Azerbaijan

2025

2022

2018

The highest possible score for a country is 100, and the lowest is -15. You can expand the different sections below to understand how the score was calculated for each indicator.

Indicator scores

Anti-Discrimination Legislation Applicable to Education

-5

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

Anti-LGBTQI Measures

The Constitution (1995) provides for equality before the law, but does not mention SOGIGESC as protected grounds. Neither do any other pieces of legislation.

On the contrary, the law on Protection of children from information harmful to their health and development deems any information that counters the notion of “traditional family” harmful. The law, which was adopted in 2018 and entered into force in early 2020, can be interpreted as banning the dissemination of information on LGBTQI rights or identities. In practice, teachers and staff are not allowed to share information about SOGIGESC issues in school.

Policies and Action Plans

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

No anti-bullying policy or national action plan: 0/10 | Anti-bullying policy or national action plan covering one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

In 2019, the Ministry of Education adopted an action plan to tackle bullying, and launched the #SpeaktoMe campaign to draw attention to the issue. No concrete measures have followed since. Neither the action plan nor the campaign mention SOGIGESC grounds specifically.

Despite the very low level of social acceptance of LGBTQI persons, the authorities have not taken any initiatives to increase awareness on LGBTQI issues. Azerbaijan still does not have an LGBTQI strategy or action plan to address issues of discrimination and intolerance vis-à-vis LGBTQI persons.

‍ECRI recommended that Azerbaijan tackle anti-LGBTQI bullying in schools and that the government adopt an action plan to address discrimination and intolerance towards LGBTQI people in the country. ECRI also recommended that the government take specific measures to recognise the equality of LGBTQI people and to prevent and combat anti-LGBTQI hatred.

Inclusive Compulsory Education Curricula

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

No evidence of compulsory national curricula inclusive of LGBTQI people: 0/10 | The compulsory national curricula includes representation of one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

SOGIGESC issues are not part of the national curriculum.

Azerbaijan continues to have no mandatory sex education or human rights curricula that are inclusive of SOGIGESC.

‍ECRI has stressed that providing factual, non-stigmatising information on sexual orientation and gender identity is imperative to prevent and combat LGBTQI-phobia, at school and beyond, and to creating a safer and more inclusive learning environment for all.

Mandatory Teacher Training on LGBTQI Inclusion

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

No mention of SOGIGESC in the mandatory teacher training programme: 0/10 Mandatory teacher training program with mention of one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

There is currently no mandatory teacher training on LGBTQI awareness and there are no workshops or lessons available for teachers either.

School Environment and Partnerships

-5

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

Hostile environment

Hostile school environment and no government partnership with civil society: -5/10 | There is no evidence of the government providing funding or working in partnership with civil society: 0/10 | The government provides funding and works in partnership with civil society to promote inclusive education for one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

The 2018 law (see under Anti-discrimination Legislation) makes it impossible for any student clubs to operate if they address LGBTQI issues.

The climate has remained hostile towards LGBTQI people.

Reports indicate that bullying in schools in Azerbaijan remains an issue, and in particular on the grounds of SOGIGESC.

A case was reported by civil society organisations about a teenage girl who committed suicide as a result of anti-LGBTQI bullying at school.

In 2023, a 17-year-old student was repeatedly harassed and verbally insulted and threatened by a peer and a teacher in Baku. Because of the lack of legislative provisions to protect individuals from discrimination, bullying and violence based on SOGIGESC, the police did not take action. The teenager also faced verbal harassment at the police station. Thanks to the Ombudsperson’s intervention, the peer apologised and the teacher was reprimanded. The student may file for a civil case. In September 2023, after taking time off from their studies due to the persistent harassment, the same student was beaten by another pupil on their second day back to school.

The government does not provide funding, nor does it actively work in partnership with NGOs to promote LGBTQI inclusive education.

