists demanding that governments stop treating LBQ women as a footnote.

Sources: ILGA World’s UN Human Rights Council overview⁠, joint statement delivered at the Human Rights Council⁠, Amnesty International submission⁠

Published: 19 July 2026