New research from ILGA World has found that the majority of countries have no laws in place to deal with anti-LGBTQ+ bullying.

The data, which was published on the ILGA World Database, found that four in five countries do not have legislation addressing anti-LGBTQ+ bullying, and only six UN member states have anti-bullying legislation that protects young people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. The six countries that legislate for bullying across all of these grounds are Andorra, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

40 UN member states have legislation that explicitly mentions at least one of the aforementioned grounds. However, as ILGA points out, this is only one-fifth of countries worldwide. 38 countries have adopted legislation that protects against bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation, 30 have legal protections on the grounds of gender identity.

In terms of anti-bullying laws that address gender expression, 13 countries have legislation, while 14 have laws that address bullying on the grounds of sex characteristics.

While Ireland has some legal protections against bullying on the grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation, it does not have legislation that addresses gender expression and sex characteristics specifically.

ILGA World’s Director of Programmes Gurchaten Sandhu urged governments worldwide to address LGBTQ+ bullying at a legislative level.

They said: “No matter where we begin our journey, the beliefs that guide us, or the lives we can build for our families, most people want youth to travel safely through an education that can grant them a future.

“But for far too many, bullying becomes a major roadblock along the way. And when governments refuse to take action, they leave those roadblocks in place—or worse, allow for the debris to fall and make a difficult path into a landslide.”

Sandhu also pointed to the long-term consequences of bullying both for victims and for society at large. “Bullying harms LGBTI students’ mental health and lowers their academic and job prospects,” they said.

“Its consequences drive up healthcare and social support costs. If States are serious about wanting to create a more economically prosperous future for all, they should know that their inaction is bad not just for LGBTI individuals, but for society as a whole.”

The report also pointed to some progress made by a number of states. Chile, Estonia and Ukraine have all discussed law proposals, while the government of the Solomon Islands began a public consultation to develop a policy against bullying that considers students’ sexual orientation.

Meanwhile, the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil ruled that education authorities must prevent and address bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity as part of their wider commitment to eliminate discrimination in education.