Italy: Senate blocks bill on anti-LGBT hate crime
Reuters reported on October 27 that the Italian Senate has blocked debate on a bill that would make violence against women and LGBT+ people a hate crime. The bill had been approved by the lower house and was pushed forward by the country's center-left Democratic Party (PD). Reuters described the bill as a contentious subject in Italy that involved the Vatican, which claimed the bill might restrict religious freedoms. PD leaders have called the bill effectively dead. Italy's LGBT advocacy groups say that such a bill is urgently needed, and that homophobic and transphobic attacks are tried on lesser charges than racial hate crimes in the country.

United Kingdom: First Afghan LGBT refugees
On October 1 the BBC brought forward the voices of LGBT refugees arriving in the UK from Afghanistan, after US-led troops had withdrawn. One anonymous refugee said he felt "free" after fleeing from Taliban-controlled Kabul to three other countries en route to the UK. He described the LGBT community of Kabul as "underground" even before the Taliban occupation. The LGBT advocacy groups Stonewall and Rainbow Road have both intervened to save 29 people so far, with more sure to come. "I am a bit nervous about my future," the man said, "but man, I feel safe and free! This is amazing."