International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
May 17 marks IDAHOBIT — the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersex Discrimination and Transphobia.
On May 17, 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Since 2004, global LGBT+ organizations have marked this date to recognize this history and highlight the ongoing challenges facing LGBT+ people. Later, in 2019, the World Health Organization moved its classification of transgender-related conditions from the mental disorders chapter to the section on sexuality and health.
This year, Reykjavík City is flying the Rainbow Flag for IDAHOBIT to raise awareness of LGBT+ issues and celebrate queerness.
Reykjavík City advocates for LGBT+ issues across the municipality in various ways, every day of the year. Most notably, over 100 City workplaces have now received Rainbow Certification, with many more currently completing the process.
Iceland ranks third on the Rainbow Map, an index measuring the legal status of LGBT+ people across Europe and Central Asia. Iceland now meets 85% of the benchmarks set by European LGBT+ umbrella organizations for LGBT+ rights. This achievement is certainly worth celebrating.
Yet despite significant legal and social progress in recent years, LGBT+ people still face prejudice, discrimination, microaggressions, and exclusion. All institutions and societal groups must collaborate and do better to achieve full equality for LGBT+ people.
Happy IDAHOBIT — and onward with the fight!