Denmark

Legal protections for LGBTIQ people in Denmark are robust. Same-sex couples may marry and adopt, and the government announced its plan to “strengthen the opportunities for LGBT+ families with three or four parents” in August 2024. Discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics is prohibited. Transgender people may self-determine their legal gender markers, and nonbinary people may choose to use the gender marker “X” on their passports. In July 2024, Denmark eliminated discrimination in blood donation and now asks all donors about sexual practices regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Denmark has a highly comprehensive sex education system that includes information on LGBTIQ issues. Public opinion is also very supportive—according to the 2023 Eurobarometer public opinion survey of Danish people, 93 percent agreed that there was nothing wrong with same-sex relationships, and 93 percent believe marriage equality should be the norm across Europe. 

However, gaps in equal protection remain. In 2023, 18 percent of LGBTIQ respondents reported experiencing discrimination in health care settings. Gaps in gender-affirming health care, including long waiting queues, lead some trans people to self-medicate. Anti-trans rhetoric is becoming increasingly prevalent. In August 2024, the then-minister of gender equality claimed that legal gender recognition for trans and intersex people is “problematic” and could “overshadow the equality problems that actually exist,” asserting that only two biological sexes should be recognized. In 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the placement of a trans woman in a men’s prison, as well as strip searches and the taking of urine samples in the presence of male staff. Medically unnecessary interventions on intersex children remain legal. In what has been described as Denmark’s first legal case involving misgendering, in 2025, a psychotherapist in Denmark was taken to court over a blog post that featured sexually suggestive images of a trans woman with male pronouns used to refer to her. The court dismissed the misgendering claims and acquitted the defendant on criminal charges, but awarded compensation to the plaintiff based on a combination of photos, videos, and content in the blog post.