Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation

StopQueerDeportations – Glow & Be

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🌈 We’re officially up and running!

Friday, 28 August 2026 marks a very special moment for us: Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation has officially been established. 💜

The fact that we began our journey on this particular day is no coincidence. This year, 28 August marked Wear It Purple Day, with the theme “Colours of Courage”: an international day of visibility and solidarity, raising awareness of the importance of creating a world where LGBTQIA+ people can feel supported, accepted and safe.

The meaning behind this day perfectly reflects what Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation stands for.

We work worldwide to provide protection, support and – wherever possible – shelter for LGBTQIA+ people, with particular attention to refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable people who face exclusion, threats or persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Our mission is clear: everyone deserves the right to live freely, safely and with dignity.

That is why we want to do more than offer support when someone needs safety. We also aim to provide legal support, advocate for people’s rights and raise awareness. We want to strengthen communities, bring people together and build an international network where no one has to face their struggles alone.

Our establishment on Friday, 28 August 2026 therefore represents much more than the official beginning of our foundation. For us, it marks the beginning of something we want to grow together: a movement that speaks out against discrimination, exclusion and the deportation of LGBTQIA+ people to situations where their safety or freedom cannot be taken for granted.

We believe in a world where everyone is free to be themselves. A world where safety is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right.

And now the real work begins…

Our foundation is officially up and running, but behind the scenes we are still busy building.

Over the coming period, we will be working hard to expand our website with information about our mission, activities, support, projects and the many different ways you can get involved.

Dutch is our primary language, but our mission knows no borders – and we believe accessibility shouldn’t either. That is why we are working to make our website and important information available in English and Turkish. In the future, we hope to add more languages step by step, so that more and more people can access our information in a language they understand. Because anyone looking for safety, support or a place where they can be heard should not have to overcome a language barrier first!

For now, you may still come across an empty page, information that has not yet been translated or parts of the website that are still under development.

So please come back and visit us again soon. 🌈 A lot will be changing in the coming weeks and months, and more and more information will be added.

💌 Be part of our journey from the very beginning

Would you like to stay informed about our developments, new projects, activities and other important moments? We warmly invite you to subscribe to our newsletter.

And perhaps you would like to do even more. Whether you share our message, become a volunteer, collaborate with us, make a donation or contribute in another way: every form of involvement helps us take our mission further.

Today, the foundation exists on paper.

From now on, we will build together towards what Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation is meant to become: a place of safety, connection, visibility and hope.

For everyone who wants and deserves to be themselves. For everyone who needs a safe place. And for everyone who believes that love, identity and freedom should never be reasons why someone is forced to flee.

Welcome to Queer Sanctuary Foundation. 💜🌈

 

✨ Coming soon: Glow & Be

From 13 November 2026, we’ll let a new light shine.

Behind the scenes, we are putting a great deal of love and care into Glow & Be, the fundraising brand of Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation.

With our lovingly (hand)made candles and other special products, we want to bring more than warmth and atmosphere into your home. Every purchase will also contribute to something much bigger.

With Glow & Be, you support our mission to protect and support LGBTQIA+ people around the world and – wherever possible – help them build a safe future. People for whom safety, freedom and being able to be themselves are unfortunately still far from guaranteed.

In this way, something small can take on a very special meaning. Every candle that burns in your home can help create a little light somewhere else for someone who desperately needs it.

On 13 November 2026, we will open the doors to Glow & Be. We can’t wait to begin this new chapter together with you.

Let your light shine.
Glow & Be – Shine with purpose. ✨

 

How safe is Europe for LGBTQIA+ people?

Europe is often seen as a safe place for LGBTQIA+ people. Yet legal protections, equal rights and everyday social realities vary greatly from one country to another.

The interactive Rainbow Map shows how 49 European countries score when it comes to laws and policies affecting LGBTQIA+ people.

But a good score on paper does not automatically mean that someone can actually live there safely.

Select up to 3 countries and compare all available data.

OVERALL SCORE

All mapped countries

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INFORMATION

About the Rainbow Map

The ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map annually assesses and ranks 49 European countries on the basis of laws and policies that directly affect the human rights of LGBTI people. Countries are scored on a scale from 0%, representing severe violations of human rights and discrimination, to 100%, representing full equality and respect for human rights.

The assessment covers seven key areas: equality and non-discrimination; family; hate crime and hate speech; legal gender recognition; intersex bodily integrity; civil society space; and asylum.

The interactive Rainbow Map Explorer provided on this website uses the publicly available Rainbow Map dataset published by ILGA-Europe. It enables visitors to explore the available data by country and category, examine individual criteria, and compare countries in an accessible and interactive format.

It is important to understand what the Rainbow Map scores represent. They measure the extent to which a country’s laws and policies protect the rights and equality of LGBTI people. A country’s score should therefore not be interpreted as an assessment of the personal safety of an individual LGBTI person, nor does a higher score necessarily mean that discrimination, violence or persecution do not occur in practice.

For a broader understanding of the situation in individual countries, the Rainbow Map should be considered alongside ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia. While the Rainbow Map provides a quantitative benchmark of legislative and policy developments, the Annual Review provides qualitative context about developments and lived realities in each country.

Data source and attribution: The underlying Rainbow Map data is collected, assessed and published by ILGA-Europe. Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation is not the original collector, verifier, processor or recipient of this underlying data. This website provides an independent interactive presentation of the publicly available dataset and does not claim ownership of, or alter, the original source data.

For the methodology, criteria, original Rainbow Map and further information about ILGA-Europe, visit the official ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map website.

COMPARE

Compare countries

Click up to 3 countries. Click a selected country again to remove it.
Dataset Loading… Official source: ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map ↗

The Rainbow Map ranks European countries based on laws and policies affecting LGBTI people.

Stichting Queer Sanctuary Foundation is not the original collector, verifier, data processor or recipient of the underlying Rainbow Map data. This website only displays the publicly available dataset published by ILGA-Europe and does not alter the source data. Scores concern laws and policies and should not be interpreted as individual safety assessments.

A map doesn’t tell the whole story

For LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylum seekers, the difference between protection on paper and safety in practice can be a matter of life and death.

Dutch asylum procedures also consider the situation in a person’s country of origin and their individual risk upon return. Yet procedures can still result in decisions requiring people to return to countries where LGBTQIA+ people face discrimination, exclusion, violence or persecution.

When can a country truly be called safe if someone cannot live there freely and safely as themselves?

Read more about StopQueerDeportations