Being trans in the European Union : comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data.
Date: 2014-12-15
Institutions: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Subjects: comparative study, crime against individuals, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, fundamental rights, protection of freedoms, sexual discrimination

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EQUALITY

Being Trans in  
the European Union

Comparative analysis of  
EU LGBT survey data

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This report addresses matters related to human dignity (Article 1), life (Article 2), integrity of the person (Article 3), 
liberty and security (Article 6), respect for private and family life (Article 7), protection of personal data (Article 8), 
education (Article 14), equality before the law (Article 20), non-discrimination (Article 21), healthcare (Article 35), 
freedom of movement and of residence (Article 45) and an effective remedy and a fair trial (Article 47) falling 
under the Titles I ‘Dignity’, II ‘Freedoms’, III ‘Equality’, IV ‘Solidarity’ and VI ‘Justice’ of the Charter of Fundamental 
Rights of the European Union.

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2014

ISBN 978-92-9239-644-2 
doi:10.2811/92683

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Reproduction is authorised, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.

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Being Trans in  
the European Union

Comparative analysis of  
EU LGBT survey data

Foreword

“The Commission and Member States should be encouraged to regularly collect relevant and comparable data on the 
situation of LGBTI persons in the EU together with relevant agencies and Eurostat, while fully respecting EU data protection 
rules […] The Fundamental Rights Agency should assist Member States in improving their collection of comparable data 
about homophobic and transphobic hate crime”

European Parliament Resolution of 4 February 2014 on the EU Roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and 
gender identity (2013/2183(INI))

Before the turn of the century the topic of ‘transsexualism’ was studied on the margins of medical and legal scholarship. 
In the last 10 to 20 years, the social sciences have taken up ‘trans research’, while an ever increasing number of 
research networks and projects have also developed. 

FRA started its work on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons immediately after its 
creation in 2007, following a request by the European Parliament to collect data on discrimination against LGBT per-
sons and the situation regarding homophobia in the European Union (EU). In 2008, FRA published a first report on the 
legal situation. This research showed that, despite the lack of secondary EU law expressly prohibiting discrimination 
on grounds of sexual orientation in areas beyond employment, a number of Member States provide LGBT persons 
with better legal protection than the Employment Equality Directive. In 2009, a second report looked at the social 
situation of LGBT persons in the EU based on a review of official and non-official national data.

In 2010, FRA updated its comparative legal analysis, publishing the following year a summary of its socio-legal 
findings, including an analysis of trends, challenges and promising practices. This analysis showed an uneven and 
uncoordinated EU landscape. Member States’ approaches diverged with respect to the prohibition of discrimina-
tion on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. They also differ in how their criminal law deals with 
bias-motivated crimes against LGBT persons. Having mapped the legal situation and aspects of LGBT persons’ lived 
realities, FRA then undertook the first EU-wide survey on the rights of LGBT persons, publishing in 2013 the results, 
which are based on the responses of over 93,000 self-identified LGBT persons in the EU.

The European Commission and several Council of Europe bodies have supported policy-driven research on transgender 
persons. More specifically, through its Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 to member states on measures to combat 
discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers 
stressed the need to collect and analyse relevant data to monitor and redress any direct or indirect discrimination on 
the grounds of gender identity. In 2010, Equinet, the European network of equality bodies, published a report on the 
work of equality bodies in promoting equality for, and combating discrimination against, trans people at EU Member 
State level. FRA responded by including trans persons in its EU-wide LGBT survey, which for the first time provided 
EU-wide comparable data on the actual living conditions of trans people and the respect of their fundamental rights. 
This survey contains the largest data set on trans persons collected to date in Europe, providing an insight into the 
differences within the subgroups of trans respondents.

This report is published at a time when, as evidenced by FRA Annual reports, a growing number of EU Member 
States are initiating legal and/or policy changes regarding trans persons. At the EU level, the European Parliament 
has called on the European Commission, EU Member States and relevant agencies to work jointly on a policy to fully 
protect the fundamental rights of, among others, trans persons – the socalled EU Roadmap against homophobia and 
discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. In May 2013, on the International Day against 
Homophobia (IDAHO), Equality Ministers from 11 EU Member States signed a joint statement calling for a comprehen-
sive EUwide approach to LGBT issues, in which trans issues should receive the appropriate attention. 

Morten Kjaerum
Director

3

Country codes

Country code

Country

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HU

HR

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SK

SI

UK

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Germany

Denmark

Estonia

Greece

Spain

Finland

France 

Hungary

Croatia

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania 

Luxembourg

Latvia

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Sweden

Slovakia

Slovenia

United Kingdom

4

Contents

FOREWORD  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  9

INTRODUCTION  ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 13

FRA OPINIONS  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19

1  DISCRIMINATION: EXPERIENCES, AWARENESS, REPORTING AND PERCEPTIONS  ����������������������������������������������������� 21
1.1.  Research and policy context  ................................................................................................................................... 21
1.2.  What did the survey ask?  ........................................................................................................................................ 23
1.3.  Discrimination or harassment on the grounds of being trans  ..........................................................................  24
1.4.  Discrimination in employment  ...............................................................................................................................  27
1.5.  Discrimination in education  ....................................................................................................................................  34
1.6.  Discrimination in healthcare and social services  ................................................................................................. 41
1.7.  Discrimination in other goods and services available to the public  ................................................................ 44
1.8.  Reporting discrimination incidents and rights awareness  ................................................................................ 46

2  VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 51
2.1.  Research and policy context  ................................................................................................................................... 51
2.2.  What did the survey ask?  .......................................................................................................................................  53
2.3.  Violence and hate-motivated violence .................................................................................................................  53
2.4.  Harassment and hate-motivated harassment  .....................................................................................................  62

3  DAILY LIFE AS A TRANS PERSON  �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  77
3.1.  Research and policy context  ..................................................................................................................................  77
3.2.  What did the survey ask?  .......................................................................................................................................  78
3.3.  Living a trans life  ......................................................................................................................................................  79
3.4.  Awareness and openness about trans background  ........................................................................................... 86
3.5.  Perceived public attitudes, negative reactions and life satisfaction  ...............................................................  91

CONCLUSIONS  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  98

BIBLIOGRAPHY  ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  99

ANNEX 1: APPROACH AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 103
Survey method  .................................................................................................................................................................. 103
Data cleaning  .....................................................................................................................................................................  104
Analysis of the ‘other’ sub-identity  ...............................................................................................................................  104
Contradiction between birth sex and trans sub identity  ...........................................................................................  106
Results after data cleaning  .............................................................................................................................................  107

ANNEX 2: TRANS RESPONDENTS SAMPLE  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  109
Sample composition  .........................................................................................................................................................  109
Sample typology by subgroup  ........................................................................................................................................ 110
Sample typology by birth sex  .........................................................................................................................................  113
Sample typology by gender feelings, gender expression and gender wishes  .......................................................  113
Sexual orientation  .............................................................................................................................................................  117
Socio-economic status  ...................................................................................................................................................... 118

5

Figures and tables

Figure 3: 

Figure 6: 

Figure 1: 
Figure 2: 

Figure 4: 
Figure 5: 

Identity groups in the trans sample (%)  .....................................................................................................  16
 Respondents who felt discriminated against or harassed because of being 
perceived as trans in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  .............................................................  24
 Respondents who felt discriminated against or harassed because of being 
perceived as trans in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%)  ........................................................ 25
 Perceived frequency of discrimination, by lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (%)   .................................... 25
 Perceived level of discrimination on the grounds of gender identity, by 
respondents to the 2012 Eurobarometer and the 2012 EU LGBT survey (%)  .........................................  26
 Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when looking for a job or at 
work, by identity group (%)  ..........................................................................................................................  28
 Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when looking for a job or at 
work, by EU Member State (%)  ....................................................................................................................  29
Figure 8:  Openness about being trans at work in the last five years, by identity group (%)  .............................  30
Figure 9:  Openness about being trans at work, by identity group (%)  ..................................................................  30
Figure 10:  Positive measures and general openness at work (%)  ............................................................................. 31
Figure 11:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by identity group (%)  ...........................................................  32
Figure 12:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by EU Member State (%)  ...................................................... 33
Figure 13:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by openness at work (%)  ..................................................... 33
Figure 14:   Experienced negative comments or conduct at work because of being trans, by 

Figure 7: 

EU Member State (%)  ...................................................................................................................................... 35

Figure 15:   Feeling discriminated against by school/university personnel because of being 

trans in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  ....................................................................................  36

Figure 16:   Feeling discriminated against by school/university personnel because of being 

trans in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%) ...............................................................................  37
Figure 17:  Openness about being trans at secondary school, by identity group (%)  ............................................  38
Figure 18:  Openness about being trans at school, by identity group (%)  ................................................................  38
Figure 19:  Positive measures and general openness at school (%)  ..........................................................................  39
Figure 20:  School atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by identity group (%)  ........................................................  39
Figure 21:  School atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by EU Member State (%)  ................................................... 40
Figure 22:   Experienced negative comments or conduct at school because of being trans, by 

identity group (% often and always)  ............................................................................................................ 41

Figure 23:   Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when accessing healthcare or 

social services, by identity group (% yes)  ..................................................................................................  42
Figure 24:   Feeling discriminated when accessing healthcare in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%)  ...... 42
Figure 25:  Experiences when using or trying to access healthcare services as a trans person, 

by situation (%)  ...............................................................................................................................................  43

Figure 26:   Feeling discriminated against because of being trans in services available to the 

public in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  ...................................................................................  45
Figure 27:   Reporting of the most recent discrimination incident, by identity group (%)  ......................................  47
Figure 28:  Reporting of the last discrimination incident, by type (%)  ......................................................................  47
Figure 29:  Why most recent incident of discrimination was not reported (%)  ........................................................ 48
Figure 30:   Respondents not reporting discrimination incidents to avoid revealing their sexual 

orientation and/or gender identity (%)  ....................................................................................................... 48

Figure 31:  Prevalence of violence and threats of violence in the last five years and the last 

12 months, by identity group (%)  .................................................................................................................  54
Figure 32:  Number of incidents of violence in the last 12 months among trans respondents (%)  ......................  54
Figure 33:  Respondents who were attacked or threatened with physical and/or sexual 

violence in the last 12 months, by number of incidents and identity groups (%)  ................................  55
Figure 34:  Prevalence of hate-motivated violence in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  ........................  55
Figure 35:  Prevalence of hate-motivated violence in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%)  ..................  56
Figure 36:  Most recent incident of hate-motivated violence, by type of violence (%)  .........................................  56
Figure 37:  Most recent incident of hate-motivated attack or threat,by type of incident and 

identity group (%)  ...........................................................................................................................................  57

Figure 38:  Reporting to the police of the last and most serious hate-motivated incident of 

violence, by identity group (%)  .................................................................................................................... 60

Figure 39:  Reporting of the last and most serious hate-motivated violence to the police, by 

type of crime (%)  ............................................................................................................................................ 60
Figure 40: Prevalence of harassment in the last 12 months and the last five years, by identity group (%)  ......  63
Figure 41:  Respondents who were harassed one or more times in the last 12 months, 

by number of incidents and identity groups (%)  .......................................................................................  63

6

Figure 42:  Prevalence of hate-motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  .................. 64
Figure 43:  Prevalence of hate-motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%)  ............  65
Figure 44: Types of hate-motivated harassment (%)  ..................................................................................................  65
Figure 45:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate-motivated harassment to 

the police, by type of incident (%)  ............................................................................................................... 69

Figure 46: Avoiding gender expression or certain places for fear of assault, threat or 

harassment, by identity group (%)  ............................................................................................................... 71

Figure 47:  Avoiding gender expression or certain places for fear of assault, threat or 

harassment, by EU Member State (%) (age group 25–54) ........................................................................  72
Figure 48: Awareness of the possibility to change official documents to match the preferred gender (%)  ..... 80
Figure 49: Trans respondents who don’t know whether it is possible to change official 

documents to match preferred gender, by EU Member State (%) .......................................................... 80

Figure 50:  Trans respondents’ perceptions concerning requirements for changing official 

documents to match the preferred gender in their country of residence (%)  ...................................... 81

Figure 51:  Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months in a situation where it was 

necessary to show an official document stating the owner’s sex, by identity group (%)  .................  82

Figure 52:  Respondents’ perceptions concerning the possibility to have gender reassignment 

treatment or self-treatment, by EU Member State (%)  ............................................................................  83

Figure 53:  Trans respondents who did not seek psychological or medical help because they 

think they do not need it, by identity group (%)  .......................................................................................  85
Figure 54:  Reasons for not seeking psychological or medical help for being trans (% of cases)  ........................  85
Figure 55:  Trans respondents’ experiences when seeking help for being trans (% of cases)  ............................. 86
Figure 56:  Trans respondents on going abroad for medical treatment (%)  ............................................................. 86
Figure 57:  General openness in the private, professional and healthcare sphere, by identity 

group (%) open to most and open to all  ..................................................................................................... 89

Figure 58:  General openness in the private, professional and health care sphere, by EU 

Member State (% open to most and open to all)  ...................................................................................... 90

Figure 59:  Life satisfaction in the EU LGBT survey, by identity group, and in the European 

Working Conditions Survey 2009 (mean score on scale 1-10)  .................................................................  93
Figure 60: Life satisfaction by EU Member State (mean score on the scale from 1-10)  ......................................... 94
Figure A1:  Sub-identities within the trans respondents group (unweighted %)  ...................................................  104
Figure A2: Age distribution, by identity group (%)  ...................................................................................................... 119
Figure A3:  Education type (short form), by identity group, aged 25 and above (%)  ............................................  120
Figure A4: Economic activity status (short form), by identity group aged 25 and above (%)  ..............................  121
Figure A5: Household income, by identity group aged 25 and above (%) ............................................................... 123
Figure A6: Relationship status, by identity group (%)  ................................................................................................ 125
Figure A7:  Sex of partner, by identity group (%)  ......................................................................................................... 125
Figure A8: Proportion of respondents who have at least one child under the age of 18 living 

in the household, by identity group (%)  ...................................................................................................  126

Figure A9: Proportion of respondents who have at least one child under the age of 18 living 

in the household, by EU Member State (%)  ............................................................................................... 127

Table 1: 

Table 2: 

 Experienced negative comments or conduct at work because of being trans, by 
identity group (%)  ...........................................................................................................................................  34
 Experiences when using or trying to access healthcare services as a trans person, 
by identity group (%)  ..................................................................................................................................... 44
Trans respondents’ perception of the perpetrators of hate-motivated violence and 
threats of violence in the last 12 months (%)  .............................................................................................  58
Table 4: 
Location of incidents of hate-motivated violence and threat of violence in the last 12 months (%)  ..... 59
Table 5:  Reasons for not reporting hate-motivated incidents in the last 12 months to the police (%)  ............ 61
Table 6:  Reporting the last and the most serious hate-motivated incidents to organisations 

Table 3: 

other than the police (%)  ................................................................................................................................ 61

Table 7:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate-motivated violence to 

organisations other than the police (%)  ......................................................................................................  62
Table 8: 
Type of last hate-motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)  ...................... 66
Table 9:  Perpetrators of incidents of hate-motivated harassment (%)  ................................................................  67
Table 10:  Location of incidents of hate-motivated harassment (%)  ....................................................................... 68
Table 11:  Reasons for not reporting hate-motivated harassment to the police (%)  ............................................  70
Table 12:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate-motivated harassment to 

organisations other than the police (%)  ......................................................................................................  70

7

Table 13:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate-motivated harassment to 

organisations other than the police (%)  ....................................................................................................... 71

Table 14:  Avoiding being open about being trans at certain places for fear of assault, threat 

or harassment (%)  ..........................................................................................................................................  73

Table 15:  Perceptions of hatred and aversion by respondents who avoid expressing their 

