On one of the main boulevards in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the building housing LGBTQI+ advocacy organisation Bilitis shows no outward signs of the group’s presence. Visitors must climb four flights of stairs before finally encountering the association’s pink and purple logo, symbolising its mission to support and defend the rights of LGBTQI+ people in this small Eastern European country with a population of just over 6.4 million people. The address of the Rainbow Hub offices and community centre is deliberately kept offline – a necessary precaution to avoid eviction or attacks. “We suffered a particularly violent attack during the last presidential election in 2021. A far-right candidate [Boyan Rasate, leader of the Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy party] showed up with a group of 10 people during an event for the trans community and vandalised our previous office. He also physically assaulted one of our colleagues,” says Robin Zlatarov, coordinator of Bilitis trans-identity programme. “We were forced to relocate and eventually settled here. This is the most stable space we’ve ever had because it’s not a residential building. We’re surrounded by offices on all sides”. On another occasion, it was the neighbours themselves who demanded that the association leave.