Legal Battlegrounds

Across the world, LGBTI+ rights are increasingly shaped by political, legal, and cultural forces that extend beyond individual national contexts. Debates about equality, protection, and inclusion are often framed as domestic issues rooted in local values or legal traditions. However, they are deeply embedded in wider regional and global dynamics that influence how rights are recognised, restricted, or withdrawn over time.

Rather than viewing recent legal developments as isolated or disconnected, this course situates them within a broader global pattern of change. Over the past decade, many jurisdictions have moved away from earlier trajectories of gradual legal expansion toward more contested and, in some cases, restrictive approaches to LGBTI+ rights. These shifts do not occur in a vacuum. They reflect wider political transformations, including changing governance priorities, the rise of cultural contestation, and the increasing politicisation of identity.

To understand these dynamics, this course introduces a working definition of an LGBTI+ rights rollback as either the removal of previously existing rights or the introduction of new restrictions where no prior legal framework existed. This framing helps to clarify that regression can take multiple forms. It can involve the erosion of established protections, as well as the expansion of regulation into areas that were previously ungoverned by law. In both cases, the effect is a narrowing of rights and civic space.

This course is designed for activists and advocates working in complex and rapidly changing environments. It moves beyond description to offer a structured way of understanding how and why these legal shifts occur across different contexts. By identifying recurring patterns and tracing their development over time, participants will be better equipped to interpret emerging risks and respond strategically.