(desired) gender (%)  ......................................................................................................................................  74
Table 16:  Perceptions of hatred and aversion by respondents who avoid certain places (%)  ............................  75
Table 17:  Seeking psychological or medical help for being a trans person (%)  .................................................... 84
Table 18:  Partner’s awareness of respondents’ trans identity or background  ......................................................  87
Table 19:  Awareness of respondents’ trans identity or background in the social 

environment of the respondents (%)  .......................................................................................................... 88

Table 20:  Trans respondents’ perceptions on whether or not a described course of conduct 

or situation is widespread in their country (%)  ..........................................................................................  91

Table 21:  Trans respondents who have experienced selected situations at least once in the 

last six months due to being perceived as LGBT, by identity group (%)  ................................................  92

Table 22:  Receiving negative reactions because of being perceived to behave often or 

almost always in too feminine or too masculine a way, by identity group (%)  ...................................  93
Table 23:  Respondents’ opinions on ways to enhance a comfortable life as trans person (%)  ......................... 96
Table 24:  Respondents who avoid certain places for fear of assault, threat or harassment 

because of being trans, by measures to promote respect for the human rights of 
trans persons (%)  ............................................................................................................................................ 96

Table 25:  Respondents who avoid expressing their gender or desired gender for fear of 

assault, threat or harassmented, by measures to promote respect for the human 
rights of trans persons (%)  ............................................................................................................................  97
Table A1:  Description and numbers of trans respondents, by EU Member State (unweighted N)  ...................  105
Table A2:  Description of trans respondents, before and after data cleaning, within country 

(unweighted %)  .............................................................................................................................................  107

Table A3:  Number of trans respondents before and after data cleaning, by EU Member State 

(unweighted)  .................................................................................................................................................  108

Table A4:  Sample size, by EU Member State (N) and their population aged 18 and above, the 

proportion of the number of cases in the sample relative to the total population 
aged 18 and above and weighted count  .................................................................................................... 110

Table A5:  Trans typology used in this report, by EU Member State (number of respondents), 

and percentage of all respondents within country (unweighted %)  .....................................................  111
Table A6:  Trans typology used in this report, by EU Member State (weighted %)  ...............................................  112
Table A7:  Birth sex, by identity group (unweighted n, weighted %)  ......................................................................  113
Table A8:  Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth, and gender 

belonging (how much they feel feminine and/or masculine) (%)  ......................................................... 114

Table A9:  Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth and gender 

expression (how much they feel feminine and/or masculine) (%)  .......................................................  115

Table A10: Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth, and gender wishes 

(how much they would like to be more feminine and/or masculine)  ................................................... 116
Table A11:  Sexual orientation, by identity group (%)  ..................................................................................................  117
Table A12:  Sexual partners in the last five years, by identity group (%)  .................................................................  117
Table A13: Sexual attraction, by identity group (%)  .................................................................................................... 118
Table A14: Age of respondents  ....................................................................................................................................... 118
Table A15:  Education type, by identity group  ............................................................................................................... 119
Table A16: Economic activity status, by identity group (%)  .......................................................................................  121
Table A17:  Employment, by EU Member State (%)  ...................................................................................................... 122
Table A18: Household income (%)  .................................................................................................................................. 122
Table A19: (continued)  .....................................................................................................................................................  124
Table A19: Income distribution of the trans sample, by EU Member State (%)  ...................................................... 123
Table A20: Place of residence, by identity group (%)  .................................................................................................  124
Table A21: Civil status, by identity group (%)  ..............................................................................................................  126

8

Executive summary

“As transgender, I feel it is crucial policy makers and 
healthcare providers understand there are more than 
just two extremes of the gender spectrum. There can be 
anything in between, and people can live a fulfilled life 
without being on either end of the spectrum, i.e. not fully 
man or woman. We need more understanding, but more 
importantly, more resources and legal support to live our 
lives equal to other people.” 

(Trans woman, 28, Netherlands)

The trans respondents – an umbrella term encompassing 
all survey respondents who self-identified with one of 
the trans subgroups listed in the survey1 – of the EU LGBT 
survey point to serious and repetitive victimisation in 
the EU. Frequent discrimination and victimisation, disre-
spect and maltreatment, prompt persistent feelings of 
fear among trans persons. They may, in reaction, avoid 
certain locations. They may also not disclose, hide or 
disguise their true gender identity. These phenomena 
are notably more intense when directed against trans 
than other lesbian gay or bisexual survey respondents.

The problems trans persons face in expressing freely 
their experienced gender reinforce the barriers to rec-
ognition of their preferred gender and perpetuate a lack 
of public awareness about the reality of trans persons’ 
identities and lives. They create a vicious circle of fear 
and ignorance, of intolerance and discrimination or even 
hate-motivated violence and crime. The personal and 
social  lives  of  trans  respondents  are  often  difficult 
and their presence more or less visible in different 
EU Member States. 

Where action plans, positive measures and equality 
policies combating discrimination are well developed 
and implemented, trans people are more open about 
their gender identity in the private, professional or other 
spheres. This finding underpins the long-standing argu-
ment that legal frameworks and policy instruments do 
count. They can have a positive impact on people’s 
lives, as they contribute to protecting and promoting 
fundamental rights and to advancing social norms and 
beliefs. 

Discrimination

Equal  and  full  social  participation  of  all  without 
discrimination  is  the  precondition  for  inclusive  and 
cohesive societies that take advantage of their human 

1 

The term ‘trans person’ is widely used by trans persons in 
Europe and the world. It was also chosen to avoid confusion 
with one of the possible identity groups from which the 
respondents could choose (‘transgender’).

capital and guarantee well-being and prosperity to 
all their members. In this regard, the EU LGBT survey 
results are worrying. They show that the equality of 
trans persons is, as yet, a hard-to-reach objective which 
requires decisive action at EU and Member State level. 

In the year preceding the survey more than half of all 
trans respondents (54 %), compared with 47 % of all 
LGBT respondents, felt personally discriminated against 
or harassed because they were perceived as trans. 
Those respondents who were young, not in paid work 
or from a low income class were more likely to feel 
discriminated against because of being trans.

Trans respondents were more likely to say they had 
felt discriminated against because of being trans in the 
year preceding the survey in employment – particularly 
when looking for a job – than in any other area of social 
life covered by the survey. One in three trans respond-
ents felt discriminated against because of being trans 
when looking for a job (37 %) or at work (27 %) in the 
12 months before the survey, which is more than twice 
the equivalent percentage of lesbian, gay and bisexual 
respondents. Trans women – the term used for a trans-
sexual person, or a woman with a transsexual past who 
was assigned a male sex at birth – are the most likely 
to have felt discriminated against, followed by trans 
men – the term used for a transsexual person, or a man 
with a transsexual past who was assigned a female sex 
at birth – and other trans categories.

Looking  at  the  data  on  discrimination  in  education 
shows that a quarter of trans respondents (24 %) who 
attended school/university themselves or have a child/
children in school/at university say that they felt dis-
criminated against by school or university personnel 
in the 12 months preceding the survey. When looking 
at trans students only, the number rises to 29 %. Male 
cross dressers (34 %) are the most likely to have felt 
discriminated against by school/university personnel. 
More than a quarter of the survey’s trans respond-
ents (28 %) say that they often or always experienced 
negative comments or conduct at school because of 
being trans. Trans men and queer/other respondents 
(respondents who do not identify with any of the cat-
egories presented in the survey, and chose to describe 
their gender identity as ‘other’) (both 44 %) experi-
enced negative comments or conduct at school due to 
their gender identity.

Around  one  in  five  respondents  who  accessed 
healthcare services (22 %) or social services (19 %) 
in the year preceding the survey indicated that they 
felt personally discriminated against by healthcare or 
social service personnel because of being trans. Trans 

9

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

respondents report this type of discrimination twice as 
often as lesbian, gay, and bisexual respondents. 

Turning to the reporting of incidents of discrimination 
to the police or elsewhere, only very small numbers of 
respondents reported the most recent incident. Trans 
people are, nevertheless, more likely to report their last 
experience of discrimination than other LGB groups. 
Comparing the different trans subgroups, trans women 
are the most likely to report incidents, and gender vari-
ant and female cross dressers the least likely. Report-
ing took place significantly more often, however, when 
the last incident happened at work (29 %). More than 
three in five trans respondents did not report the inci-
dent because they were convinced that nothing would 
happen  or  change,  and  half  of  them  because  they 
thought it was not worth reporting it. Trans respond-
ents were also concerned that the incident would not 
be taken seriously, and they did not want to reveal their 
sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Almost one 
in three (30 %) did not know how or where to report. 

Violence

The EU LGBT survey’s most striking result is the high 
level of repetitive violence and hate-motivated crime 
trans persons suffer,2 indicating the need to improve 
policies combating hate crime across the EU. 

The results show that the annual incidence rate of vio-
lence or harassment is around one incident per two trans 
respondents, which is twice as high as the incidence 
rates for lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents. This 
means that one in two trans persons indicate that they 
were attacked or targeted through violence, threats 
or insults in the year preceding the survey. About two 
in five (44 %) trans respondents who were victims of 
violence in the 12 months preceding the survey indi-
cate that this happened three or more times during 
this period. A breakdown by identity group shows that 
female and male cross dressers are most likely to have 
suffered multiple violent incidents (three times or more) 
in this period. 

With regard to violence suffered for any reason and 
not only due to the respondents’ gender identity, trans 
respondents are the most likely of all LGBT groups to say 
they were attacked or threatened with violence in both 
the five-year and one-year time periods asked about 
in the survey. In the five years preceding the survey, 
34 % of all trans respondents experienced violence or 
were threatened with violence, and 15 % experienced 
violence or the threat of violence in the 12 months pre-
ceding the survey. These violent incidents may have 
taken place for any reason, not only due to respondent’s 

2 

FRA (2012).

10

gender identity. A breakdown by identity group shows 
high numbers of violent incidents in the 12 months pre-
ceding the survey, ranging from 40 % for queer/other 
respondents up to 50 % for male cross dressers.

About one in 10 (8 %) trans respondents were physically 
or sexually attacked or threatened with violence which 
they think happened partly or entirely because they 
were perceived to be trans. In the 12 months preceding 
the survey, hate-motivated violence was mostly likely 
among trans women (16 %), male cross dressers (14 %) 
and transgender respondents (11 %). Among all the 
LGBT survey respondents the trans respondents are 
the most likely to report to the police hate-motivated 
violence. One out of five reported the most recent hate-
motivated incident (21 %) and one in four the most 
serious one (24 %) to the police. 

A breakdown by identity groups shows that trans men 
are the least likely to report incidents of violence to the 
police for both the last and the most serious incident. 
Female cross dressers are the most likely to report the 
last hate-motivated incident of violence of the previous 
year (37 %). Trans women are the most likely to report 
the most serious incident of violence of the previous 
five years (32 %).

Perpetrators of violence and harassment are in most 
cases unknown males acting in groups. The hate-moti-
vated incidents take place almost as often indoors as 
outdoors, while hate-motivated harassment occurs 
slightly more often in indoor public spaces. Of all out-
door locations, trans respondents most often mention 
incidents in a street, square, car park or other public 
place. Of all indoor locations, hate-motivated violence 
happened most often at home, whereas hate-motivated 
harassment happened most often at the workplace. 
One in 10 of the most recent incidents of harassment 
took place on the internet or by email, including Face-
book and Twitter. 

Living as a trans person

The survey data show that many trans people grow up 
and live in a social environment which is mostly una-
ware of trans people’s existence and needs. When the 
fear, caused by persistent victimisation and discrimina-
tion, collides with the ignorance of others – including 
one’s own family, work or social environment – hiding 
or avoiding visibility serves as a defensive measure. But 
this choice inevitably reinforces a lack of recognition 
and acknowledgement of trans persons’ rights. Stereo-
types and ignorance about the reality of the daily lives 
and rights of trans persons perpetuate negative public 
attitudes and maltreatment of varying intensity; from 
idiotic jokes and offensive language to serious harass-
ment and exclusion. In this way, an invisible cage is 

Executive summary

created, erecting barriers to equality and compromising 
the lives of trans persons. Ultimately, as trans respond-
ents noted, they are citizens who feel that they are not 
allowed to be themselves.

Four in five trans respondents say that positive meas-
ures to promote respect for the human rights of trans 
people, such as equality plans, public campaigns or 
specialised  services,  are  very  or  fairly  rare  in  their 
country of residence. One in eight trans respondents 
indicate that they often or almost always receive nega-
tive reactions because they are perceived to behave 
in a manner that is too feminine or masculine. Living 
in a trans-negative environment leads trans persons 
to adapt their expression and behaviour. One third of 
all trans respondents (32 %) avoid expressing their 
gender – or their desired gender –  through physical 
appearance and clothing for fear of being assaulted, 
threatened or harassed. In addition, half of the trans 
respondents report that they avoid certain places or 
locations because of these fears.

The survey found that almost one in five respondents 
avoid being open about being trans even in their own 
home, and six in 10 avoid being open in public trans-
port. These findings underline how the daily life of trans 
people is affected by the general public’s social views 

and reactions towards trans people. This makes them 
unable to enjoy the right to respect for private life, 
which encompasses the right to express one’s identity 
in all areas of life, including in public. Over nine in 10 
respondents (94 %) say that if national authorities pro-
moted the rights of trans people they could live more 
comfortably as a trans person.

The lack of identity documents that conform with one’s 
gender identity or expression can lead to discrimina-
tion. One in three trans respondents felt discriminated 
against when showing their identification card or other 
official document that identifies their sex. Almost nine 
in 10 (87 %) say that easier legal procedures for gender 
recognition in their preferred gender would help them 
to live a more comfortable life. Nine in 10 (92 %) say 
that were public figures in politics, business and sports 
to speak out openly in support of transgender people 
that would also help. 

The results show that trans respondents are less likely 
to avoid expressing their gender if their country of resi-
dence has adopted positive measures to promote the 
respect for the human rights of trans people through, 
for example, equality plans, public campaigns or spe-
cialised services.

11

Introduction

The EU LGBT survey and the 
specific experiences of trans 
persons
The  Eurovision  Song  Contest  results  in  2014  stirred 
a lively debate on gender and sexuality in many coun-
tries. Voting for Austrian winner Conchita Wurst, who 
describes herself as a ‘bearded lady’, was seen as a 
vote against homophobia and transphobia. Her case 
illustrates the impossibility of corralling gender vari-
ant expressions and/or identity into socially acceptable 
male or female norms or even described in words.

At a time when Facebook offers more than 50 options 
for choosing a personal gender marker, it becomes clear 
that gender feelings cannot be shoehorned into ‘female’ 
and ‘male’ boxes. As more trans persons openly refuse 
to identify as either male or females, the survey results 
make clear that gender discussions, whether general 
ones in society or those on specific legal and policy 
measures, must move beyond those boxes.

By illuminating the daily life of trans persons in the 
European Union (EU) and its Member States, the rich-
ness and the comparable nature of the survey data pre-
sented in this report make this possible. Drawing on the 
wealth of results from the EU lesbian, gay, bisexual and 
transgender (LGBT) survey, conducted by the European 
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2012, the 
report analyses the lived reality of 6,597 self-declared 
trans respondents. The survey data represent the larg-
est collection of empirical evidence of its kind to date to 
shed light on transgender persons’ experiences across 
various life spheres.

The report analyses transgender persons’ experiences 
with regard to discrimination, harassment and violence. 
It examines the opinions and views of transgender 
respondents aged 18 years and above who were inter-
net users, were informed about the survey and decided 
to participate in it. Although the survey results cannot 
be considered representative of all trans people in the 
EU, the provide insight into the challenges transgender 
people face and thereby provide support to politicians 
and policy makers aiming to tackle the problems the 
respondents describe and to craft policies and laws that 
better promote their fundamental rights. 

