Staged Dates, Club Raids, and Rape Threats: How the State Dealt with LGBT in 2025

The pink police van has become an integral attribute of the Belarusian column at gay prides in Vilnius. Photo: Nasha Niva

Last year's state policy definitively shifted from discriminatory rhetoric to creating a full-fledged repressive machine. While pressure previously often had a localized character, authorities are now undertaking an ideological purge at the legislative level, equating human rights with criminal offenses.

Law as an Instrument of Stigmatization

The main event of the year was the adoption of amendments to the Law "On the Rights of the Child," which, starting in January 2026, legalize the prohibition of "propaganda of homosexual relations and gender change." However, what worries human rights defenders most is a new article in the Code of Administrative Offenses (19.16 CAO). This norm deliberately lumps homosexuality, transgenderism, and pedophilia together. Such an approach is not only manipulative but also dangerous: it lacks clear criteria for "propaganda," allowing law enforcement to punish for any social media post or even private opinion.

A separate blow was dealt to transgender people through the medical sphere. In September, the Ministry of Health excluded a sexologist from the gender correction commission, replacing them with a psychiatrist-narcologist. This is a step towards full pathologization: the state now officially views gender identity as a severe mental deviation or addiction.

Staged Dates and Club Raids

The tactics of law enforcement in 2025 became more sophisticated. TG House recorded instances of dating apps (e.g., Hornet) being used to organize "staged dates." Instead of a potential partner, officers from drug control or GUBOPiK arrive at the meeting, checking phones under threat and attempting to coerce people into cooperation.

Mass raids also returned to practice. In July and September, law enforcement officers burst into private parties in Minsk clubs "Rio" and "Reaktor." The scenario is always the same: people are forced face down on the floor, searches are conducted, and primarily those whose appearance does not conform to "traditional norms" are detained. After such raids, videos with the faces of participants appear in pro-government Telegram channels, accompanied by doxing and mocking comments.

Pressure Through Relatives and Prisons

Repressions reach people even in emigration. Researchers describe cases where law enforcement officers visit the parents of activists who have moved to Poland or France. Relatives are subjected to searches and summoned for "interviews," where they are asked for the addresses and contacts of their children.

The situation of such individuals in places of detention remains particularly critical. In the Belarusian prison hierarchy, the administration deliberately uses the "low status" of LGBTQ+ prisoners as a tool of torture. Former political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski and blogger Vadim Yermashuk (Vadimati), openly stated this in 2025. According to them, LGBT people in penal colonies are under constant threat of physical violence, which is either ignored or encouraged by guards.

"Sanitary Control" over Literature

Ideological pressure also affected the book market. Minister of Information Marat Markau openly called the ban on LGBTQ-themed books "an analogue of sanitary control and vaccination." Publications from major publishers, such as Eksmo and Popcorn Books, which previously came en masse from Russia, fell under revision. Now, over 170 publications are officially recognized as "harmful to the interests of the country," and media outlets on gender and sexuality, such as "DazHip," have been designated as "extremist formations."

Medical Blockade

For transgender people in Belarus, the possibility of medical transition has become almost unrealistic. Only one specialist in the country is authorized to conduct this procedure. Any of their vacations or illnesses completely halt processes for hundreds of patients. At commission meetings for transition, people face humiliating questions about their intimate lives, and the rejection rate remains consistently high.

Outcomes and Prospects

Human rights defenders state that Belarus is experiencing the totalitarization of personal life. The state attempts to monopolize an individual's right to their own identity, dividing citizens into "correct" and "dangerous." This leads to a new wave of forced emigration and the community going deep underground.

TG House recommends that international institutions consider this specific repressive context: victims of persecution in Belarus often do not have any official protocols or papers, as law enforcement prefers unofficial pressure and intimidation. The absence of a "paper" does not mean the absence of risk to life.

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