Iceland Releases Strong LGBTQ+ Action Plan

Iceland has released an action plan for LGBTQ+ issues, active from 2022 to 2025, which includes ending discrimination against blood donors, training police on LGBTQ+ issues, “appropriate and non-discriminatory” healthcare for trans people, and more.

The country’s parliament is also pledging 40 million Icelandic krona ($277,000 or £250,000) to support the ministries’ LGBTQ+ programs within that period, according to Crazy Bollywood.

Iceland, which already has strong LGBTQ+ protections, was found to be the least homophobic country on the list of members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2017.

Among the key changes in the action plan is the lifting of the blanket ban on men who have sex with men being blood donors, which Iceland’s Ministry of Health has been considering since 2018. “The aim of the action should be to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation of blood donors,” the plan states.

The Action Plan has a particular focus on well-being, with measures to help ensure the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth, the elderly and people with disabilities, and to tackle LGBTQ+ domestic violence.

The plan reads: “The well-being and condition of this group [LGBTI disabled people and LGBTI elders] should be considered in terms of isolation and exposure to society. […] The well-being of LGBTI people in regions outside the capital… should be given special consideration, where people are more closely related and economic life is more diverse.”

Ahead of the visit of the UN’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity on September 26, Ambassador Perktis Ellerdstottir said: “Human rights are a key priority in Iceland’s foreign policy, and LGBTQ+ rights are a particular focus at home as a community. We also ensure that rights are enjoyed.

Iceland tops Europe’s “Rainbow Map” of LGBTQ+ friendly countries in 2022, although it has been pushed to the top spot by Malta and Denmark, ILGA Europe noted Denmark.

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