The survey stems from a European Commission request 
from 2010, made in response to calls from the Euro-
pean Parliament. The Commission asked FRA to collect 
comparable survey data on hate crime and discrimina-
tion against LGBT persons in all EU Member States. FRA 
developed the ‘European Union survey of discrimination 

and victimisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen-
der persons’, which was launched online on 2 April 2012 
and ran until 15 July 2012. A large number of respond-
ents (93,079) took part in the survey, providing a wealth 
of comparable data on their opinions and experiences. 
The EU LGBT survey is the largest conducted to date of 
LGBT persons. 

The areas covered by the survey were identified in 
cooperation  with  relevant  stakeholders.  Since  this 
survey is comparative and was carried out simulta-
neously in all EU Member States, the existing inter-
national and EU legal standards formed an important 
starting point for these discussions. At the interna-
tional level, some United Nations (UN) treaty bodies, 
drawing on the relevant UN conventions, have placed 
gender identity on open-ended lists of discrimination 
grounds. At the EU level, the Charter of Fundamental 
Rights of the European Union prohibits discrimination 
based on sexual orientation – but not on gender iden-
tity. Trans persons are protected from discrimination 
on the ground of ‘sex’ in the EU Charter. This is in line 
with the related jurisprudence of the Court of Justice 
of the European Union (CJEU), which is based on the EU 
Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment 
between men and women in the access to and supply of 
goods and services (Gender Goods and Services Direc-
tive). Such protection exists provided that discrimination 
arises from gender reassignment and concerns the area 
of employment.3 In addition, the Council of Europe’s 
Recommendation Rec(2010)5 on measures to combat 
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or 
gender identity sets out practical measures to guar-
antee the fundamental rights of LGBT persons, start-
ing from the right to life, security and protection from 
violence. It also encompasses the freedom of associa-
tion, expression and peaceful assembly, the right to 
respect for private and family life, and equal treatment 
in various areas of social life including employment, 
education, health, housing and sports.4 The results in 
this report are presented in the context of and in rela-
tion to existing legal standards.

The target group of the EU LGBT survey were persons 
who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgen-
der. The survey examines issues of equal treatment and 
discrimination on two grounds, namely sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity. This analysis compares the 
results for the total group of trans respondents with 
those for lesbian women, bisexual women, gay men 

3 

The Gender Equality Directive (recast) 2006/54/EC, adopted 
on 5 July 2006, prohibits discrimination on the grounds of 
sex in the field of employment, covering also discrimination 
arising from the gender reassignment of a person (rec. 3).

4  Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers (2010). 

13

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

and bisexual men in the EU LGBT Survey. Main Results 
and the Results at a glance reports.5 These reports show 
that, with few exceptions, trans respondents indicate 
the highest levels of experiences of discrimination, 
harassment and violence amongst the different LGBT 
groups. Furthermore, some of the results of the trans 
groups follow different patterns than those of lesbian, 
bisexual or gay respondents. For instance, whereas LGB 
respondents who openly express their sexual orienta-
tion are less likely to indicate discrimination experi-
ences, this is not true for the trans respondents who 
openly express their gender identity. These and other 
(diverging) patterns identified in the report signal a 
need for more in-depth analysis of the experiences of 
trans persons experiences. 

The  present  report  analyses  the  experiences  with 
regards to equal treatment, discrimination and vio-
lence of 6,579 trans respondents from the FRA EU LGBT 
survey. The survey represents the opinions and views 
of trans respondents aged 18 and above who were 
internet users, were informed about the survey and 
decided to participate in it. Although the results cannot 
be considered representative of all trans people in the 
EU, they constitute the largest collection of empirical 
evidence of its kind to date. 

Who are trans persons? 

The  gender  that  we  are  officially  assigned  at  birth 
(male or female) is based upon our physical features. 
This might not, however, match our gender identity – 
that is, the way we feel and think about our gender. 
A trans person is someone who identifies with a dif-
ferent gender and/or expresses their gender identity 
differently from the gender that they were assigned 
at birth.

This report uses ‘trans’ as a short-hand term to refer to 
persons whose gender identity and/or gender expres-
sion differs from the sex assigned them at birth. The 
term can cover many gender identities. The survey 
listed a number of such sub-categories: transsexual, 
transgender, cross dresser, gender variant, queer or 
differently gendered people. 

It  also  allowed  respondents  to  select  the  category 
‘other’ and describe their identity in their own words. 
The report uses ‘trans’ to refer to the total sample 
of transgender survey respondents, irrespective of 
the sub-category of their trans identity, in line with 
common practice among trans people in Europe. Non-
governmental  organization  (NGO)  and  EU  network 
Transgender Europe (TGEU), as well as other interna-
tional LGBT networks and organisations, such as the 

5 

FRA (2013a) and FRA (2014a).

14

International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) use 
‘trans’  as  an  umbrella  term  encompassing  various 
categories of gender variant people. According to the 
TGEU, the term ‘Trans people’ “includes those people 
who have a gender identity which is different to the 
gender assigned at birth and those people who wish to 
portray their gender identity in a different way to the 
gender assigned at birth. It includes those people who 
feel they have to, or prefer or choose to, whether by 
clothing, accessories, cosmetics or body modification, 
present themselves differently to the expectations of 
the gender role assigned to them at birth. This includes, 
among  many  others,  transsexual  and  transgender 
people, transvestites, cross dressers, no gender and 
genderqueer people.”6 

The concepts of gender identity and gender expression 
used here are based on principles and legal standards 
that apply international human rights law to sexual ori-
entation and gender identity issues. These standards, 
known as the Yogyakarta Principles, were developed by 
international human rights experts from the UN human 
rights system and treaty bodies, judges, academics and 
NGO representatives.7 Other, more medical, terms are 
derived from the Standards of Care for the Health of 
Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming 
People, Version 7 compiled by the World Professional 
Association of Transgender Care (WPATH).8 

Gender identity: “each person’s deeply felt internal and 
individual experience of gender, which may or may not 
correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including 
the personal sense of the body (which may involve, 
if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or 
function by medical, surgical or other means) and other 
expressions of gender, including dress, speech and 
mannerisms”.9 Those whose gender identity does not 
correspond with the sex assigned at birth are commonly 
referred to as trans persons. This group includes persons 
who wish at some point in their life to undergo gender 
reassignment treatments, who are usually referred to 
as transsexual persons. It also includes persons who 
‘cross-dress’ or do not, as well as those who do not want 
to consider themselves as either ‘men’ or ‘women’. 
Some refer to themselves as ‘gender variant’. 

Gender expression: a person’s manifestation of gender 
identity, for example through ‘masculine’, ‘feminine’ 
or ‘gender variant’ behaviour, clothing, haircut, voice 
or body characteristics. Trans persons may choose to 
express their gender identity in different ways. Since 
experiences of homophobia, transphobia and discrimi-
nation on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender 

International Commission of Jurists (2007).

6  http://tgeu.net/. 
7 
8  Coleman, E .et al (2012).
9 

International Commission of Jurists. (2007).

identity are often rooted in social perceptions of gender 
roles, which this survey has also covered. 

of) trans persons and ensure the protection of their 
fundamental rights. 

Introduction

Trans persons may face discrimination and hate crime 
on  grounds  of  their  gender  identity  and/or  gender 
expression. Gender identity is not a sexual orienta-
tion. Due to a lack of knowledge on transgenderism, 
social reactions to trans people sometimes confuse 
the expression of gender identity with sexual orien-
tation. But like everyone else, trans people can have 
any kind of sexual orientation.Trans, gay, bisexual and 
lesbian people share the disadvantage of being differ-
ent than the socially predominant(heterosexual) norms 
for women and men. The data presented in this report 
focus on the experiences of 6,579 self-identified trans 
respondents of the FRA EU LGBT survey10 with respect 
to their experiences of discrimination, violence and har-
assment, and to their opinions. It applies concepts used 
by international treaty bodies and other human rights 
mechanisms, outlined in Annex 1.11 

The  meaning  of  ‘being  a  trans  person’  or  ‘a  trans 
respondent’ may vary across those surveyed. For some 
it might suggest a current and vivid trans identity, for 
others, it might reflect only a small part of their life. 
For still others, it may relate to a past with which they 
no longer identify but which still has repercussions in 
their daily life.

By investigating the specific situation of trans people 
in the EU, FRA can report on the lived experiences of 
this very diverse group within different areas of life.
The report thus provides EU institutions and Member 
States, as well as other key stakeholders, with reli-
able and comparable data that facilitate the develop-
ment of more targeted and effective legal and policy 
responses to address the needs of (different groups 

10  The EU LGBT survey gathered 6,771 completed responses 
from self-identified trans persons. This report analyses 
their responses in more detail, including the answers to the 
open question where they had the opportunity to be more 
detailed about their experiences and views. This careful 
reading led to a repositioning of some respondents into 
different sub identity groups than those they had initially 
indicated elsewhere in the survey. This was mostly the 
case for those respondents who – after self-identifying as 
a trans person – chose the sub identity ‘other’. The detailed 
description of the personal sense of belonging that these 
respondents gave often matched the description of one of 
the listed response categories. In other cases, the analysis 
of the open answers led to the decision not to count the 
respondent as a trans person. As a result, this report lists a 
slightly different total number of trans respondents, as well 
as small differences in the number of respondents belonging 
to the different sub identity groups, compared with the 
EU LGBT survey. Main results report and the Survey at a 
glance report. The report’s annexes provide more detail on 
this process.

11  For example, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for 

Human Rights, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and 
Cultural Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights.

How many people are trans?

The exact proportion of trans persons in the total popu-
lation of a certain state or region is not known. States do 
not register trans persons, nor does every trans persons 
pursue an (open) medical and/or legal path that leaves a 
record.12 So far, crude estimates of the proportion of the 
trans population have relied on indirect methods, such 
as clinical reports. The latter describe research results 
of patients undergoing certain medical procedures, such 
as hormonal treatment or surgery, but they necessarily 
underestimate the overall prevalence of trans people, 
since not all pursue medical treatment. Even when med-
ical treatment is desired, other obstacles might hinder 
trans people from taking action. These may stem from 
fears related to employment (losing a job), family life 
(losing a partner, contact with children or rejection by 
parents) or other people’s opinions and reactions. 

Studies of the general population that measure feelings 
of gender identity offer a more accurate idea of the 
proportion of trans people. Such studies are rare, but 
scientific work has investigated how such question(s) 
could be formulated to be integrated in large scale pop-
ulation studies. Recent studies in the Netherlands and 
Belgium measured feelings of ambivalent gender iden-
tity (equal identification with the other sex as with the 
sex assigned at birth) and incongruent gender identity 
(stronger identification with the other sex than with the 
sex assigned at birth) among the general population. 
Results of these studies show that between 2.2 % and 
4.6 % of natal men, and 1.9 % and 3.2 % of natal women 
reported an ambivalent gender identity. Between 0.7 % 
and 1.1 % of natal men and 0.6 % and 0.8 % of natal 
women reported an incongruent gender identity. These 
findings indicate that the phenomenon of gender non-
conforming feelings is much more widespread than 
often thought.

12  As referred by the German Constitutional Court (ruling n. 1 
BvL 3/03 of 6.12.2005) according to the German Society for 
Sexual Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sexualforschung, 
DGfS), and its Journal, Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung (2001), 
p. 258 [264], only 20 %–30 % of trans persons do not aspire 
to undergo gender reassignment.

15

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

TRANS RESPONDENTS IN THE EU LGBT SURVEY

Characteristics of trans respondents surveyed

The trans respondents:

•   are on average young, with seven out of 10 respondents from 18 to 39 years of age (average: 34 years of age);
•   fall into diverse subgroups (identity groups), with twice as many trans women as trans men, and with al-

most as many female as male cross dressers; 

•   are just as often well- as less- educated;
•   tend to fall into the lower income quartile more often than the general population;
•   describe their sexual orientation as bisexual or gay, or use different terms;
•   tend not to be in a relationship, with one third living in a single household;
•   live more often in an urban environment. 

The trans sample of the survey is very diverse. It differs in the chosen sub-identities, the current feeling of being 
a man, a woman or something else (gender belonging), gender expression and the ways in which respondents 
have tried to live according to their gender identity (openness/social and/or medical transition). More detail can 
be found in Annex 1. 

Previous research in the field of trans studies describes differences in the lives of trans women, trans men and 
other trans persons. This is the first time, however, that an EU-wide study makes it possible to compare dif-
ferent subgroups of trans people.Unlike in most trans research to date, the EU LGBT sample contains sufficient 
numbers of certain subgroups, such as cross dressers, to ensure they remain visible. The survey results, contain, 
for example, enough cross dressers to allow comparisons between female and male cross dressers (Figure 1).

Figure 1: 

Identity groups in the trans sample (%)

39

17

9

4

4

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross
dressers

Male cross
dressers

11

16

Questions: 

Computed variable on the following survey questions:

A2. What sex were you assigned at birth? Female/Male.

A3. Are / were you a transgender person? Yes. 

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

 A3.1 Please select the one answer that fits you the best. 1 Transgender 2 Transsexual 3 Woman with a transsexual 
past 4 Man with a transsexual past 5 Gender variant 6 Cross dresser 7 Queer 8 Other, please write here:…

 The respondents in the categories ‘transgender’ and ‘transsexual’ were regrouped as trans men and women – for 
more details see Annex 2.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey. 

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Note: 

Base: 

Source: 

Given the diversity of trans persons, the analysis examines the different groups in the knowledge that the fun-
damental rights issues affecting trans women, trans men, female cross dressers, male cross dressers, transgen-
der, gender variant and queer/other persons may be profoundly different. These groups correspond to the terms 
self-selected by trans respondents. The experiences of trans persons are also affected by their educational and 
socioeconomic background and other characteristics, which the analysis takes into account where relevant.

Half of the trans respondents are highly educated (college, university or higher degrees, 53 %). Half of the trans 
respondents (51 %) indicate that they are in paid work, which includes those on temporary leave. One in four 

16

 
 
 
Introduction

respondents is a student (24 %) and 13 % are unemployed. Small segments of the sample are doing unpaid or 
voluntary work, are retired or otherwise not working. 

The income distribution of the total LGBT sample corresponds to that of the general population,13 with about 
a  quarter  of  the  respondents  belonging  to  each  category.  Trans  respondents  are,  however,  more  likely  than 
other LGB groups to report household income in the bottom quartile and less likely to report incomes in the top 
quartile. 

About half of the respondents in all trans groups indicate that, at the time of the survey, they were not in a re-
lationship (48 %) and the majority indicate that their civil status is single (75 %). One in seven respondents are 
married or living in registered partnerships (15 %). 

The survey adopted a weighting methodology, to counterbalance the absence of reliable statistics on the pro-
portionate size of the trans population in the EU and to mitigate the effects of the overrepresentation of some 
countries in the total sample.14

13

14

13  Derived from the European Social Survey (ESS) income 
distribution results, see Annex 2 for more details.
14  This procedure ensures that the opinions of the trans 

respondents from each country are represented in the 
survey results proportionally according to the country’s 
population. For this purpose, it was presumed that the 
percentage proportion of the trans respondents and the 
trans subgroups among all survey respondents are the same 
in each EU Member State and calculations were based on this 
assumption. For full description see Annex 2.

17

FRA opinions

Drawing on the findings presented in this report, FRA 
has formulated the following opinions, which aim to 
support EU institutions and EU Member States in intro-
ducing and implementing legislative and policy meas-
ures that respect and safeguard the fundamental rights 
of trans persons.

Strengthening EU action and 
national responses
The EU and its Member States are encouraged – drawing 
from the evidence of this survey and the experience 
and existing promising practices in some EU Member 
States – to address trans issues. They should, in particu-
lar, consider gender identity and gender expression as 
protected grounds in human rights and anti-discrim-
ination policies, action plans and awareness-raising 
campaigns. 

