Rainbow Railroad 2025: what global persecution means for queer safety in Switzerland

Rainbow Railroad published its 2025 annual report on global LGBTQI+ persecution on 20 June 2026. The organisation describes historic pressure: more than 20,000 requests for help in 2025, the highest in its history, while more than 25,000 people accessed support through Rainbow Railroad and partners. The report is global, but it is not distant from Switzerland. Queer migration, asylum, trauma, language barriers and community connection are everyday issues here too.

The key point is that persecution does not come only from countries that criminalise same-sex intimacy. Rainbow Railroad also describes a wider anti-rights dynamic: restrictions on healthcare, legal recognition, asylum pathways and public safety. For affected people, categories such as flight, family rupture, digital threat and poverty overlap.

For Switzerland, the practical question is this: how does a queer displaced person find safe contacts without being forced to come out or explain themselves again and again? National asylum procedures, cantonal accommodation, community groups, HIV/STI services, psychological support and language access work only if someone can find them.

The report should also influence Pride and association work. International solidarity is not only a slogan on a parade; it means thinking about local groups, interpretation, safer meeting points and sensitive communication. Some people do not need a big party as their first contact. They may need a quiet place, someone experienced and information about which data can be shared safely.

Editorially, this is a long-term topic. Queer Switzerland should use global reports like Rainbow Railroad's to organise Swiss resources for asylum, community and health. Clear safeguards matter: do not make individual cases identifiable, do not simulate migration advice and always link to official or specialised services.