Reports

“They’re Ruining People’s Lives”

Bans on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth in the US

The 98-page report, “‘They’re Ruining People’s Lives’: Bans on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth in the US,” documents the devastating consequences of these bans for transgender youth, including increased anxiety, depression, and, in seven reported instances, suicide attempts. Human Rights Watch found that these laws contribute to an increasingly hostile, anti-trans climate, compelling youth to hide their identities and socially withdraw. The bans also destabilize health care systems and undermine civil society and create geographic and financial challenges in accessing care. The impact has intensified since early 2025, when the administration of President Donald Trump took a series of executive actions escalating federal attacks on transgender rights.

Gender dysphoria illustration
A woman looks out of the window of a damaged building

World Report 2025

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  • September 13, 2011

    Controlling Bodies, Denying Identities

    Human Rights Violations against Trans People in the Netherlands

    This report documents the impact of a 1985 law, article 28 of the civil code, on the daily life of transgender people. The requirements violate transgender people’s rights to personal autonomy and physical integrity and deny them the ability to define their own gender identity.
  • March 9, 2011

    Rights at Risk

    State Response to HIV in Mississippi

    This 59-page report documents the harmful impact of Mississippi's policies on state residents, including people living with HIV and those at high risk of contracting it. Mississippi refuses to provide complete, accurate information about HIV prevention to students and threatens criminal penalties for failing to disclose one's HIV status to sexual partners.

  • December 15, 2010

    “We Are a Buried Generation”

    Discrimination and Violence against Sexual Minorities in Iran

    Based on testimony from more than 100 Iranians, this report documents discrimination and violence against LGBT people and others whose sexual practices and gender expression do not conform to government-endorsed socio-religious norms.

  • November 30, 2010

    Fear for Life

    Violence against Gay Men and Men Perceived as Gay in Senegal

    This 95-page report includes interviews with dozens of people who have faced threats and violence at the hands of both the police and others in the community. It looks in detail at two key incidents: the "gay marriage" scandal of February 2008; and the arrest of the "nine homosexuals of Mbao" in December 2008.
  • November 4, 2010

    Criminalizing Identities

    Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

    This 62-page report details how the government uses article 347 bis of the Penal Code to deny basic rights to people perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). The report describes arrests, beatings by the police, abuses in prison, and a homophobic atmosphere that encourages shunning and abuse in the community.
  • July 8, 2010

    “Tough, Fair, and Practical”

    A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in the United States

    This 24-page report proposes a framework for improving US immigration law that would give immigrant crime victims a chance to seek justice, protect workers, respect the private and family life of longtime residents, and provide fair treatment for immigrants who come before the courts.
  • August 17, 2009

    "They Want Us Exterminated"

    Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq

    This 67-page report documents a wide-reaching campaign of extrajudicial executions, kidnappings, and torture of gay men that began in early 2009. The killings began in the vast Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, and spread to many cities across Iraq.
  • July 29, 2009

    Forbidden

    Institutionalizing Discrimination against Gays and Lesbians in Burundi

    This report consists of narratives and photos of Burundian gays and lesbians that bring to life the daily struggles faced by the small lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Burundi. Members of the community talk about how they have been fired from their jobs, beaten by parents and neighbourhood youth, and evicted from their homes.
  • June 11, 2009

    Together, Apart

    Organizing around Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Worldwide

    This 44-page report demonstrates that many groups defending LGBT rights – especially throughout the global South – still have limited access to funding, and courageously face sometimes-murderous attacks without adequate support from a broader human rights community.
  • May 29, 2009

    "Not Worth a Penny"

    Human Rights Abuses against Transgender People in Honduras

    This 45-page report details abuses based on gender identity and expression, including rape, beatings, extortion, and arbitrary detentions by law enforcement officials. It also documents police inaction and recurrent failure to investigate violence against transgender people. At least 17 travestis (as many transgender people are called) have been killed in public places in Honduras since 2004.
  • December 17, 2008

    This Alien Legacy

    The Origins of "Sodomy" Laws in British Colonialism

    This 66-page report describes how laws in over three dozen countries, from India to Uganda and from Nigeria to Papua New Guinea, derive from a single law on homosexual conduct that British colonial rulers imposed on India in 1860. This year, the High Court in Delhi ended hearings in a years-long case seeking to decriminalize homosexual conduct there. A ruling in the landmark case is expected soon.
  • October 6, 2008

    These Everyday Humiliations

    Violence Against Lesbians, Bisexual Women, and Transgender Men in Kyrgyzstan

    Violence against women is a nationwide crisis in Kyrgyzstan. But women who are attracted to other women, or who violate rigid gender roles defining how a woman should look or behave, may be singled out for violent retaliation. Moreover, the government ignores their needs—and denies their very existence.

  • May 21, 2008

    “We Need a Law for Liberation”

    Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights in a Changing Turkey

    This 123-page report documents a long and continuing history of violence and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Human Rights Watch conducted more than 70 interviews over a three-year period, documenting how gay men and transgender people face beatings, robberies, police harassment, and the threat of murder.

  • June 13, 2007

    “We Have the Upper Hand”

    Freedom of assembly in Russia and the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people

    For the second year in a row, on Sunday, May 27, 2007, a small group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists and their supporters tried to stage a peaceful public demonstration in Moscow to claim their rights. For the second year in a row, anti-gay nationalist groups assaulted them, beating some severely, pelting others with rocks and eggs.