As this survey has found that discrimination and vio-
lence may often happen due to a person’s nonconform-
ing gender expression, the EU Strategy for equality 
between  women  and  men  should  be  enhanced  to 
include  actions  combating  gender  stereotypes  and 
discrimination on grounds of gender identity, gender 
expression and transphobia.

Ensuring legal gender 
recognition
As the survey has shown, obtaining identity documents 
matching  their  gender  identity  and  expression  is  a 
problem that hinders normal social life for many trans 
respondents. EU Member States should ensure the full 
legal recognition of a person’s preferred gender, includ-
ing the change of first name, social security number and 
other gender indicators on identity documents. 

Gender recognition procedures should be accessible, 
transparent and efficient, ensuring respect for human 
dignity and freedom. In particular, divorce and medi-
cal interventions, such as sterilisation, should not be 
required in legal gender recognition processes.

EU Member States should fully recognise documents 
and decisions issued by other EU Member States in the 
area of legal gender recognition, to facilitate the enjoy-
ment of trans persons’ right to freedom of movement 
in the EU.

Fighting discrimination 
against trans persons

Discrimination in employment and 
access to goods and services

The survey results show a strikingly strong correlation 
between gender expression and discrimination expe-
riences. When revising current equality legislation or 
adopting new legislation in that area, the EU legisla-
tor should ensure that the legislation also covers dis-
crimination based on gender identity. The current legal 
protection granted by EU law to those who intend, are 
undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment 
should be extended to all trans persons. 

The survey shows that very few trans respondents 
report the discrimination incidents they experience 
to the authorities. The EU should continue to monitor 
closely the effectiveness of national complaints bodies 
and procedures in the context of the implementation 
of the Gender Equality Directive (2006/54/EC recast) 
and Gender Equality Directive on Goods and Services 
(2004/113/EC). EU Member States should ensure that 
equality bodies and other national complaints mecha-
nisms are adequately mandated and resourced in order 
to increase awareness of discrimination on the grounds 
of gender identity and improve reporting of incidents. 

EU Member States should ensure that the public sector 
develops and implements diversity strategies and equal 
treatment policies in full respect of privacy, sharing 
experiences and good practices addressing the needs 
of trans persons. This may be achieved by, for exam-
ple, adoptng codes of conduct and facilitating changes 
in name and gender markers on employment-related 
documents. Member States should encourage efforts by 
trade unions and employers’ organisations to improve 
diversity and non-discrimination policies on the grounds 
of gender identity at the workplace and in vocational 
training institutions.

Discrimination in education

The survey shows that education is an area where trans 
respondents experience bullying and negative reactions 
because of their gender expression or identity. The EU 
should help combating bully of trans persons in schools 
whether of students or parents, as part of its efforts 
to combat gender stereotypes through the EU Strategy 
for equality between women and men. The EU’s Pro-
gramme for Education should encourage peer learning 
among EU Member States and promote existing best 
practices tackling transphobic bullying. 

19

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

EU Member States should ensure that schools provide 
a safe and supportive environment for trans persons, 
free from discrimination, bullying and exclusion. Schools 
should be encouraged to adopt general anti-bullying 
policies that include trans issues. 

crime (the EU Victims’ Directive), the European Com-
mission should pay particular attention as to whether 
gender identity or gender expression are adequately 
included as personal characteristics of victims in indi-
vidual assessments.

The competent public authorities, such as equality bodies, 
national human rights institutions and children’s ombud-
spersons, should be properly mandated, resourced and 
encouraged to explore cases of bullying and discrimina-
tion on grounds of gender identity in education. 

EU Member States should ensure that objective informa-
tion on gender identity and gender expression is part of 
school curricula, to encourage respect and understand-
ing among staff and students and to raise awareness 
of the problems faced by trans persons. EU Member 
States should provide training to educational profes-
sionals on how to approach trans issues in education 
and on how to deal with incidents of transphobic bul-
lying and harassment. 

Discrimination and access to health

As the survey shows, about one in five respondents who 
accessed healthcare services or social services in the 
year preceding the survey felt discriminated against by 
healthcare or social service personnel because of being 
trans. EU Member States should ensure that adequate 
training and awareness raising is offered to healthcare 
practitioners and health insurance personnel on the 
health needs of trans persons to eliminate prejudices 
and improve the provision of services to trans persons. 

EU Member States should consider ensuring that trans-
specific healthcare services are available and that trans 
persons can enjoy equal and respectful treatment when 
accessing healthcare services. Member States should 
consider facilitating gender confirming treatment, and, 
where this is unavailable, promoting access to such 
treatment in an EU Member State that offers it.

EU  Member  States  should  reference  trans-specific 
healthcare in their national health plans and policies 
and ensure that health surveys, training curricula and 
health policies also take into account trans persons and 
their needs. 

Combating hate-motivated 
violence and harassment 
against trans persons

When assessing national legislation transposing Direc-
tive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum stand-
ards on the rights, support and protection of victims of 

When  implementing  the  EU  Victims’  Directive, 
EU Member States should pay attention to the protec-
tion needs of victims of crimes committed because of 
the victim’s gender identity (in accordance with the 
Recitals 9, 17 and 56 of the Directive). EU Member States 
should ensure that throughout the criminal proceed-
ings, in accordance with the Article 21 of the EU Victims’ 
Directive, the right to protection of privacy of transgen-
der persons, including previous names and gender, is 
fully respected. 

EU Member States should consider enacting criminal law 
provisions which afford protection against transphobic 
crimes and ensure that law enforcement authorities are 
trained to tackle transphobic crime effectively, which 
includes raising awareness on trans issues.

EU Member States should address the underreporting 
of hate crime, including crimes against trans persons, 
as underlined by the December 2013 Justice and Home 
Affairs Council Conclusions on combating hate crime 
which  reflected  the  conclusions  of  the  2013  Vilnius 
FRA Fundamental Rights Conference. Member States 
are called upon to take appropriate measures to facili-
tate hate crime reporting by victims and as far as pos-
sible also through associations that support them. This 
should include measures to build trust in police and other 
state institutions. Law enforcement authorities should 
therefore be trained on how to handle cases reported 
by trans persons, particularly concerning victims’ sup-
port and the systematic recording of incidents. Practices 
such as ‘third party reporting’, engaging civil society 
organisations through multi-agency partnerships, could 
also be considered to improve reporting rates. 

EU Member States should ensure that law enforcement 
authorities properly record, investigate and prosecute 
hate-motivated crimes based on gender identity and 
gender  expression  in  line  with  ongoing  efforts  to 
improve  and  approximate  data  collection  on  crime 
(such as the Eurostat Working Group on Statistics on 
Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics in the framework 
of the EU Statistics Action Plan 2011–2015). To develop 
evidence-based legal and policy measures, Member 
States should collect statistics on numbers and types 
of crime and gender identity of victims (in accordance 
with Article 28 and Recitals 56 and 64 of the Direc-
tive 2012/29/EU) as well as on the number of convicted 
offenders and the type of sentence imposed.

20

1 

Discrimination: experiences, 
awareness, reporting 
and perceptions

1�1�  Research and policy 

context

The  principle  of  equal  treatment  constitutes  a  fun-
damental EU value, ensuring both respect for human 
dignity and full participation for all on an equal footing 
in economic, cultural and social life. Article 21 of the 
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 
prohibits  “any  discrimination  based  on  any  ground 
such as sex […]”. EU-wide protection of trans persons 
against discrimination is secured in the area of employ-
ment and occupation, as interpreted by the CJEU. In its 
jurisprudence, the CJEU has held that that right covers 
persons who underwent, are undergoing or intend to 
undergo gender reassignment. The EU has legal compe-
tence under Article 19 of theTreaty on the Functioning 
of the European Union (TFEU) to legislate in the area of 
equality and thereby actively combat discrimination. 
The Racial Equality Directive and the Employment Direc-
tive are primary examples of this.15 Member States have 
a legal obligation to transpose this legislation and to set 
up structures to combat discrimination and to promote 
equal treatment in employment.

As the Council of Europe indicates, discrimination can 
take place in many areas of life. It may have far-reach-
ing consequences for trans persons’ ability to obtain a 
school diploma, find a job and maintain a secure and 
certain standard of living. At an early age, discrimination 
on the grounds of gender identity already contributes 
to isolation, underachievement and malaise, and may 
even lead to suicide attempts.16 Research published in 
2006 shows that young trans persons encounter all 

15  Article 19 of the Founding Treaty of the European Union.  

See also: FRA (2013b).

16  See Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2010)5 of the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to 
combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or 
gender identity, 31 March 2010.

Main findings

• 

• 

 The level of perceived discrimination EU trans respondents 
report is alarming, especially in the area of employment. 
More than half of all trans respondents felt discriminated 
against or harassed because they were perceived as trans in 
the year preceding the survey. Respondents who are young, 
not in paid work or from a lower income class, are more likely 
to indicate feeling discriminated against.

 The more open trans respondents are about being or having 
been trans, the more likely they are to indicate that they 
have felt discriminated against in the year preceding the 
survey. 

• 

 Discrimination happened more often in employment than in 
any other area of social life covered by the survey:

•  Employment: over one in three trans respondents felt 
discriminated against because of being trans when 
looking for a job (37 %), and a quarter (27 %) reported 
discrimination at work.

•  Education: a quarter of trans respondents who attend 

school/university themselves or have a child/children in 
school/at university, say they felt personally discriminated 
against by school or university personnel in the 12 months 
preceding the survey. When looking at trans students only, 
the number rises to 29 %. 

•  Healthcare: around one in five respondents who accessed 
healthcare services (22 %) or social services (19 %) in the 
year preceding the survey felt healthcare or social service 
personnel discriminated against them because of being 
trans. 

•  Goods and services: being young, unemployed and/or from 
a lower income class increases the chances the respondent 
felt discriminated against in the year preceding the survey.

• 

 Only very small numbers of respondents reported their last 
incident (15 %). That figure rose substantially when the last 
incident took place at work (29 %). 

21

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

• 

 The reasons for not reporting are diverse. A large proportion 
of persons are convinced that nothing would happen or 
change, that it’s not worth it or that the incident would not 
be taken seriously. Some said they were unwilling to reveal 
their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Emotional 
reasons were also mentioned, such as shame or fear. Almost 
one in three (30 %) did not know how or where to report the 
incident.

sorts of problems in secondary and higher education, 
including personal safety problems, problems in the 
use of toilet facilities and access to healthcare. They 
may face difficulties in declaring and obtaining their 
preferred gender on their school ID pass.17 Moreover, 
an online survey and qualitative review has indicated 
that trans youth perform worse at school, and some 
even drop out.18 Major studies on trans youths’ lives in 
Europe are, however, lacking. 

Research  shows  that  later  in  life,  one  of  the  most 
problematic areas is employment. It is also one of the 
most important. Employment status may be an inde-
pendent predictor of physical and mental function-
ing in both trans women and men.19 According to the 
2008 Transgender Eurostudy, 40 % of trans women and 
36 % of trans men respondents were in paid work, 
considerably below the average European employ-
ment rates of 57 % and 72 % for women and men, 
respectively (Eurostat figures).20 In addition, research 
conducted in Belgium indicates that besides the prob-
lem of finding (and keeping) employment, many trans 
persons suffer a wide range of discriminatory practices 
and bullying at the work place.21 This chapter looks into 
discrimination experiences of trans persons in light of 
the legal protection afforded to them.

European Union

The general non-discrimination clauses in the TFEU (Arti-
cle 10) and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 
(Article 21) do not mention gender identity explicitly. It 
was the CJEU that clarified that the grounds of sex also 
covers discrimination experienced by transgender per-
sons, but only when the person in question underwent, 
is undergoing or intends to undergo gender reassign-
ment surgery.22 

The Gender Equality Directive (recast), adopted in 2006 
and prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sex 
in the field of employment, is the first EU directive 

that explicitly relates to the transgender dimension. 
It says that “in view of its purpose and the nature of 
the rights which it seeks to safeguard, it also applies 
to discrimination arising from the gender reassignment 
of a person”.23 Transgender persons who do not want 
or cannot undergo gender reassignment surgery are, 
however, therefore still unprotected from discrimination 
based on their gender identity (in the FRA survey this 
concerns approximately half of the trans respondents).

There are two EU directives in which the EU has explic-
itly included protection against discrimination based on 
gender identity. According to the Qualification Direc-
tive  (recast)  (2011/95/EU),  international  protection 
may be granted to an asylum seeker who is a member 
of a particular social group, which can be character-
ised by gender identity (Article 10.1(d)). The Victims’ 
Rights Directive also explicitly mentions ‘gender iden-
tity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds of 
discrimination (Recital 9). It defines violence directed 
against a person because of that person’s gender iden-
tity or gender expression as gender-based violence 
(Recital 17).

The Special Eurobarometer 39324 found that among 
Europeans  more  believe  that  discrimination  on  the 
grounds of gender identity is widespread (45 %) than 
believe it is rare or non-existent (42 %). This figure 
reveals the lack of awareness by a large part of EU 
citizens about the extent of discrimination as shown 
by the results of this survey. 

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe has several instruments relevant 
to the protection of transgender persons from discrimi-
nation. The most important is based on the European 
Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European 
Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law implement-
ing it. Discrimination is prohibited in Article 14 of the 
ECHR, which says that “the enjoyment of the rights and 
freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured 
without discrimination on any ground”. Article 1 of Pro-
tocol No. 12 to the ECHR introduces a general prohibi-
tion on discrimination.25 According to ECtHR caselaw, 
discrimination on the basis of transsexuality is also 
prohibited.26  The  first  international  treaty  to  explic-
itly include gender identity as a prohibited grounds 
of discrimination is the Convention on preventing and 

17  Takács, J. (2006).
18  Whittle, S. et al. (2007).
19  Wierckx, K. et al. (in review at the time of writing). 
20  Whittle, S. et al. (2008).
21  Motmans, J. et al. (2010); Vennix, P. (2010); Whittle, S. (2000).
22  For the relevant case law, see Toggenburg, G. N. (2009), 

23  Gender Equality Directive (recast) 2006/54/EC, 5 July 2006, 

Recital 3.

24  European Commission (2012).
25  According to this article: ‘The enjoyment of any right set 

forth by law shall be secured without discrimination on any 
ground […].’

26  ECtHR, P.V. v. Spain, No. 35159/09, 30 November 2010, 

pp. 135–154.

para. 30.

22

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

combating violence against women and domestic vio-
lence (Istanbul Convention).

Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Committee 
of Ministers to Council of Europe member states on 
measures to combat discrimination on the grounds of 
sexual orientation or gender identity calls on member 
states to ensure the equal enjoyment of human rights in 
various fields of life for everyone, regardless of gender 
identity. Other (non-legally binding) documents include 
recommendations and resolutions27 of the Parliamen-
tary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The first of 
these, dating from 1989, is entirely dedicated to the 
condition of transsexuals.28 The Congress of Local and 
Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has also 
adopted a recommendation in this field.29

United Nations 

At the international level, Articles 2 and 7 of the Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights prohibit discrimina-
tion on any grounds. Principles of equal treatment and 
non-discrimination are guaranteed in the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, Article 2 (1) 
and 26) as well as in the International Covenant on Eco-
nomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, Article 2) and 
in a number of other specific conventions (for instance 
in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 2). 
Treaty bodies established to observe the implementa-
tion of these documents have clarified that the general 
and open-ended non-discrimination clauses included in 
them also cover the prohibition of discrimination based 
on gender identity.30 In its declaration on sexual orien-

27  Such as Resolution 1728 (2010) Discrimination on the basis of 

sexual orientation and gender identity. 

