i live in russia now
honestly i hate all govrenments, idea of bordering humans etc
nowhere i will be good all life, nowhere is good
everywhere fucking capitalists and shitty politics
and what if i move spending 5464653364 euros to good country and i dont will even have right for vote and right wing idiots win by shitty losungs in 15s videos from tiktok etc etc
the example is US
i dont care in which fucking country i live everywhere is bad ppl and good ppl and there no wrong nations
US is not a good choice. The current administration is hell bent on making trans care illegal and even gay marriage is on the chopping block with the currently corrupted Supreme Court willing to overturn the previous rulings and just waiting for the right case to reach them. So for rights, it’s not good. And for safety it’s really only safe-ish in large cities in more progressive states. But even the usually most progressive state, California, has been reversing course on LGBTQ+ rights. And it’s extremely expensive to live in those cities and immigration has become nearly impossible due to the current administration, unless you’re wealthy.
There really isn’t a best country, but some of the more progressive countries in the EU are the best bet right now. Canada in certain provences is ok in the big cities, but also declining. Unfortunately, not many places offer amnesty for trans people, but I’m hoping that as the state of things declines in the US, some EU countries may start to offer it.
For now, I’m in a very progressive city in the US, but it’s not safe too far outside of the city. I’ve just been doing everything I can to not “look” trans so that people don’t bother me. Wearing masks in public and not speaking unless I have to until I can get maybe some surgeries before they become illegal. That’s the best there is right now.
Everywhere varies a ton, and there are bigots and supporters everywhere. Its important to consider regions and citites.
As an American, I feel safer in the capital city of the state that is likely to become the next addition to Erin’s “do not travel list” than I do in rural areas of the safest states. A map of states or countries like the one dandelion posted in this thread will fill an entire nation a single shade. That’s an oversimplification.
Canada got an A grade, but alberta if rated alone would be no higher than a D in my guess.
Make sure you’re moving to a safe city in a safe country. National elections don’t change your neighbors.
yes, this exactly - way too many LGBT+ folks look at a map (whether country, or by state) and think it’s safe wherever - and while the laws in a state or country may be better (and this may translate to better rights in rural areas too), in general cities will be safer than rural areas.
+1 for moving to a safe city in a safe country
I think there was someone who moved to east Washington state, which is a very right-wing part of the country; Washington state is very progressive, but it’s all west of the mountains along the coast - living is Seattle is a radically different experience than living in Spokane.
Also depends on how bad your state is, I wouldn’t move to a state that makes having a driver’s license with your new marker a crime like Florida or other states. I would move to a state with good protections near or in a populated city.
You might want to consider Asher Fergusson, - though that list was made before the Orange Fascist took power.
(also get a vpn if you didn’t do so already, use librefox + ublock origin, self host if possible, know your threat model, etc)
but basically, the best would be to go for a larger city in a relatively trans-friendly country. consider also society’s attitudes rather than laws only!
considering you’re in russia, literally go to any bigger city (like 100k+ ppl) in the west, you’ll be much better off that way.
rainbow road in canada might be something to consider
In terms of both social acceptance and legislation, Malta keeps coming up. Otherwise Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, and Iceland are apparently all pretty good.
Scandinavia and Finland make it difficult to transition the official way and Norway in particular also makes it extremely difficult to DIY. Both the main 2 European homebrewers just don’t ship to Norway at all. But people (largely) mind their own fucking business and won’t really say anything to your face unless they’re drunk.
I’ve heard the UK is circling the drain, but I haven’t been back in years.
Russia is pretty bad.
There are various sites and rankings of best and worst countries, here’s one from 2023:
https://asherfergusson.com/global-trans-rights-index/
Roughly, getting into an EU country or Canada would be the best. It’s very difficult to immigrate to these countries, though - especially the ones best for trans rights tend to also have very strict immigration requirements and laws.
To be honest, Russia is so unsafe I would just prioritize getting into any Western country. Trans rights are undergoing a lot of change, places like the US which traditionally were very good from trans rights and healthcare perspectives have shifted to the right and become anti-trans. Canada is seeing the rise of a right-wing populist movement that has connections to the anti-trans movement. Anywhere you go is not guaranteed to be safe, so it’s important to think practically about what matters most to you.
It’s good to be in a safe place with strong rights (living in California for example would be a great option), but you have to consider access to care, what care you need, what it will cost, etc.
And prioritizing those needs might also be important - Russia simply isn’t safe, so getting out is the top priority, probably.
That’s a really strange ranking system they’re using. Take a look at a place like Uruguay, which has criminalised hate speech, which has legal protection and recognition of trans people, a public health care system which covers GRS and HRT but also allows for self ID, and has complete separation of church and state, and the highest safety and standards of living in South America. Yet somehow, it’s ranked below Botswana, which has constitutional protection of same sex rights, but no explicit protections of trans rights…
And then there is Paraguay, which they’ve given the lowest possible ranking, and on paper, that makes sense, as they have no specific protections and a conservative government. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no bastion of trans rights, but in terms of safe places to travel, it’s much safer than the other places they’ve ranked as “F” simply because Paraguayans as a people don’t get in folks faces. They’re largely Christian and may hold negative opinions about LGBTQ folk, but they keep that to themselves, and it rarely manifests in violence, and consequently, is much safer than you would expect given the individual elements.
Wow what an out of date list. The United Kingdom gets an A-? Damn they’re really circling the drain on this one
yeah, the UK and the US have both gotten much worse since this map was made. Trump hadn’t won his second term yet in 2023 🫠
It is from 2023. A little out of date.
yeah, the situation globally is shifting rapidly, mostly against trans rights (but the EU recently ruled that trans women are women, so it’s not all bad).
Laws and rulings are nice, but the real safety concern is the general attitude of the population towards trans people. In a country that has a low public opinion of trans people you’re more likely to get beat up. Laws only really help with punishment of the perpetrators. And that’s largely dependent on the attitude of police. It’s easy for them to “accidentally” break with procedure so a case gets thrown out or just be intentionally bad at their job.
I largely agree with this, laws are second to the real-feel of how people are on the ground, though they can relate to one another. Where I used to live, it was legal to discriminate against trans people regarding housing and so on, but where I live now, I know it’s illegal and the culture is different here as well. I’m not in the biggest city area, and it’s still much better - so sometimes better laws do track better culture, too.
Either way, yes - laws won’t really protect you, they just might protect you in certain legal matters and give you recourse for justice if you are wronged (in some places).
