Greece

Greece ranked seventh in Europe on ILGA‑Europe’s 2025 Rainbow Map, reflecting significant progress toward equality. In 2022, the country banned conversion practices for minors and prohibited intersex genital mutilation, making it a crime if done to someone under the age of fifteen. In 2023, Greece adopted a National Strategy for Equality of LGBTQI+ people (2021-2023), which was followed by rapid legal progress in several areas. In March 2023, Parliament adopted legislation to combat bullying and violence in education, which recognizes the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. A 2023 law also banned employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In February 2024, Equal Treatment Law 4443/2016 was amended by Law 5089/20249 and the grounds of discrimination were extended to include sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and gender characteristics in the areas of social protection, social benefits and tax relief, education, and access to the provision of goods and services (see Section 4 of the executive summary on “Material Scope”). Under the same law, Greece became the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage and extend full adoption rights to same‑sex couples. Transgender people may change their legal gender markers without medical intervention or sterilization, although a court judgment is required.

In 2024, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an Equality Action Plan 2024-2027 as part of its effort to improve the conditions under which the Ministry’s workforce carries out its mission. The plan includes targeted actions such as providing support and guidance for LGBTQI+ staff and their family members, updating internal guidelines on queer issues, and adding related resources to the Ministry intranet’s host‑country information “family page” during 2026–2027.

The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 57 percent of Greeks believed same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, while 40 percent were opposed. The survey also found that 57 percent of Greeks believed that “there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex,” while 40 percent disagreed. However, ILGA‑Europe’s 2025 Annual Review documented continued incidents of anti‑LGBTIQ violence in 2024, including against trans people and protesters in Thessaloniki, as well as increased hate speech from conservative public figures during the marriage equality debate.