28  See Recommendation 1117 (1989) Condition of transsexuals.
29  See Recommendation 211 (2007) Freedom of assembly and 
expression for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered 
persons. 

30  See, for instance, on Gender identity: Committee on 

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 
No. 20 (Nondiscrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights), para. 32; Committee on the Rights of the Child, 
General Comment No. 13 (The right of the child to freedom 
from all forms of violence), paras. 60 and 72(g) (stressing 
that States parties must address discrimination against 
vulnerable or marginalised groups of children including 
children who are lesbian, gay, transgender or transsexual); 
In its General Comment No. 2, the Committee against Torture 
explained that the obligation of States Parties to prevent 
torture includes the obligation to ensure that “their laws are 
in practice applied to all persons, regardless of” a variety 
of personal characteristics, including “sexual orientation” 
and “transgender identity.” Committee on the Elimination of 
Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 
No. 28 (on the core obligations of States parties under Art. 2), 
para. 18. (The discrimination of women based on sex and 
gender is inextricably linked with other factors that affect 
women, such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, 
status, age, class, caste, and sexual orientation and gender 
identity […] States parties must legally recognize such 
intersecting forms of discrimination and their compounded 
negative impact on the women concerned and prohibit 
them.”).

tation and gender identity, the UN General Assembly 
reaffirmed in 2008 that ‘human rights apply equally to 
every human being regardless of sexual orientation or 
gender identity’.31 

Research work devoted to understanding the expe-
riences  of  and  combating  discrimination  against 
transgender persons has intensified in recent years. The 
UN’s Human Rights Council achieved a crucial milestone 
with the adoption of Resolution 17/19 on Human rights, 
sexual orientation and gender identity.32 It expressed 
“grave concern” at violence and discrimination against 
individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender 
identity and asked the High Commissioner for Human 
Rights to prepare a report on the situation of LGBT per-
sons worldwide. Based on the findings of the High Com-
missioner’s report, in March 2012 the Council organised 
the first-ever UN panel discussion specifically focused 
on the situation of LGBT persons.

1�2�  What did the survey ask?

This chapter presents data on discrimination in several 
areas of social life, namely employment, education, 
healthcare and social services, and in goods and ser-
vices available to the public. The chapter also reports 
on respondents’ awareness of non-discrimination leg-
islation in the area of employment and whether they 
have reported incidents of discrimination against them. 

The EU LGBT survey examined respondents’ experi-
ences of discrimination and harassment33 on different 
grounds, among them sexual orientation and gender 
identity. Before answering the questions on discrimi-
nation, respondents were provided with the following 
explanation: “By discrimination we mean when some-
body is treated less favourably than others because of 
a specific personal feature such as their age, gender, 
gender identity, sexual orientation, minority background 
or for any other reason.” The survey then focused spe-
cifically on their perceptions of discrimination because 
of being trans: respondents were asked if they had felt 
personally discriminated against because of being trans 
in the areas of social life covered by the survey – namely 
employment, education, healthcare, social services and 
when accessing goods and services available to the 
general public – in the year preceding the survey. It also 
asked whether or not they had reported the most recent 
incident. To gather more detail about particular areas of 
life, further specific questions were asked about such 

31  UN, General Assembly (2008).
32  UN, Human Rights Council (2011). 
33  The survey initially asked about discrimination. It 

also covered harassment, as harassment is a form of 
discrimination under EU law (2000/78/EC), to achieve 
comparability with the Eurobarometer survey.

23

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

experiences at work (in the last five years), at school 
(before the age of 18) and when accessing healthcare. 

Figure 2: 

The discrimination experiences examined here are to 
be understood as based on the trans identity or back-
ground of the respondents. They may involve discrimi-
nation based on gender reassignment, but they can also 
include discrimination based on gender identity and 
gender expression. The instances recalled in the survey 
are those that respondents experienced and identified 
as discrimination; they were not necessarily judged as 
such by an administrative or judicial process.

1�3�  Discrimination or 

harassment on the 
grounds of being trans

“I would like my perceived gender to be irrelevant. I should 
be able to go about my business and be treated fairly and 
with respect no matter how I present myself. I just want to 
be allowed to be me without worrying about others.”

(Trans, 42, United Kingdom)

More than half of all respondents (54 %) say that in 
the year preceding the survey they have felt person-
ally discriminated against or harassed because of being 
perceived as trans (Figure 2).34 This is a slightly higher 
percentage than the average rate of LGBT respondents 
who felt personally discriminated against or harassed 
because of their sexual orientation (47 %).35

Trans women, trans men and transgender respondents 
are most likely to say that in the 12 months preced-
ing the survey they have felt discriminated against or 
harassed on the grounds of being perceived as trans. 
Discrimination or harassment experiences are more 
common for those respondents who are young, not in 
paid work or from a low income class. 

 Respondents who felt discriminated 
against or harassed because of being 
perceived as trans in the last 12 months, 
by identity group (%)

69

61

54

63

56

51

42

35

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

e
g
era
v
ns a
U tra

n
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

ns m
Tra

n
e

er

ale
M

ale
m
e
F

cross dressers
cross dressers

er
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

d
n
e
G

nt
aria
er v

e
u
Q

er/oth

E

Question:  

 C2A. In the last 12 months, in the country where 
you live, have you personally felt discriminated 
against or harassed because of being perceived 
as: D. Transgender. Yes.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Looking at the results by country, slight differences 
emerge in the percentages of respondents who say 
they have felt personally discriminated against or har-
assed in the 12 months preceding the survey on the 
grounds of being perceived as trans (Figure 3). The high-
est scores are found in the United Kingdom (65 %), the 
lowest in Bulgaria (28 %).36

34  Overall, a quarter of trans respondents (27 %) indicated 
that discrimination on the basis of being perceived as 
transgender did not apply to them, which is largely due 
to the proportion of queer/other respondents choosing 
this answer option (56 %), but also the proportion of cross 
dressers (female: 23 %, male: 27 %).

35  FRA (2014a).

36  When similar statements are made comparing figures from 
different countries, countries where the sample size is very 
small (less than 30 respondents) are excluded, although they 
are included in the figures and marked with an asterisk.

24

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 3: 

 Respondents who felt discriminated 
against or harassed because of being 
perceived as trans in the last 12 months, 
by EU Member State (%)

felt discriminated against or harassed are also more 
likely to avoid certain places or locations for fear of 
being assaulted, threatened or harassed than those who 
did not experience such feelings (32 % versus 68 %). 

EU trans
average
UK 
LT* 
IE 
ES 
DE 
PT 
PL 
BE 
FR 
IT 
CY* 
HU 
LU* 
MT* 
FI 
SE 
DK 
SK 
LV 
NL 
AT 
HR 
RO 
CZ 
EL 
EE* 
BG 
SI* 

Question:  

54 

65 
62 
61 
60 

58 
57 

54 
54 
52 
51 
50 
50 
50 
50 
49 
49 
48 
47 
46 
45 
44 
43 
41 
40 
37 
36 

28 

23 

1�3�2�   Perception of discrimination 
because of being LGBT

Besides their personal experiences of feeling discrimi-
nated  against  or  harassed,  respondents  were  also 
asked, in their opinion, how widespread discrimination 
is because a person is lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans in 
the country where they live (Figure 4). This evaluation 
of trans respondents is close to the LGBT average.37 

Figure 4: 

 Perceived frequency of discrimination, 
by lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (%) 

Lesbian

14 

38 

Gay

34 

40 

Bisexual

12 

28 

Transgender

59 

26 

0

20

40

60

80 100

Very widespread 

Fairly widespread 

 C1A. In your opinion, in the country where you 
live, how widespread is discrimination because 
a person is… A. Lesbian. B. Gay. C. Bisexual. 
D. Transgender. 

 Figure 4 depicts the percentage of trans 
respondents who chose response categories 
‘Fairly widespread’ and ‘Very widespread’.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Question: 

 C2A. In the last 12 months, in the country where 
you live, have you personally felt discriminated 
against or harassed because of being perceived 
as: D. Transgender. Yes.

Note:  

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

1�3�1� 

 Effects of trans discrimination 
on quality of life and avoidance 
behaviour

Discrimination because of who you are can undermine 
your well-being. Trans respondents who felt personally 
discriminated against or harassed in the 12 months pre-
ceding the survey because of being perceived as a trans 
person report a somewhat lower life satisfaction (6.1) 
than those who did not feel discriminated against or 
harassed in the period (6.8) 

Those who felt discriminated against or harassed in 
the 12 months preceding the survey for being trans are 
more prone to avoid expressing their preferred gender 
than those who did not feel discriminated against or 
harassed (60 % versus 40 %). Trans respondents who 

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

In general, 85 % of trans respondents think that dis-
crimination because of being trans is fairly or very 
widespread in the country in which they live (Figure 5). 

1�3�3�   Perceptions of discrimination 

based on a person’s gender 
identity: comparison of 
European LGBT survey and 
Eurobarometer data

To assess how trans respondents’ perceptions of discrim-
ination on the grounds of gender identity compare with 
those of the general population, data from the EU LGBT 

37  FRA (2014a).

25

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 5: 

 Perceived level of discrimination on the grounds of gender identity, by respondents to the 2012 
Eurobarometer and the 2012 EU LGBT survey (%)

EU trans average

45 

CY*

IT

PL

RO

FR

PT

BG

HR(1)

UK

EL

ES

IE

HU

LT*

FI

DE

MT*

LV*

AT

SI*

BE

DK

NL

SK

SE

LU*

EE*

CZ

85 

76 

64 

100 

95 

16 

20 

17 

35 

25 

53 

50 

41 

64 

53 

34 

30 

37 

51 

51 

37 

42 

45 

38 

27 

35 

22 

23 

50 

57 

72 

71 

69 

90 

89 

88 

87 

87 

87 

86 

86 

85 

83 

82 

81 

81 

80 

80 

80 

79 

78 

77 

77 

77 

76 

76 

Eurobarometer 2012 

EU LGBT survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU LGBT Survey Question:  

 C1A. In your opinion, in the country where you live, how widespread is discrimination because a 
person is Transgender?

Special Eurobarometer 363 Question:    QC1 For each of the following types of discrimination, could you please tell me whether, in your 

Notes:  

Base:  

Source:  

opinion, it is very widespread, fairly widespread, fairly rare or very rare in (OUR COUNTRY)? 
Discrimination on the basis of gender identity (being transsexual or transgender).

 Figure 5 depicts the percentage of trans respondents who chose response categories ‘Fairly 
widespread’ and ‘Very widespread’. 

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

(1) The special Eurobarometer 363 did not include Croatia.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey; all special Eurobarometer 363 respondents. The special 
Eurobarometer 363 did not include Croatia.

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012 ; special Eurobarometer 393, 2012

26

 
 
Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

survey are presented alongside those from the Special 
Eurobarometer 393.38 Both surveys asked respondents 
how widespread, in their opinion, discrimination based 
on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity is 
in their country of residence. The results are not directly 
comparable but are presented here together to identify 
major discrepancies and trends.

Trans respondents to the EU LGBT survey are more likely 
than Eurobarometer survey respondents to say that 
discrimination based on a person’s gender identity is 
widespread in their country of residence. The EU LGBT 
trans respondents are more likely to be directly affected 
by discrimination based on a person’s gender identity 
than the Eurobarometer’s random sample. 

Trans respondents’ views and those of Eurobarom-
eter respondents differ by country. The lowest differ-
ences are found in Sweden (19 percentage points) and 
Greece (22 percentage points), and the highest in Bul-
garia (71 percentage points), Romania (64 percentage 
points ) and Ireland (63 percentage points). 

1�4�  Discrimination in 
employment

EU-wide protection against discrimination in the area 
of employment and occupation is provided for in the 
Gender Equality Directive (recast). The directive, as 
interpreted in light of CJEU case law, covers discrimina-
tion on the ground of gender identity with respect to 
transgender persons who underwent, are undergoing 
or intend to undergo gender reassignment. EU Member 
States have a legal obligation to set up structures to 
combat discrimination and to promote equal treatment 
in employment, by transposing this legislation. The 
European Parliament called on the European Commis-
sion to include a focus “on gender identity when moni-
toring the implementation of Directive 2006/54/EC”.39

In addition, the European Social Charter refers to “the 
right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in mat-
ters of employment and occupation without discrimi-
nation on the grounds of sex” (Article 20). The Charter 
also contains an anti-discrimination clause, according 
to which “the enjoyment of the rights set forth in this 
Charter shall be secured without discrimination on any 
ground […].”40 At the UN level, Article 6 of the ICESCR 
guarantees the “right to work, which includes the right 

38  For the results of both the EU LGBT survey and 

the Eurobarometer survey, see the FRA main 
results report (2014). For more information on the 
Eurobarometer 393 (2012), see http://ec.europa.eu/
public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_393_en.pdf.

39  See Point C (i) of the EU Roadmap against homophobia and 
discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender 
identity (European Parliament (2014).

40  Part V, Art. E.

of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by 
work which he freely chooses or accepts.” Taking into 
account the anti-discrimination clause from Article 2.2 
of the ICESCR, this right must “be exercised without 
discrimination of any kind.” 

In Recommendation 2010(5),the Council of Europe men-
tions employment in the context of gender identity: 
“Member states should ensure effective protection 
against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation 
or gender identity in employment and occupation in the 
public as well as in the private sector.”41 What is more, 
the Committee of Ministers agreed that “[p]articular 
attention should be paid to providing effective protec-
tion of the right to privacy of transgender individuals 
in the context of employment, in particular regarding 
employment applications, to avoid any irrelevant dis-
closure of their gender history or their former name to 
the employer and other employees.”42 

The FRA survey asked respondents if they had felt per-
sonally discriminated against because of being trans 
when looking for work or at work in the year preceding 
the survey. To develop a broader understanding of trans 
persons’ experiences at the workplace, respondents 
were also asked if they had been open about being 
trans at work, and if they had heard or seen nega-
tive comments or conduct towards LGBT persons, or 
experienced  general  negative  attitudes  regarding 
LGBT persons at work, during the five years preceding 
the survey.

1�4�1�   Discrimination when looking 

for a job or at work in the 
last 12 months

“I just feel it is sad. I tried to get a job with openness and 
honesty about my trans past and didn’t find any. I lie my 
ass off saying that I am the rather large and masculine Mom 
of two grown boys and have been in employment about 
12 years now based on a lie [...] Living the lie is easier than 
fighting all the time against society in everyday life [...It ] 
keeps myself and my boys fed and clothed.” 

(Trans, Lesbian, 44, Germany)

Over one in three trans respondents have felt discrimi-
nated against because of being trans when looking for a 
job (37 %) and slightly over a quarter report discrimina-
tion when at work (27 %) in the 12 months preceding the 
survey (Figure 6). This is more than twice the percent-
age of lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents who have 
felt discriminated against in employment. A breakdown 
in subgroups shows that of all trans respondents, trans 
women are the most likely to indicate that they have felt 
discriminated against.

41  Point 29.
42  Point 30.

27

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 6: 

 Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when looking for a job or at work, by identity 
group (%)

100
80
60
40
20
0

e
g
era
v
ns a
U tra

E
Question: 

60 

39 

37 

27 

43 

25 

32 

32 

37 

30 

50 

34 

24 

19 

23 

20 

n
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

n
e

ns m
Tra

ale cross
dressers

m
e
F

ale cross
dressers

M

er
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

nt
aria
er v

d
n
e
G

er

er/oth

e
u
Q

When looking
for a job

At work 

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you personally felt discriminated against because of being transgender in any of the 
following situations: - A. When looking for a job; B. At work.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who applied for a job or who worked/were employed in the 12 months before 
the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

With the exception of the youngest group (who, one 
could hypothesise, have fewer experiences due to a 
shorter reference period), the likelihood of feeling dis-
criminated against at work declines with age. In con-
trast, the older the respondents, the more likely they 
are to have felt discriminated against when looking for 
a job in the 12 months preceding the survey. Respond-
ents from the lowest income group are more likely to 
indicate feeling discriminated against at work or when 
looking for work, in comparison with respondents from 
the highest income group. 