Legal Gender Recognition

/10

Legal gender recognition without self-determination

Legal gender recognition with self-determination (over 16)

Legal gender recognition with self-determination (under 16)

No gender recognition provisions: 0/10 | There are laws and provisions, but with legal/medical/psychological approval: 5/10 | There are laws for self-determination, but only for those over 16 years of age: 7,5/10 | There are laws on gender self-determination, including those under 16 years of age: 10/10

There are no legal gender recognition (LGR) procedures in place in Azerbaijan.

ECRI has recommended that Azerbaijan put in place a legal gender recognition procedure on the basis of self-determination.

No information is available about policies or practices allowing trans students to use their correct name and gender in schools.

Data Collection on Bullying and Harassment

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

There is no evidence of national or regional data collection on bullying and harassment in education environments, or SO, GIGE and SC are not specifically mentioned: 0/10 | National or regional data on bullying and harassment in education environments is collected and disaggregated for one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

The government does not provide data on anti-LGBTQI bullying. However, local civil society organisations report that LGBTQI students are constant targets of bullying and harassment in school, including by peers and staff.

Support Systems for LGBTQI Young People

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

There is no evidence of support systems specifically designed for LGBTQI learners: 0/10 | Direct or indirect support systems are provided by schools or local authorities, but the providers lack training in LGBTQI-related issues: 0/10 | Direct or indirect support systems are provided by schools or local authorities for one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

The government does not provide support systems for LGBTQI learners or their families.

Some schools provide direct support to students, including through counseling or guidance. School counsellors however, are not trained on SOGIGESC issues.

The anti-bullying action plan 2019 (see under Policies and action plans) advocates for the creation of support services for victims. LGBTQI learners are however, not mentioned and the state has not taken practical measures to implement this action plan.

LGBTQI civil society organisations have been unable to formally register or provide regular support to LGBTQI young people. Many organisations have been denied registration on several occasions.

Information and Guidelines

-5

/10

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

Anti-LGBTQI Measures

Policies prohibiting the presence of LGBTQI-related information are in place: -5/10 | Schools are not required to adopt inclusive education guidelines: 0/10 | Information or guidelines for LGBTQI inclusion adopted by schools that mention one ground of discrimination: 5/10 | Two grounds: 7.5/10 | Three grounds: 10/10

Online information has been increasingly available to young people about SOGIGESC, but none of this information is provided or enabled by the state. On the contrary, the 2018 law (see under Legislation) makes it impossible for teachers or staff to openly share information about SOGIGESC issues in school.

Local human rights initiatives have been working on creating new content and also translating existing resources.

International Commitments

/10

Member of the European Governmental LGBTI Focal Points Network

Ratified the UNESCO Ministerial Call to Action

Neither Member in the EFPN or ratification of the UNESCO Call for Action: 0/10 | Member of the EFPN or ratification of the UNESCO Call for Action: 5/10 | Member of the EFPN and ratification of the UNESCO Call for Action: 10/10

Azerbaijan has ratified eight of the nine core UN treaties, including the ICESCR and the CRC, which enshrine the right to education. Azerbaijan is not a member of the European Governmental LGBTI Focal Points Network (as of November 2020), and has not signed the 2016 UNESCO Call for Action.

View the map scored by indicator

Grounds of discrimination

Here is the country's score for each ground of discrimination on which we based our observations for 8 of the 10 indicators presented above.

Sexual orientation

Gender identity and expression

Sex characteristics (intersex)

See the map scored by ground of discrimination

Country score evolution

2025

-15

/100

2022

-15

/100

2018

/100

To enable a meaningful comparison of country progress over time, we have retroactively aligned the scoring systems used in the 2018 and 2022 Editions of IGLYO’s LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index with the updated 2025 scoring criteria. While each edition of the research has built on the previous one, reflecting evolving standards and priorities in inclusive education, minor changes to indicators and scoring weights were introduced in 2022 and 2025 to improve clarity, consistency, and comprehensiveness.
‍
By recalculating the earlier scores according to the 2025 framework, we have tried to ensure comparability across all three editions and provide a more accurate picture of progress, stagnation, or regression in each country’s approach to LGBTQI-inclusive education. For this reason, you might find some scores in the PDF Report & Index 2018 and 2022 differing from those on the Education website for these two years.

Good practices

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