Assessing LGTBIQA+ Rights Legislation in Spain

• Spain has achieved significant milestones in LGTBIQA+ rights, though recent parliamentary dissolution due to early elections has halted several critical legislative efforts.
• Major advancements include new protocols for foreign nationals, workplace non-discrimination measures, and streamlined parental registration for non-married lesbian couples.
• Pending legislation to criminalize conversion therapy and expand protections for non-binary and intersex individuals remains stalled.

Legislative Achievements

• Foreign Document Rectification: A new protocol allows foreign nationals to adjust sex and name markers on Spanish-issued documents when not possible in their home countries.
• Employment and Equality: Approval of a Royal Decree on workplace non-discrimination and 2025 state strategies for LGTBI equality and trans social inclusion.
• Parental Filiation: Administrative instructions now allow children of non-married women to be registered automatically at hospitals without marriage or adoption requirements.

Stalled Initiatives

• Conversion Therapy Criminalization: A bill aimed at penalizing "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts" (ECOSIEG) with up to four years in prison expired with the dissolution of the Cortes despite broad congressional support.
• Non-Binary and Intersex Rights: Proposals for a third gender marker, prohibition of non-consensual genital modifications, and reparations for past medical procedures were left unaddressed.

Future Implications

• The focus shifts to ensuring that the previously supported consensus on banning conversion therapy is integrated into future party manifestos.
• Advocacy groups emphasize the need for continued pressure to recover stalled protections for non-binary and intersex communities in the next legislative term.