Trans persons’ perceptions of discrimination at work or 
when looking for work vary across EU Member States 
(Figure 7). The percentage of those respondents who 
were employed in the 12 months preceding the survey 
and who felt personally discriminated against at work 
during this period because of being trans ranges from 
35 % in France to 20 % in Finland, Ireland, Hungary and 
Poland. The percentage of those respondents who were 
looking for a job in the 12 months preceding the survey 
and who felt personally discriminated against at work 
during this period ranges from 53 % in Belgium to 17 % 
in Sweden. In seven Member States the number of trans 
respondents looking for a job is under 30. This is not 
just an indication of a very low sample. It also indicates 
that only a small number of trans respondents actu-
ally looked for a job in the year preceding the survey, 
as discrimination in the labour market may discourage 
them before they even try to access it.

1�4�2�   Discrimination at work in the 

five years preceding the survey

“The job where I transitioned I was fully out as trans. 
I was dismissed from my job one week before I had a 
hysterectomy. […] In subsequent jobs I have not been out at 
work because of this experience.” 

(Trans man, 56, United Kingdom)

The EU LGBT survey asked respondents to what extent 
they are open at work or whether they hide or disguise 
being a trans person. It also asked to what degree they 
have experienced a general negative attitude at work 
toward LGBT people and have heard or seen related 
negative comments or conduct. 

Openness about being trans at work in the 
five years preceding the survey

Being open43 or not at work strongly relates to percep-
tions of discrimination: people who hide or disguise 
their trans identity may successfully avoid being tar-
geted  for  discrimination  on  this  basis.  Hiding  one’s 
trans identity can also result from a general negative 
atmosphere at the workplace towards LGBT persons. 
On average, almost a quarter of respondents report 
that they are often or always open about their trans 

43  Openness refers to whether or not a person is open to others 
about being trans. Trans persons may have different levels 
of openness in their social environment towards family, 
friends or colleagues. Therefore, openness is not only used 
in a general sense, but also for specific social settings, such 
as the family, work and school. Being open is not always a 
matter of personal choice. One can be forced to come out as 
a trans person when accessing medical care and/or the legal 
gender reassignment is not available. Many trans persons 
live according to their gender identity feelings, but are still 
legally recorded according to the sex assigned them at birth. 

28

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 7: 

 Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when looking for a job or at work, 
by EU Member State (%)

EU trans average

37 

27 

MT*

LT*

BE

CY*

IE

NL

LV*

FR

AT

IT

UK

ES

DE

HU

CZ

EL

DK

SK

EE*

HR

RO

PL

BG

FI

PT*

SE

SI*

LU*

0

60 

45 

53 

50 

50 

50 

35 

45 

41 

44 

43 

43 

24 

20 

20 

29 

27 

22 

31 

29 

27 

40 

39 

37 

36 

33 

25 

20 

100 

When looking for a job 

At work 

22 

31 
29 
30 

28 

30 

29 

33 

28 
27 
28 

31 

27 

20 

23 

29 

18 

20 

17 
16 
17 

22 

11 

6 

25 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you personally felt discriminated against because of being transgender in any of the 
following situations: - A. When looking for a job; B. At work.

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who applied for a job or who worked/were employed in the past 12 months.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

background, and half of all trans respondents are never 
or rarely open (Figure 8). 

For some trans respondents, their trans identity can 
seem an irrelevant factor in their professional life. They 
might not or no longer identify as a trans person but 
simply as a man or a woman. They might not feel that 
being trans is an aspect of their life they wish to be 

open about at the workplace. This might explain why 
a quarter of trans respondents report that ‘openness 
at the workplace’ does not apply to them. Queer/other 
respondents report this to a large extent and cross 
dressers to a lesser extent. 

Besides being actively open about being LGBT, the 
questionnaire asked about the opposite tendency as 

29

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 8:  Openness about being trans at work in the last five years, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

36 

31 

40 

49 

44 

50 

15 

17 

9 

14 

13 

27 

34 

24 

19 

21 

7 

6 

18 

6 

9 

19 

13 

15 

16 

24 

15 

4 

2 

3 

70 

14 

4 

5 

7 

11 

6 

6 

58 

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20 

10

0

Never 

Rarely 

Often 

Always 

Does not apply
to me 

Question:  

C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you …. - A. Been open about you being transgender at work?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the last five years.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

well:  whether  or  not  respondents  have  specifically 
hidden or disguised their identity at work. Of all trans 
respondents, 46 % indicate that they often or always 
hide or disguise their trans background at work. 

To facilitate further analysis, replies on being open and 
on hiding or disguising were categorised into three 
groups: those who are generally open about their trans 
identity at work (always open and never or rarely hiding 
being trans at work), those who are generally closeted 
(never open about being trans and often or always dis-
guising being trans at work), and the rest, who are open 
selectively (Figure 9).

This analysis shows that only 16 % of all trans respond-
ents who were employed in the five years preceding the 
survey were generally open at work. Two in five were 
selectively open (40 %) or generally closed (44 %), 

respectively. Trans women are the most likely of all 
identity groups to be generally open and the least likely 
to be generally closed. Cross dressers and gender variant 
respondents are the most likely to be generally closed 
and the least likely to be generally open. Although being 
open increases with age, even in the respondent group 
aged 55 and above, only one in three (29 %) is generally 
open about being trans at work.

The more their country of residence adopts widespread 
positive measures to promote respect for the human 
rights of trans persons, the more respondents tend to be 
generally open at work and the less they are generally 
closed. When positive measures are very widespread 
(based on the view of the survey respondents), only 
one in five trans respondents stay generally closed at 
work, whereas one in two stay generally closed at work 
when positive measures are very rare (Figure 10). 

Figure 9:  Openness about being trans at work, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

16 

Trans women

32 

Trans men

15 

40 

47 

38 

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

8 

10 

Transgender

15 

48 

35 

39 

44 

30 

38 

44 

54 

46 

Gender variant

5 

25 

70 

Queer/other

14 

49 

37 

Generally open 

Selectively open 

Generally closed 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question: 

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you …. - A. Been open about you being transgender at work? - 
B. Hidden or disguised that you are transgender at work? Response categories: never, rarely, often, always, does not 
apply to me – recoded into the categories as in the figure.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the last five years. Those who responded ‘Does not apply 
to me’ were excluded from this calculation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

30

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 10:  Positive measures and general openness at work (%)

Very rare

15 

Fairly rare

17 

39 

41 

46 

43 

Fairly widespread

22 

44 

34 

Very widespread

34 

48 

19 

Generally open 

Selectively open 

Generally closed 

Don't know

11 

36 

53 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions: 

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you …. - A. Been open about you being transgender at work? - 
B. Hidden or disguised that you are transgender at work? Response categories: never, rarely, often, always, does not 
apply to me – recoded into the categories shown in the key above.

 B1. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? – F. Positive measures to promote 
respect for the human rights of transgender people (for instance equality plans, public campaigns, specialised services, 
etc.) – response categories as listed in the figure.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the five years before the survey. Those who responded 
‘Does not apply to me’ were excluded from this calculation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Experience with LGBT hostility at work in the 
last five years

The low numbers of trans respondents who are gener-
ally open at work (16 %, see Section 1.2.2.) indicate that 
many trans persons manage their visibility consciously 
and in accordance with how they perceive their work 
environment. One in three trans respondents (35 %) 
who were employed on a regular basis in the five years 
preceding the survey have heard or seen negative com-
ments or conduct because a colleague is perceived to 
be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender. Male cross 
dressers are the most likely to report this (45 %) and 
trans men the least likely (28 %).

To facilitate further analysis, replies were categorised 
into  three  groups:  those  who  experienced  a  nega-
tive work atmosphere towards LGBT people (often or 
always heard or saw negative comments or conduct 
because a colleague is perceived to be LGBT and often 
or always experienced a general negative attitude at 
work against LGBT people), those who experienced a 
positive work atmosphere towards LGBT people (never 
or rarely heard or saw negative comments or conduct 
because a colleague is perceived to be LGBT and never 
or rarely experienced a general negative attitude at 
work against LGBT people), and the rest, who experi-
enced a mixed work atmosphere towards LGBT people 
(Figure 11). 

The survey questions did not specify who was respon-
sible for the negative workplace comments or conduct. 
It could be the management or work colleagues, but it 
could also be others, such as employees of other coop-
erating public or private organisations or clients.

Half of all trans respondents who were employed in the 
five years before the survey indicate a positive work 
atmosphere towards LGBT people (50 %), a quarter a 
mixed work atmosphere (25 %) and a quarter a negative 
work atmosphere (25 %). 

Furthermore, in the five years preceding the survey 
almost two in five (37 %) respondents often or always 
experienced a general negative attitude at work against 
people because they are LGBT. Almost half of the male 
cross dressers (47 %) and gender variant respond-
ents (46 %) indicate this. Again, trans men are the least 
likely to perceive there to be a general negative attitude 
at work towards LGBT persons (29 %).

A breakdown by identity group shows that male cross 
dressers, gender variant, queer/other respondents and 
female cross dressers report a lower than average posi-
tive work atmosphere towards LGBT people in the five 
years preceding the survey, compared with other trans 
groups. Trans women and trans men are more likely to 
report a positive work atmosphere. 

31

 
Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 11:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

50 

55 

60 

49 

42 

52 

46 

47 

25 

22 

19 

24 

24 

24 

24 

28 

25 

23 

21 

27 

34 

25 

29 

25 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

Positive LGBT
work atmosphere 

Mixed LGBT
work atmosphere 

Negative LGBT
work atmosphere 

Question:  

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you ... – D. Heard or seen negative comments or conduct because 
a colleague is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? - E. Experienced a general negative attitude 
at work against people because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? Response categories: never, rarely, 
often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into the categories as in the figure.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the five years before the survey and who felt the 
questions applied to their situation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

A  breakdown  by  country  shows  that  over  50  %  of 
respondents from 11 EU Member States experience 
a positive work atmosphere for LGBT people in the 
five years preceding the survey (Figure 12). In coun-
tries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Romania only 
one third of all trans respondents who were employed 
during the five years preceding the survey report a posi-
tive work atmosphere towards LGBT people (as was the 
case for Cyprus, where the number of trans respondents 
available for analysis was small). 

As suggested, the workplace environment as regards 
LGBT persons as the respondent experiences it may 
be strongly linked to his or her degree of openness at 
work. Trans respondents who are generally open are 
significantly more likely to report a positive attitude at 
work toward LGBT people than those who are generally 
closed (Figure 13).

Personal experiences with negative 
comments or conduct at work

The EU LGBT survey asked respondents if they had expe-
rienced negative comments or conduct at work in the 
five years preceding the survey directed towards them-
selves because of being trans. Some one in six (15 %) 
of trans respondents say that this has often or always 
happened.  Of  the  total,  66  %  say  they  have  never 
experienced negative comments or conduct directed 
towards themselves because of being trans (Table 1). 

Gender variant respondents are the most likely to have 
never  experienced  negative  comments  or  conduct 
directed towards themselves because of being trans, 
whereas trans women and male cross dressers are the 
most likely to often or always experience this. 

32

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

19 
19 

17 

22 
26 

23 
21 
21 
27 

21 

26 

33 

25 

50 

100 

62 
62 
61 
61 
60 
60 
60 
59 
57 

Figure 12:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by EU Member State (%)
EU trans average
MT*
NL
SI*
UK
FI
SE
DK
BE
DE
IE
AT
CZ
EE*
LT
LU*
ES
FR
HU
IT
PT
SK
LV*
PL
HR
RO
BG
EL
CY*

50 
50 
49 
47 
46 

31 
29 
30 

54 
54 
53 

42 
42 
42 

13 
21 

30 
29 

38 
38 

33 
33 

26 

22 

24 

24 

44 

30 

27 

34 

34 

15 

31 

25 

19 
19 

22 

17 

14 
18 

19 
20 

16 

24 

20 

33 

29 

17 

24 

30 

23 

27 
29 
28 

46 

32 

43 

33 

35 

33 

44 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

Positive LGBT
work atmosphere 

Mixed LGBT
work atmosphere 

Negative LGBT
work atmosphere 

Question:  

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you ... – D. Heard or seen negative comments or conduct because 
a colleague is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? - E. Experienced a general negative attitude at 
work against people because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? Computed variable.

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the last five years and who felt the question applied to them.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 13:  Work atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by openness at work (%)

Generally open

67 

17 

16 

Selectively open

54 

22 

24 

Generally closed

42 

24 

34 

Positive LGBT
work sphere

Mixed LGBT
work sphere

Negative LGBT
work sphere

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you ... – D. Heard or seen negative comments or conduct because 
a colleague is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? - E. Experienced a general negative attitude 
at work against people because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? Response categories: never, rarely, 
often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into the categories as in the figure.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the five years before the survey and who felt the 
question applied to their situation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

33

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 1: 

 Experienced negative comments or 
conduct at work because of being trans, 
by identity group (%)

non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity throughout the EU’s youth and 
education programmes.44 

Never Rarely Often Always

Sample 
(n)

17

19

17

18

18

15

21

19

13

6

11

18

9

8

11

10

6

2

10

4

5

4

6

5

513

248

126

136

462

310

1,429

3,224

Trans 
women

Trans men

Female cross 
dressers

Male cross 
dressers

65

74

63

60

Transgender

69

Gender 
variant

Queer/other

73

63

66

EU trans 
average

Question:  

Note: 

Base:  

 C8A. During your employment in the last 5 years, 
have you ... – C. Experienced negative comments 
or conduct at work because of you being 
transgender? Response categories: never, rarely, 
often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into 
the categories as in the figure.

n = subgroup sample

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
were employed in the five years before the 
survey and who felt the question applied to their 
situation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

The amount of respondents on a country level who have 
never experienced negative comments or conduct at 
work because of being trans ranges from 73 % in Slo-
venia to 32 % in Bulgaria (and 14% in Estonia where, 
however, the number of trans respondents available 
for the analysis is small) (Figure 14).

1�5�  Discrimination in 

education

The right to education is guaranteed in Article 14 of the 
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Taking into account 
the non-discrimination principle enshrined in Arti-
cle 21 of the Charter, the enjoyment of this right must 
be accessible to all on an equal basis. However, the EU 
can only take steps to support, coordinate or supple-
ment the actions of the Member States, since educa-
tion falls mainly within Member State competence. 

Building on the right to education as guaranteed in Arti-
cle 2 of Protocol 2 to the ECHR, the Council of Europe’s 
CM Recommendation 2010(5) further details this right, 
both  in  relation  to  discrimination  and  bullying  and 
to school curricula. The recommendation states that 
“taking into due account the over-riding interests of the 
child, member states should take appropriate legisla-
tive and other measures, addressed to educational staff 
and pupils, to ensure that the right to education can be 
effectively enjoyed without discrimination on grounds 
of sexual orientation or gender identity; this includes, in 
particular, safeguarding the right of children and youth 
to education in a safe environment, free from violence, 
bullying, social exclusion or other forms of discrimina-
tory and degrading treatment related to sexual orienta-
tion or gender identity. Member states should also take 
appropriate measures to this effect at all levels to pro-
mote mutual tolerance and respect in schools, regard-
less of sexual orientation or gender identity. This should 
include providing objective information with respect to 
sexual orientation and gender identity, for instance in 
school curricula and educational materials, and provid-
ing pupils and students with the necessary informa-
tion, protection and support to enable them to live in 
accordance with their sexual orientation and gender 
identity. Furthermore, member states may design and 
implement  school  equality  and  safety  policies  and 
action plans and may ensure access to adequate anti-
discrimination training or support and teaching aids. 
Such measures should take into account the rights of 
parents regarding education of their children.”45 

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly has 
recommended that the Committee of Ministers intensify 
its work against homophobia and transphobia, with a 
particular emphasis on prevention in schools.46

Similar trends can be observed at the global level. 
Three UN Committees (the Human Rights Commit-
tee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural 
Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child) 
have  expressed  their  concern  about  discrimina-
tion in schools, and called for measures to counter 

44  Point 4.D(i) of European Parliament Resolution of 

4 February 2014 on the EU Roadmap against homophobia 
and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and 
gender identity. See also Regulation (EU) No. 1288/2013 
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
11 December 2013 establishing ‘Erasmus+’ is an example 
of this mainstreaming of non-discrimination as Erasmus+ 
mentions the six EU grounds on which discrimination is 
prohibited (‘gender identity’ not being one of them, recital 7).

