Protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public and private accommodations were enacted in 2003 and on gender identity and expression in 2014.

[6] Belgium has frequently been referred to as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world,[7] with recent polls indicating that a majority of Belgians support same-sex marriage and adoption rights.

[9][10] In the 1980's, the case Eliane Morissens (a lesbian teacher who had suffered employment discrimination) sparked a debate on institutional homophobia, which resulted in the Flemish Socialist Party declaring its support for an equal age of consent.

[20] The 2003 and 2007 anti-discrimination laws also establish penalty enhancements for crimes motivated by hate on the basis of, among others, sex and sexual orientation.

[21][22][23] On 22 December 2014, the jury of the court of assizes of Liège found four people guilty of the murder of Ihsane Jarfi, motivated by homophobia.

[24] In May 2018, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism reported it had processed 125 cases of homophobic discrimination in 2018, a 38% increase over the past five years.

[26] On 20 July 2023, Parliament approved a law that bans conversion practices, defined as "any practice consisting of or including physical intervention or the application of psychological pressure, which the perpetrator or victim believes or claims is intended to repress or to alter a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, whether that characteristic is actually present or merely assumed by the perpetrator."

[27][28] The Law of 10 May 2007 on transsexuality (Dutch: Wet van 10 mei 2007 betreffende de transseksualiteit; French: Loi du 10 mai 2007 relative à la transsexualité; German: Gesetz vom 10.

Plans to amend the law to remove these requirements were announced by the Michel Government in 2015,[31][32][33] passed by the Chamber of Representatives (and signed by King Philippe) in 2017,[34][35] and took effect on 1 January 2018.

[36] Shortly after the law took effect in January 2018, LGBT rights organisations challenged it before the Constitutional Court of Belgium, arguing that the binary choice (male or female) and the ability of changing one's sex only once remain discriminatory.

Currently, it is only possible to change gender on the identity card from male to female or vice versa, but according to the court, persons who are non-binary are excluded from this rule.

The Constitutional Court has asked the Belgian Federal Parliament to work on an arrangement that complies with the ruling, whether through the "creation of one or more additional categories" or the removal of gender from compulsory registration.

Minors aged 16 and 17 have the possibility to apply for a sex change with parental consent and a psychological opinion confirming that their decision has been taken freely and without any outside pressure.

Human rights groups increasingly consider these surgeries unnecessary and, they argue, should only be performed if the applicant consents to the operation.

In February 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended Belgium to ban these surgeries and provide intersex infants and their parents counseling and support.

[51][52][53][54][55] In 2016, Health Minister Maggie De Block promised to re-evaluate the law using the newest scientific discoveries.

In November 2016, she announced the ban would be amended in 2017, making it possible for gay and bisexual men to donate blood after a year of abstinence from sex.

[57] In June 2019, the Flemish Red Cross announced it was banning transgender people from donating blood in Flanders.

A 2006 European Union member poll showed that 62% of Belgians supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the whole of Europe.

[64] The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 79% of Belgians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, and 80% agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex".

Member of the Flemish Parliament Filip Dewinter told the newspaper De Standaard in 2014 that the party would now approve of same-sex marriage.

However, N-VA asserted they would vote in favour of LGBT rights, and argued that this was an opportunity to change opinions of other parties in that group.

[74] Belgian gay rights activists are grouped into several organisations; Çavaria,[75] and Wel Jong (Before known as "Wel jong Niet hetero" dutch for "Young But Not Straight"),[76] two Dutch-speaking organisations in the Flemish and Brussels regions, and the Federation des Associations Gayes et Lesbiennes in the French-speaking Walloon and Brussels regions.

While the marches have a festive character, they are also used to present the gay movement's political agenda in the form of a list of demands.

The list has been updated a number of times and has included demands for anti-discrimination laws, inclusion of gay relationships in high school sex education and the right to adoption by same-sex parents.

The next year, the list of demands was for the first time prominently displayed on 10 large banners carried by participants throughout the march.