The new Asylum Law includes protection based on SOGI grounds. It allows applicants to request interviews with authorities of the opposite gender, for example, in cases when the applicant is non-heterosexual.

Hate speech continued to be a serious issue this year and can most often be carried out with impunity. Many politicians continue to spread false narratives about equal marriage harming society and children.

A study revealed a significant rise in politicians’ anti-LGBT+ speech, rising from 43% in 2018 to 71% in 2023. 63% of LGBT+ respondents attributed the increase in prejudice and intolerance towards the LGBT+ community to negative attitudes from politicians.

Anti-trans rhetoric and actions also continued.

In June, a group disrupted a drag story time event at the Brno Pride Week, shouting homophobic slurs.

51% of LGBTIQ people have been targeted by insults, assault, or threats in the past five years. No steps towards a bill against hate crimes based on SOGI grounds were taken this year.

The police reported high rates of hate crimes and hate speech against LGBT+ people.

As part of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR), States recommended that Czechia sanction hate crimes against LGBTIQ+ people.

In July, the Constitutional Court ordered the lower courts to revise the amount of compensation in the case of a trans minor who was repeatedly raped during her psychiatric hospital care.

Trans*parent offered accredited trainings for teachers and educators on trans and non-binary issues in schools, and started working with the Ministry of Education on a methodology to promote trans inclusivity in schools, to be published next year.

In April, the Regional Court in Ostrava ruled that an educational institution had to re-issue a trans graduate’s certificates and diploma following their change of name and gender marker.

A report from Queer Geography, “Being LGBTQ+ in Czechia’’ found that LGBTQ+ people feel discriminated against based on their identity most often in schools or universities.

The Pride Business Forum published a toolkit for employers, in cooperation with Trans*parent, on how to create a safe and inclusive workplace for trans employees.

The report ‘Being LGBTQ+ in Czechia’ found that 43% had been discriminated against or harassed in the past five years and over a third just in the past 12 months. These rates were the highest among trans and non-binary respondents.

In its assessment of the implementation of priority recommendations in March, ECRI urged the government to adopt its draft comprehensive strategy on LGBTI equality.

The legal process to introduce marriage equality, including joint parental rights, continued this year. On 29 June, the marriage equality bill, first introduced in 2018, passed its first reading and was sent to the second reading and to the committees for consideration. SPD (far-right), ODS (Conservatives), KDU-ČSL (Christian Democrats) maintained their almost unanimous opposition to equal marriage. At the same time, the proposal for a constitutional ban on equal marriage also passed to the second reading due to roughly 80-90% support from SPD, ODS, KDU-ČSL and the ANO Movement.

KDU-ČSL (Christian Democrats) attempted to stop the marriage equality bill by proposing a minor extension of registered partners’ rights, excluding any possibility of joint parental rights.

On a positive note, President Petr Pavel remained consistent in his support for equal marriage.

In March, Czechia received UPR recommendations from at least 12 states to introduce marriage equality. The Czech government did not accept, only noted, this recommendation.

Various stakeholder groups continue to publicly support marriage equality and call on politicians to adopt it: 80 corporations, six youth political organisations, religious  leaders, 25 theatres, 31 cinemas, celebrities etc. By the end of the year, over 170,700 individuals signed petitions calling for equal marriage.

Several politicians criticised Hungary’s ongoing crackdown on LGBT+ rights, such as fining a bookstore for selling a YA novel with queer characters. Nevertheless, Czechia did not join the European Commissions’s infringement proceedings against Hungary.

The Prague Pride Festival was held in August and focused on the theme of “More traditional than you think”. No incidents were recorded during the festival and the annual Pride march, which gathered again at least 60,000 people.

Two trans women shared that they were placed in the male unit during hospitalisation.

Trans*parent continued to hold courses for professionals working in psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, social work, and other areas, focusing on working with trans and non-binary clients.

The National Institute for Mental Health, in collaboration with trans experts, is developing healthcare services for trans patients, with a focus on e-health accessibility.

The Ministry of Interior published a list of 4,000 names that could pass as gender-neutral, available for trans people in transition. It is still not possible to choose a non-gender- neutral name before changing the gender marker.

In February, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović urged the government to abolish the sterilisation requirement as part of legal gender recognition (LGR). In March, Czechia received UPR recommendations to abolish the sterility requirement and introduce LGR on the basis of self-determination.

The Ministry of Justice announced in March that they want the mandatory sterility requirement for LGR removed. The Ministry would support a model whereby only a personal statement and a report from the attending physician will be required, with an age limit of 15 and over. Civil society has been fighting for this change for many years. To date, LGR has remained burdensome, invasive, time-consuming, making everyday life very difficult for many trans people.

However, no bill to end mandatory sterilisations of trans people as a requirement for LGR has yet been introduced.

In a regressive move, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in favour of the sterility requirement on 18 August. The trans man’s lawyers will turn to the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.

T.H. vs Czech Republic case proceeded to the hearing stage at the European Court of Human Rights.

One of the most well-known football players, Jakub Jankto came out as gay in in February.

‘We Have Never Been Modern’, a film about intersex people living before the Second World War in Czechoslovakia, premiered this summer and features a trans actor as its protagonist.

Public opinion continued to be positive on marriage equality, based on surveys from several different agencies, averaging around 65% Significantly, support is up by 11% since 2019 to 58% in 2023 based on a survey carried out by state-owned agency CVVM.

Conservative politicians called for the regularisation of surrogacy and populists called for its criminalisation. A parliamentary working group was set up. Conservative politicians and anti-LGBTI organisations continue to link marriage equality with surrogacy.