Referring  to  homophobic  and  transphobic  bullying 
in  schools,  the  European  Parliament  called  on  the 
European  Commission  to  promote  equality  and 

45  Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers (2010), point 31.
46  See point 5.4 of Recommendation 2021 (2013) Tackling 
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientationand 
gender identity (Council of Europe, PACE (2013)).

34

 
Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 14:   Experienced negative comments or conduct at work because of being trans, by EU Member State (%)

EU trans average

47 

36 

14 

4 

SI

PT

DK

HU

IE*

SE

FI

PL

DE

CY*

LT*

MT*

FR

AT

LV*

BE

UK

RO

EL

HR*

NL

IT

ES

SK

CZ

LU*

BG

EE*

73 

64 

62 

60 

58 

54 

54 

51 

50 

50 

50 

50 

50 

49 

47 

45 

45 

44 

43 

42 

41 

41 

40 

37 

37 

33 

32 

14 

57 

18 

32 

29 

25 

27 

36 

38 

38 

36 

9 

4 

6  3 

12 

12 

4 

4 

8  1 

8 

10 

1 

11 

2 

25 

15 

4 

17 

6 

50 

7 

20 

15 

13 

13 

19 

10 

3 

2 

4 

4 

8 

7 

6 

20 

13 

11 

17 

16 

13 

20 

3 

1 

33 

20 

2 

29 

25 

31 

27 

36 

33 

32 

40 

27 

34 

42 

41 

36 

37 

47 

42 

33 

46 

Never

Rarely

Often

Always

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C8A_C. During your employment in the last 5 years, have you ... - Experienced negative comments or conduct at work 
because of you being transgender? Response categories: never, rarely, often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into 
the categories as in the figure.

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were employed in the last five years and who felt the question applied to 
their situation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

homophobic and transphobic attitudes. The UN agency 
UNESCO observed that “it is often in the primary school 
playground that boys deemed by others to be too 
effeminate or young girls seen as tomboys endure 
teasing and sometimes the first blows linked to their 
appearance and behaviour, perceived as failing to 

fit in with the hetero-normative gender identity.”47 
The  EU  could  seek  synergies  with  UNESCO’s  work 

47  “International consultation on homophobic bullying and 
harassment in educational institutions”, UNESCO concept 
note, July 2011. See also, “Education Sector Responses to 
Homophobic Bullying”, UNESCO, 2012.

35

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

on improving educational responses to homophobic 
and transphobic bullying, and also with the Council of 
Europe, which adopted a Strategy for the Rights of the 
Child (2012–2015) focused on bullying.

Figure 15:   Feeling discriminated against by school/

university personnel because of being 
trans in the last 12 months, by identity 
group (%)

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

34 

24 

25 

24 

26 

26 

23 

19 

0 

e
g
era
v
ns a
U tra

n
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

n
e

ns m
Tra

ale
M

ale
m
e
F

cross dressers
crossdressers

er
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

d
n
e
G

nt
aria
er v

e
u
Q

er

er/oth

E

Question:  

Base:  

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you personally 
felt discriminated against because of being 
transgender in any of the following situations: - 
F. By school/university personnel. This could have 
happened to you as a student or as a parent.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
attended school/university themselves or had 
a child/children in school/at university during 
last 12 months (N=3,025).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

1�5�1� 

 Discrimination by school/
university personnel as 
a student or parent

“I wish young people were educated about LGBT-related 
things in school and with that try to make LGBT people seem 
more normal compared to people who are lucky enough to 
be cisgendered and heterosexual.” (Trans, 18, Finland)

Respondents who were in education themselves or who 
were the parents of children at school or university at the 
time of the survey were asked about whether they had 
felt discriminated against by school or university personnel 
in the year preceding the survey because of being LGBT.

A  quarter  of  trans  respondents  (24  %)  who  attend 
school/university themselves or have a child/children 
in school/at university say they felt personally dis-
criminated against by school or university personnel 
in the 12 months preceding the survey (Figure 15). In 
this respect, trans respondents scored the highest of 
all LGBT subgroups in the EU LGBT survey. When look-
ing only at trans students (that is, excluding respond-
ents who are not in school/university themselves), the 
number rises to 29 %.

Again, male cross dressers (34 %) are the most likely to 
have experienced discrimination by school/university 
personnel. This shows the overall disapproval of males 
who express their femininity. 

A breakdown by EU Member State reveals that less than 
one in five respondents in countries such as Portugal, 
Austria,  the  Netherlands  and  Belgium  experienced 
discrimination by school/university personnel in the 
12 months preceding the survey (Figure 16).

36

Figure 16:   Feeling discriminated against by school/

1�5�2�   Discrimination experiences at 

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

university personnel because of being 
trans in the last 12 months, by EU 
Member State (%)

24

50

50

39

39

38

35

31

30

29

29

28

28

27

26

24

23

23

23

22

22

20

18

18

17

16

15

10

EU trans
average
CY*

LU*

HR

LT*

LV*

IE*

RO

HU

CZ

SK

SE

PL

DE

EL

BG

FI

IT

DK

UK

FR

ES

BE

NL

EE*

AT

PT

SI*

MT*

0

0

20

40

60

Question:  

Note:  

Base:  

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you 
personally felt discriminated against because 
of being transgender in any of the following 
situations: - F. By school/university personnel. 
This could have happened to you as a student 
or as a parent. 

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
attended school/university themselves or had 
a child/children in school/at university during 
12 months before the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

school before the age of 18

Openness about being trans at school before 
the age of 18

Trans respondents were asked whether during their 
schooling before the age of 18 they talked openly about 
being trans. Of all trans respondents who felt the ques-
tion applied to them, only 8 % were often or always 
open at school, 78 % never and 13 % rarely (Figure 17). 
Part of the explanation for this overall very low rate 
can be found in the ‘age of awareness’. From previous 
surveys it is known that not all trans people ‘know’ from 
an early age how to describe their gender identity,48 and 
many lack information on transgenderism, and/or the 
possibility of identification as a trans person. 

Besides being actively open about being trans, the 
questionnaire also asked about the opposite tendency: 
whether or not respondents consciously hid or disguised 
their identities (for example by avoiding non-normative 
gender expression or by specifically denying their pref-
erence) at school before the age of 18. On average, eight 
in 10 respondents (82 %) say that they often or always 
hid or disguised being trans at secondary school. 

To facilitate further analysis, replies on being open and 
on hiding or disguising their trans identity were catego-
rised into three groups: those who were generally open 
about their trans identity at school (always open and 
never or rarely hiding being trans at school), those who 
were generally closed (never open about being trans 
and often or always disguising being trans at school), 
and the rest, who were open selectively (Figure 18).

Seven in 10 respondents indicate that they were gener-
ally closed when they attended secondary school. Over 
a quarter was selectively open and only 3 % were gener-
ally open about being trans at secondary school. Gender 
variant respondents, trans women, male cross dressers 
and transgender respondents indicated particularly high 
numbers of being generally closed at secondary school. 

Here again, the more widespread the measures promot-
ing respect for the human rights of trans people are in 
their country of residence (based on the perception of 
the trans respondents), the more respondents are likely 
to be generally open at work and the less they are 
generally closed. More influential than this, however, is 
the existence of positive measures regarding openness 
at school. This might be due to the fact that positive 

48  For those who presented themselves at a clinic, a multi-

centre European research project has shown that the age 
of onset is different for females and males. The majority of 
trans men have an earlier age of onset whereas half of the 
group of trans women have a relatively late age of onset 
(Nieder, T.O. et al. (2011)).

37

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 17:  Openness about being trans at secondary school, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

78 

85 

68 

66 

84 

80 

90 

13 

5 

3 

9 

3 

4 

19 

7 

7 

25 

4 

5 

9 

5 

3 

11 

6 

3 

7 

2 

1 

Never

Rarely

Often

Always

70 

20 

7 

3 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, did you ... – A. Openly talk about you being transgender at school? 
Response categories as listed in the figure (category ‘Does not apply to me’ excluded).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who felt the question applied to their situation.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 18:  Openness about being trans at school, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

3 

27 

Trans women

3 

19 

Trans men

6 

34 

Female cross dressers

4 

44 

Male cross dressers

1 

23 

Transgender

3 

26 

Gender variant

1 

16 

60 

52 

70 

78 

76 

72 

83 

Generally open 

Selectively open 

Generally closed 

Queer/other

2 

39 

58 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, did you ... – A. Openly talk about you being transgender at school? – B. Hide 
or disguise that you were transgender at school? Response categories: never, rarely, often, always, does not apply to me – 
recoded into the categories as in the figure (respondents answering ‘Does not apply to me’ were excluded).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who felt the question applied to their situation. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

measures toward equality at work are more widespread 
than positive measure in schools or that – as explained 
earlier – people may not be ready to express their trans 
identity at an earlier age (Figure 19). 

Those who are currently in paid work report consid-
erably more often that they were generally closed in 

secondary school than those who are currently not in 
paid work. In addition, those respondents who have 
completed higher education report significantly more 
often that they were generally closed at secondary 
school than respondents with less than higher educa-
tion. The same tendency regards income: the higher the 
income quartile, the more likely the respondents were 

38

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 19:  Positive measures and general openness at school (%)

Very rare

2 

27 

Fairly rare

3 

Fairly widespread

3 

28 

29 

Very widespread

14 

24 

Don't know

2 

29 

71 

69 

68 

62 

69 

Generally open 

Selectively open 

Generally closed 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions: 

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, did you ... – A. Openly talk about you being transgender at school? – B. Hide 
or disguise that you were transgender at school? Response categories: never, rarely, often, always, does not apply to me – 
recoded into the categories as in the figure.

 B1. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? – F. Positive measures to promote 
respect for the human rights of transgender people (for instance equality plans, public campaigns, specialised services, 
etc.) Response categories as in the figure.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who felt the question applied to their situation. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

generally closed in secondary school. It seems as if 
trans people with higher education, higher income and 
in paid work have a history of being closed (or unaware) 
about being trans during their schooling years. 

Experience with trans hostility at school 
before the age of 18

Many trans respondents recall a rather negative general 
atmosphere towards LGBT persons at secondary school. 
Seven in 10 (69 %) indicate they have heard or seen nega-
tive comments or conduct during their schooling before 
the age of 18, because a schoolmate/peer was perceived 
to be LGBT. Almost half of trans respondents (45 %) also 
indicate having heard or seen negative comments or con-
duct because a teacher was perceived to be LGBT.

To facilitate further analysis, replies were categorised 
into three groups: those who experienced a negative 
school atmosphere towards LGBT people (having often 
or always heard or seen negative comments or conduct 
because a schoolmate/peer is perceived to be LGBT 
and often or having always heard or seen negative 
comments or conduct because a teacher is perceived 
to be LGBT), those who experienced a positive school 
atmosphere  towards  LGBT  people  (having  never  or 
rarely heard or seen negative comments or conduct 
because a schoolmate/peer is perceived to be LGBT 
and having never or rarely heard or seen negative com-
ments or conduct because a teacher is perceived to be 
LGBT), and the rest, who experienced a mixed school 
atmosphere towards LGBT people (Figure 20). 

Figure 20:  School atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

24 

25 

28 

28 

22 

24 

Gender variant

33 

Queer/other

21 

10

0

40 

42 

41 

35 

34 

42 

36 

42 

35 

33 

32 

38 

42 

34 

31 

37 

Positive LGBT
school atmosphere 

Mixed LGBT
school atmosphere 

Negative LGBT
school atmosphere 

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, did you ... – D. Hear or see negative comments or conduct because a 
schoolmate/peer was perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? – E. Hear or see negative comments or 
conduct because a teacher was perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? Response categories: never, 
rarely, often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into the categories asin the figure.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who felt the question applied to their situation. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

39

 
Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

On average, one in three trans respondents experienced 
a negative LGBT school atmosphere. A quarter experi-
enced a positive school atmosphere. A breakdown by 
identity group reveals that the queer/other respondents 
and the male cross dressers are the least likely to have 
experienced a positive school atmosphere towards 
LGBT people.

A breakdown by EU Member State shows that respond-
ents from Greece, Italy, Portugal, Croatia, the United King-
dom, Ireland, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania are the least 
likely to have experienced a positive LGBT atmosphere at 
school. Respondents from Latvia, Denmark and the Czech 
Republic are the most likely to have experienced a posi-
tive school atmosphere towards LGBT persons (Figure 21). 

Figure 21:  School atmosphere towards LGBT persons, by EU Member State (%)

EU trans average 

24 

40 

35 

LV 

DK 

CZ 

MT* 

NL 

SE 

LT 

AT 

FI 

FR 

SI* 

SK 

BE 

LU* 

DE 

HU 

PL 

RO 

EE* 

BG 

ES 

CY* 

IE 

UK 

HR 

PT 

IT 

40 

39 

36 

33 

32 

32 

31 

31 

30 

30 

30 

30 

29 

29 

28 

27 

26 

23 

22 

22 

21 

20 

19 

18 

18 

16 

16 

EL 

9 

39 

33 

39 

46 

33 

37 

39 

38 

45 

43 

36 

41 

35 

44 

43 

42 

43 

46 

41 

40 

61 

27 

23 

19 

33 

31 

29 

31 

24 

26 

34 

30 

35 

27 

29 

29 

30 

28 

36 

38 

17 

37 

40 

40 

35 

39 

37 

46 

42 

40 

42 

47 

44 

46 

38 

51 

Positive LGBT
school atmosphere 

Mixed LGBT
school atmosphere 

Negative LGBT
school atmosphere 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

Note:  

Base:  

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, did you ... – D. Hear or see negative comments or conduct because a 
schoolmate/peer was perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? – E. Hear or see negative comments or 
conduct because a teacher was perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender? Response categories: never, 
rarely, often, always, does not apply to me – recoded into the categories as in the figure.

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses. 

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who felt the question applied to their situation. 

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

40

Personal experiences with negative comments 
or conduct at school before the age of 18

The EU LGBT survey asked respondents if they had expe-
rienced negative comments or conduct at school towards 
themselves because of being trans. More than a third (38 %) 
say that this happened often or always. On the other hand, 
38 % of trans respondents say they never experienced 
negative comments or conduct at school for that reason. 

Gender  variant  respondents  are  the  least  likely  to 
have  often  or  always  experienced  negative  com-
ments  or  conduct  towards  themselves  because  of 
being trans (21 %). Trans men (44 %) and queer/other 
respondents (44 %) are the most likely to have often 
or always experienced this.

