In Europe, there is a sign of “gradual progress” in openness to LGBTQ+ people, with the number of people experiencing discrimination going down to 36% (from 42% in 2019). Don’t celebrate yet, however, since – paradoxically – the number of LGBTQIA people who experienced hate-motivated violence, such as physical and sexual attacks, increased from 11% in 2019 to 14% in 2023.
This is according to a survey done by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), which tapped over 100,000 LGBTQ+ people in the 27 EU member states, as well as Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Among the findings of the survey include:
- 55% of LGBTQ+ people experienced harassment in their daily lives in 2023, jumping from 37% in 2019. This was particularly apparent in younger groups.
- 67% of LGBTQ+ youth suffering persecution/bullying at school in 2023, compared to 46% in 2019.
- 14% reported experiencing a physical or sexual attack in the five years before the survey was conducted in 2023, with intersex people facing most violence. That represents a rise of three points since FRA carried out a similar survey in 2019.
“On the one hand, people are becoming more open about their sexual orientation. On the other hand, everyday harassment, bullying in schools, hate crime and alarmingly high rates of violence tell another story.”
SIRPA RAUTIO
Director, Fundamental Rights Agency
Also – and sadly – the Vienna-based agency said that incidents are “severely underreported”.
To tackle anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation campaigns and online hate, FRA said that member states should “address the risk of bias in algorithms and ensure the accountability of digital platforms under EU law”.
