Civil society condemned and organised protests against the reform of the asylum system, which further marginalises queer asylum seekers. The new law, adopted in March, strips asylum seekers from essential services, including housing, social support and healthcare, 30 days after the application was rejected, civil society came together to protest the law (see here and here). In August, 29 NGOs called on the government to ensure the safety of queer refugees and actively consult civil society.

Anti-LGBTQ, and particularly anti-trans, hate speech was common again this year (see here, here, here, and here) and increased during international days and events related to LGBTI rights. Hate speech concerning trans minors’ access to care also remained common.

Sex and queer education was a particularly heated topic this year – Samtökin ‘78, which does educational work in several municipalities, was targeted by hate speech on a daily basis for months (see more under Education). Terms like “groomers” and “child abusers” were commonly used against the organisation.

In January, a proposal for a parliamentary resolution on an action plan against hate speech 2023-2026 was open for comments. The results have not been published yet.

Trans rights activists campaigned against a gender-critical conference which was to be held in Iceland this year.

Civil society noted with concern that harassment and violent attacks increased this year. Anti-LGBTQI+ ‘barking’ still happens, but is less common.

Rainbow flags were again vandalised this year during Pride month.

In September, a guest of the Nordic LGBTI conference was brutally attacked on his way to the hotel. The investigation is ongoing.

In June, a woman was sentenced to two years of probation and fined for harassing a lesbian couple who were her neighbours.

On 9 June, Iceland banned so-called ‘conversion practices’ covering sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity and protecting both children and adults. The vote was unanimous.

There was serious backlash this year, including hate speech, misinformation and negative talk about sex education and education on sexual orentation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE) issues in school (see also under Bias-motivated Speech). In September, the Ministry of Education, municipalities, the Children’s Ombudsman, the National Parents Association, and civil society organisations co-published a statement condemning these attacks and defending children’s right to comprehensive sex education and information about SOGIE issues. Samtökin 78’ signed agreements with several towns and municipalities this year to continue its education program (see here, here, here, here and here).

The company Ölgerðin is the first to be certified as a queer- friendly workplace.

As part of Iceland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe, Iceland hosted this year’s IDAHOT Forum in May in Reykjavik. Implementing Iceland’s first-ever comprehensive LGBTI Action  Programme (2022-2025). Some ministries received training on LGBTI issues from civil society this year. All ministries have actions assigned to them in the Action Programme and some have started implementation already. A dashboard is now available where the public can follow the process implementation under each action.

Hinsegin Vesturland held a queer festival in July, which included a 400 metres rainbow flag painted in Akranes, the longest rainbow street in the country.

Reykjavik Pride, held in August, brought together a record number of people this year. Pride events were held in several towns.

Rainbow flags and trans flags were raised across the capital on the occasion of IDAHOBIT on 17 May and during trans visibility week.

The LGBTI Action Programme (2022-2025), adopted in 2022, commits to improving trans healthcare provision. Nevertheless, access to gender-affirming surgeries remained difficult this year, with waiting times remaining extremely long.

On 28 June, the Supreme Court ruled that a trans man, who underwent a mastectomy, was entitled to sick pay. In 2022, the National Court ruled against the man.

Trans Iceland received the Reykjavík Human Rights Award 2023 in May.

A new bill was tabled in parliament in the autumn, to change a number of laws in an effort to bring them more in line with Iceland’s Act on Gender Autonomy (2019). The changes include allowing people to choose -dóttir, -son or the gender-neutral-bur as endings to their family name, regardless of legal gender, and based on self-determination.

The Reykjavik Human Rights and Democracy Office shared that the number of non-binary applications increased by 75% in 2022.

Reykjavik voted to make its rainbow crossing a permanent part of its city landscape.

Samtökin ‘78 continued its education program targeting coaches, staff, and other key stakeholders in sport associations.

The Archery Association introduced a third gender category for competition and will organise unisex events as well.

Samtökin ‘78 signed an agreement with the National Police Commissioner to carry out education activities.

The prison authorities shared that no trans person was currently held in prison in Iceland. They affirmed that an individualised plan would be made for each trans inmate regarding their placement, which would take into account their gender identity.