LGBTIQ people have increased visibility but receive more harassment, survey finds

Though LGBTIQ+ people in Europe have become more open about their identity, they are also faced with increasing harassment and violence, according to a report published on Tuesday (14 May) by the EU agency for fundamental rights (FRA).

The report, based on a survey with respondents from Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia in addition to the 27 EU member states, paints an ambiguous picture of the progress of LGBTIQ+ rights, compared to a previous version in 2019.

Sirpa Rautio, director of the FRA, summarised the survey’s findings by saying that “even though we see signs of progress, bullying, harassment and violence remain constant threats,” and called on governments to “act decisively”.

Increased violence and harassment

The survey included some clear positive developments, as the number of survey respondents openly showing their identity slightly increased from 46 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2023. They also indicated that they were less scared to publicly hold hands if they had a same-sex partner, dropping from 61 to 54 percent.

However, the survey noted rather mixed results at schools in Europe.

LGBTIQ+ issues seem to feature more prominently in classrooms than before, with only 35 percent of teens saying that the topic was never addressed at school, compared to 47 percent in the previous survey.

But this increase comes coupled with a steep rise in bullying, with two-thirds of respondents reporting to have been bullied at school, up from less than half in 2019.