THe last thing you want to worry about is personal safety, but with all the negative things happening around the world, is better to be safe than sorry.
This will allow you and your loved ones to enjoy the holiday without worrying about safety and focus on the things that matter most when travelling – taking in the sights, soaking up the sun, and exploring new cultures!
Fortunately, Merchant Machine has analysed metrics such as the level of protection against LGBTQ+ hate crime and speech; and gay marriage laws.
These are among factors the LGBTQ+ communities have to consider as some destinations are against gay marriage laws and so forth.
Along with that, they have looked at crime statistics on a more general level, including robbery rates, and crime indexes.
‘’Our anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination policy score takes into account several factors, including laws against hate crimes relating to sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersexuality laws against hate speech relating to sexual orientation and gender identity; policies tackling hatred relating to sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersexuality,’’ it states in a Merchent machine article.
Which destination is the safest for LGBTQ+?
Malta comes out on top as the safest destination for LGBTQ+ holidaymakers. The Mediterranean island country has an LGBTQ+ travel safety index of 369, which after Canada is the second best figure for this metric out of every country analysed, and a low robbery rate of 47.
Malta’s travel security risk rating is 1, which is classified as low on a scale ranging from 0-4. A country with a low-risk rating is politically and socially stable with few prominent security concerns and low levels of non-violent crime.
Next on the list of safest places are Chile and Luxembourg. Homosexuality and gay marriage are legal in both of these countries. While Luxembourg is considered a low travel security risk country, Chile is considered moderate risk.
According to research, although Chile is typically politically stable, there are periodic demonstrations and protests, with possible instances of violent civil unrest.
The destination with the lowest score is Russia. It has the lowest LGBTQ+ travel safety score of any country, including; the worst score for anti- LGBTQ+ discrimination policy; LGBTQ+ hate crime and speech; and gay marriage still being illegal. Russia tops our list as the least safe country.
Furthermore, research indicates, that Russia has no national, federal, or local laws to protect people against discrimination hate crimes, and speech relating to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersexuality.
In addition, someone responded to a Quora digest question opposed, ‘’Is Irkutsk, Russia safe for LGBTQ travellers?’’
‘’The majority of the Russian people are pretty staunchly anti-LGBT. However, I imagine that if you are a tourist they will probably leave you pretty much alone, as long as you don’t do anything that they deem ‘too far from the norm’.
“So if you are LGB, don’t mention it. Also don’t show any public displays of affection (like holding hands, kissing, etc in public), as that could result in violence,’’ said Adelaide Kasan.
Furthermore, Kaan shares that its much more difficult for trans people. To the point where trans people dress in unisex clothing in order to remain “neutral”.
‘’I would advise any LGBTQ travellers to be careful when travelling in general. I haven’t heard of any tourists getting attacked in Russia (yet), but it could happen. So my conclusion would be that it’s not as safe as, say, Denmark, but definitely more safe than Saudi Arabia,’’ Kasan concludes.
Planning your next trip may have you research the facts and safety precautions on all levels. Following Russia as the second least safe destination for LGBTQ+ people to visit on holiday is Israel, which scores 219 for LGBTQ+ travel safety and 4 on our anti LGBTQ+ discrimination policy LGBTQ+ hate crime and speech index.
Other dangerous countries include Turkey, Mexico, and South Korea. While homosexuality is not illegal in any of these countries, gay marriage is only legal in Mexico. It is undetected in both Turkey and South Korea.