During Pride Week in Chișinău, the Eastern European Coalition for LGBT+ Equality hosted a conference on the challenges shaping LGBT+ rights across Europe.
The opening panel, moderated by Florin Buhuceanu of Accept Romania, explored whether today’s pressure on human rights reflects a global backlash or a set of local crises with shared patterns. Speakers from Sweden, the Netherlands, and Eastern Europe reflected on polarization, shrinking civic space, and attacks on equality, stressing the need for solidarity among LGBT+ movements and human rights defenders across borders.
The second discussion, moderated by Leo Zbanca of the Coalition, focused on European integration and LGBT+ rights in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Speakers noted that while EU accession can create opportunities for reform, progress is never guaranteed, even where the legal framework is already in place. They said civil society must remain alert to attempts to sideline LGBT issues, and that the EU must also confront its colonial past and avoid approaching partner countries from a position of superiority.
The final panel, moderated by Lilit Avetisyan, focused on disinformation, populism, and anti-gender narratives. Speakers stressed that these narratives cross borders and take different forms, but are rooted in the same fear and dehumanization. They noted that anti-gender campaigns are driven by conservative and fundamentalist networks from various countries. Speakers warned that these narratives fuel divisions within LGBT+ communities, create pressure on young people, and are amplified by the growing influence of the manosphere. They emphasized the need for civil society to remain vigilant against these attempts to divide communities, while highlighting art, cinema, television, and lived experience as important tools for resistance.
