The Council of Europe’s SOGIESC Unit is working together with Diversit to develop an Anti-Rumours LGBTIQ Toolkit through a joint pilot with two Spanish cities: Getafe and Santa Coloma de Gramenet. The presently available diagnosis report explores the role of local governments in countering anti-LGBTIQ hate speech and building inclusive narratives.

Drawing on input from over 120 stakeholders from six different Spanish cities, the analysis shows a strong interest from local public authorities to tackle LGBTIQ stigma and exclusion with approaches based on empathy and dialogue.  

For this, the Anti-Rumours Strategy, developed first in the city of Barcelona and then expanded to the rest of Europe and beyond in the context of the Intercultural Cities (ICC) Programme of the Council of Europe, initially designed to address prejudice related to sociocultural origins and ethnic minorities, offers a powerful and adaptable framework to counter anti-LGBTIQ narratives and build inclusive ones.

The findings reflect both the current state of awareness and the potential of coordinated, community-based approaches rooted in interculturality, empathy, and social cohesion. This diagnosis serves as a preliminary step to inform future processes and contributes to the wider reflection on how to tackle anti-LGBTIQ narratives at local level.

This report also serves as the basis for the development of an Anti-Rumours LGBTIQ Toolkit for public authorities and civil society organisations, aimed at strengthening their capacity to identify and prevent SOGIESC-based hate speech. This initiative contributes to ongoing efforts to counter polarisation and strengthen democratic resilience at local level.

The toolkit is being developed within the framework of the  European Union/Council of Europe joint project “Combating Anti-LGBTIQ Violence and Hate Speech, and Strengthening Awareness and Fact-based Narratives about LGBTIQ People.” 

The diagnosis report is available here.