Respondents who were not in paid work when complet-
ing the survey were more likely to have experienced 
negative comments or conduct at school towards them-
selves because of being trans (41 %) than those in paid 
work (35 %) regardless of their income quartile. Given 
that the respondents not in paid work are also over-
represented among those who do not hide or disguise 
their identity, one could reasonably hypothesise that 
their schooling experience affected their employment 
prospects. Such a direct relationship is not proven by the 
survey results but could be a possible direction for future 
research. It could also be argued, however, that the lack 
of employment could affect the way respondents answer 
a survey about past negative experiences. In any case, 
it goes without saying that trans persons should not feel 
limited in expressing their gender identity out of fear of 
exclusion from the labour market. 

Figure 22:   Experienced negative comments or 

conduct at school because of being trans, 
by identity group (% often and always)

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

38 

36 

44 

39 

41 

40 

44 

21 

0 

e
g
era
v
ns a
U tra

n
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

n
e

ns m
Tra

ale
M

ale
m
e
F

cross dressers
cross dressers

er
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

d
n
e
G

nt
aria
er v

e
u
Q

er

er/oth

E
Question:  

 C9. During your schooling before the age of 18, 
did you … - C. Experience negative comments 
or conduct at school because of you being 
transgender?

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
felt the question applied to them.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

1�6�  Discrimination in 

healthcare and social 
services

“I have experience of communication with transphobic 
psychologists who think that my gender identity is the result 
of some kind of trauma and is nearly an illness. I do not think 
that it is an illness. I like my identity; I simply do not like 
society’s reaction to it.” (Queer, 40, Latvia)

According to Article 35 of the EU Charter of Fundamental 
Rights “Everyone has the right of access to preventive 
health care and the right to benefit from medical treat-
ment under the conditions established by national laws 
and practices. A high level of human health protection 
shall be ensured in the definition and implementation 
of all the Union’s policies and activities.” 

The specific needs of some parts of the trans popula-
tion make access to healthcare a highly relevant issue. 
Notably, the ECtHR ruled that although a law allowed for 
legal gender recognition, a person’s right to private life 
(Article 8 of the ECHR)49 had still been violated, because 
the law regulating full gender-reassignment surgery, 
although drafted, had yet to be adopted.

Council  of  Europe  Recommendation  2010(5)  calls  on 
member states to ensure that the highest attainable 
standard of health can be effectively enjoyed without 
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or 
gender identity. It also specifies, that ”transgender per-
sons [should] have effective access to appropriate gender 
reassignment services”. Moreover, according to this Rec-
ommendation, “any decisions limiting the costs covered 
by health insurance for gender reassignment procedures 
should be lawful, objective and proportionate”.

Among trans respondents who accessed healthcare ser-
vices in the 12 months preceding the survey, over one 
in five (22%) say that they felt personally discriminated 
against by healthcare personnel because of being trans. 
Similarly, 19 % of trans respondents who used social 
services in the same period felt discriminated against 
by social services personnel (Figure 23). This type of 
discrimination is twice as high among trans respondents 
as among respondents to the EU LGBT survey. 

49  ECtHR, L. v. Lithuania, No. 27527/03, 11 September 2007. 

According to the court’s press release, “The Court observed 
that Lithuanian law had recognised transsexuals’ right to 
change not only their gender but also their civil status. 
However, there was a gap in the relevant legislation: the 
law regulating full gender-reassignment surgery, although 
drafted, had yet to be adopted. In the meantime, no suitable 
medical facilities are reasonably accessible in Lithuania. 
That legislative gap had left the applicant in a situation 
of distressing uncertainty as to his private life and the 
recognition of his true identity.[…] The Court therefore 
concluded that there had been a violation of Article 8.” 

41

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 23:   Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months when accessing healthcare or social services, 

by identity group (% yes)

100 
80 
60 
40 
20 
0 

e 
g
era
v
ns a
U tra

E
Question:  

22 

19 

28 

23 

35 

26 

24 

22 

22 

17 

27 

26 

13 

12 

16 

13 

n 
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

n 
e

ns m
Tra

ale cross 
dressers 

m
e
F

ale cross 
dressers 

M

er 
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

nt 
aria
er v

d
n
e
G

er 

er/oth

e
u
Q

By healthcare 
personnel 
By social 
service 
personnel 

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you personally felt discriminated against because of being trans in any of the 
following situations:.. - D. By healthcare personnel (e.g. a receptionist, nurse or doctor) - E. By social service personnel?

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who accessed healthcare services in the 12 months preceding the survey 
(N=5,236) and/or who accessed social services (N=1,921).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Experiences  differed  by  identity  group,  with  trans 
women, trans men and transgender respondents indi-
cating the highest rate of negative experiences. 

Figure 24:   Feeling discriminated when accessing 

healthcare in the last 12 months, 
by EU Member State (%)

Discrimination experiences by healthcare personnel 
differ by country. Excluding EU Member States where 
the number of trans responses for analysis was too 
small, Slovakia showed the lowest incidence (8 %) 
and France (30%), Germany, Sweden and the United 
Kingdom (26 % for all three) the highest (in both cases 
excluding the EU Member States where the number of 
trans respondents available for analysis is low). These 
are presented with an asterisk in Figure 24.

Increased openness to medical staff/healthcare person-
nelis linked to more negative experiencesincreased dis-
crimination. Of those respondents who were not open 
vis-à-vis medical staff 16 % report negative experi-
ences. This rises to 30 % when they were open to a 
few, to most or to all medical staff they encountered. 
Again, it is important to guarantee healthcare services 
in which trans people are encouraged to express their 
gender identity. Trans persons should not be required 
to hide or disguise their gender identity to avoid nega-
tive experiences in accessing treatment and enjoying 
their right to health.

EU trans average
LT*
CY*
LV*
MT*
FR
DE
SE
UK
LU*
FI
DK
HR
HU
EE*
ES
CZ
PL
RO
IE
NL
IT
EL
PT
BE
AT
BG
SK
SI*

22 

39 

33 
33 
33 
30 

26 
26 
26 
25 
24 
23 
22 
22 
20 
20 
19 
19 
19 
18 
18 
17 
16 
16 
15 
14 
14 
8 
7 

Question:  

Note:  

Base:  

0

20

40

60

80 100

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you 
personally felt discriminated against because of 
being trans in any of the following situations:.. - 
D. By healthcare personnel (e.g. a receptionist, 
nurse or doctor). Yes.

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey 
that had accessed healthcare services in the 
12 months preceding the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

42

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

1�6�1�   Experiences in accessing 
healthcare services

“Having travelled in Europe I found myself to be a second-
class citizen basically everywhere I’ve been. In my home 
country I still cannot change my birth certificate, from which 
all my other IDs are derived, to reflect my true gender. 
I have to live up to the gender expectations of medical 
professionals to receive treatment.” (Trans, 34, Ireland)

In  the  EU  LGBT  Survey  one  in  five  trans  respond-
ents (21 %) indicate having experienced inappropriate 
curiosity and 17 % say that their specific needs were 
ignored when accessing healthcare services (Figure 25). 

These experiences differ according to identity group. 
Gender variant respondents and female and male cross 
dressers  report  fewer  negative  incidents  involving 
healthcare personnel (Table 2). 

For  many  trans  people  the  discrepancy  between 
gender identity and/or expression and the body can 
lead to difficulties when accessing healthcare services. 
In the EU-wide Transgender Eurostudy, up to 30 % of 
respondents experienced a situation where a health-
care practitioner wanted to help but lacked information 
about trans issues.50 In a Belgian study, a third of trans 
persons report having changed healthcare provider or 
avoided mental health services due to prior negative 
experiences. Of the total, 70 % encountered negative 
experiences in healthcare.51 

Figure 25:  Experiences when using or trying to access healthcare services as a trans person, by situation (%)

Inappropriate curiosity 

Speciﬁc needs ignored (not taken into account) 

Pressure or being forced to undergo any 
medical or psychological test 

Forgoing treatment for fear of 
discrimination or intolerant reactions 

Difﬁculty in gaining access to healthcare 

Having to change general practitioners 
or other specialists due to their negative reaction 
Receiving unequal treatment when 
dealing with medical staff 

21 

17 

15 

14 

12 

12 

11 

Question:  

 C10. Have you ever experienced any of the following situations when using or trying to access healthcare services as a 
trans person?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

Base:  

All Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

50  Whittle, S. et al. (2008).
51  Motmans, J. et al. (2010); see also for Ireland: McNeil, J. et al. 

(2013). 

43

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 2: 

 Experiences when using or trying to access healthcare services as a trans person, by identity 
group (%)

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

21

17

15

14

12

12

11

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

25

33

32

26

39

31

33

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

16

15

17

15

15

17

16

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

5

4

3

5

2*

4

4

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

4

3

4

3*

2*

3

3*

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

21

20

22

22

20

22

18

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

5

5

4

7

4

5

4

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

23

19

15

22

18

18

23

Inappropriate curiosity

Specific needs ignored (not 
taken into account)

Pressure or being forced to undergo 
any medical or psychological test

Forgoing treatment for fear of dis-
crimination or intolerant reactions

Difficulty in gaining access to healthcare

Having to change general prac-
titioners or other specialists due 
to their negative reaction

Receiving unequal treatment when 
dealing with medical staff

Question:  

 C10. Have you ever experienced any of the following situations when using or trying to access healthcare services as a 
trans person?

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

All Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012 

1�7�  Discrimination in other 
goods and services 
available to the public
“I do not want to receive any special treatment because 
of my gender but, merely be accepted as a woman. […] 
I am pigeonholed/labelled as a transgender and that in 
my perception is not the case, I am female. It is virtually 
impossible to live life stealthily when organisations seem 
to insist that you disclose previous names and gender, to be 
able to qualify for certain goods and services.” 

(‘Other’ identity, 42, United Kingdom).

Aside from access to health and education, there are 
other goods and services relevant to the experiences 
of trans persons, such as housing, sports and going out 
to bars and restaurants.The Gender Equality Directive 
on Goods and Services (Directive 2004/113/EC) bans 
discrimination in these areas on the grounds of sex. It 
covers discrimination on the grounds of gender reas-
signment (in accordance with CJEU case law), but not 
on gender identity or gender expression as such. This 
leaves half of the EU LGBT trans sample – all those who 
have not undergone gender reassignment – unprotected 

44

from discrimination by the EU law for equal treatment 
between women and men. In the field of application of 
EU law, however, the general principle of non-discrimi-
nation would apply.

In 2008, the European Commission proposed a Council 
Directive on implementing the principle of equal treat-
ment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, 
disability, age or sexual orientation, to broaden the 
scope of protection against discrimination. The Euro-
pean Parliament called on Member States to adopt the 
proposed directive. Recently, in its Resolution on the 
EU Roadmap against homophobia and discrimination 
on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity 
the European Parliament called on the Commission to 
“include a specific focus on access to goods and services 
by transgender persons when monitoring the imple-
mentation of Directive 2004/113/EC implementing the 
principle of equal treatment between men and women 
in the access to and supply of goods and services”.52 

The  Council  of  Europe’s  Committee  of  Ministers 
also  addresses  access  to  goods  and  services  in  its 

52  European Parliament (2014).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Recommendation 2010(5). This Recommendation calls 
on member states to ensure, for example, equal access 
to  adequate  housing  and  sport  facilities,  including 
explicitly transgender persons.

Figure 26:   Feeling discriminated against because 
of being trans in services available to 
the public in the last 12 months, 
by identity group (%)

In addition to the domains already covered, the EU LGBT 
survey measured experiences of discrimination because 
of being trans in accessing various goods and services 
available to the public. These included: when looking 
for a house or apartment to rent or buy; visiting a café, 
restaurant, bar or nightclub; visiting a shop; visiting a 
bank or insurance company; or exercising at a sport or 
fitness club. Questions inquired about feeling personally 
discriminated because of being trans, in the 12 months 
preceding  the  survey.  Respondents  were  screened 
beforehand to make sure that the questions concerning 
discrimination were only asked of those who had used 
the particular service or engaged in the given activity. 

Of the trans respondents who accessed these services in 
the 12 months preceding the survey, around 18 %–23 % 
felt personally discriminated against because of being 
trans in shops, cafés, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, 
at sports and fitness clubs and when looking for a house 
during this period. One in eight experienced discrimi-
nation in a bank or insurance company (by bank or 
company personnel). Figure 26 gives an overview of 
the proportion of users who felt discriminated against 
in each activity during the year preceding the survey. 
As in other areas of life, the relative ‘invisibility’ of the 
trans group, their openness or avoidance behaviour 
when using these services may result in lower rates of 
discrimination than if they are more open about being 
trans.  The  main  survey  results  report53  shows  that 
trans respondents face markedly more discrimination 
because of being trans than other LGB groups when 
using these services. These findings indicate the need 
for a horizontal approach aiming at anti-discrimination 
for trans people in all areas of life.

“There is nothing stopping providers of goods and services 
from making it mandatory for people to identify as male or 
female to use them. This is a huge problem as a lot of things 
are done online and you cannot use the good or service 
without identifying as female or male. Basically this means 
that I suffer constant discrimination.” 

(Gender variant, 24, United Kingdom)

One in five (20 %) trans respondents who looked for 
a house or apartment to rent or buy in the year pre-
ceding the survey said they felt personally discrimi-
nated against because of being trans. The group of 
trans women in particular (34 %) indicate a high rate 
of discrimination, but transgender (25 %) and male cross 
dressers (23 %) also score above the EU average for 
trans respondents.

53  FRA (2014a).

EU trans average 

Trans women 

Trans men 

Female cross 
dressers 

Male cross 
dressers 

Transgender 

Gender variant 

Queer/other 

23 

20 
20 

18 

12 

26 

34 

23 

21 

18 

19 

16 

18 

22 

14 

26 

18 

21 

23 

27 

23 
22 

19 

14 

20 

14 

28 

25 

27 

20 

18 
19 

23 

20 

13 

15 
14 

7 

7 

8 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

Cafés/bars/restaurants 

Sport/ﬁtness 

Housing 

Shops 

Banks 

Question:  

Base:  

 C4. During the last 12 months, have you 
personally felt discriminated against because of 
being [category on the basis of A3 or A4] in any 
of the following situations: C. When looking for 
a house or apartment to rent or buy (by people 
working in a public or private housing agency, 
by a landlord)? G. At a café, restaurant, bar or 
nightclub? H. At a shop? I. In a bank or insurance 
company (by bank or company personnel)? J. At 
a sport or fitness club?

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey that 
have used/accessed the respecive services in 
the 12 months before the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

45

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Trans respondents in the youngest age group (18–24) 
are less likely (16 %) than trans respondents aged 25 
and above (22 %) to have experienced this type of dis-
crimination. Feelings of discrimination do not vary by 
educational level. Respondent not in paid work report 
feelings of discrimination when looking for a house or 
apartment to rent or buy in the 12 months preceding 
the survey far more often than those in paid work (31 % 
versus 18 %). Similarly, respondents from the lowest 
income quartile indicate significantly more often (27 %) 
having felt discriminated against in the same situation 
than the other income groups (14 %–19 %).

Of those trans respondents who visited a café, restau-
rant, bar or nightclub in the 12 months preceding the 
survey, slightly over one in five (23 %) felt discrimi-
nated against when doing so because of being trans. 
Trans men are the least likely to indicate this (19 %). 
Young trans respondents are more likely to indicate 
such feelings than older respondents. Trans respond-
ents in paid work were less often discriminated against 
than those not in paid work (20 % versus 26 %) when 
they visited a café, restaurant, bar or nightclub in the 
12 months preceding to the survey. Respondents from 
the two lowest income quartiles are more likely to have 
experienced this kind of discrimination than those from 
the two highest income quartiles.

Of those trans respondents who visited a shop in the 
year before the survey, one in five (20 %) felt discrimi-
nated against when doing so because of being trans. 
Transgender respondents indicated the highest rate of 
feeling discriminated against in shops in the 12 months 
preceding the survey (27 %). Discrimination experi-
ences in shops during the 12 months prior to the survey 
becomes less frequent when respondents are older. 
Respondents in paid work felt discriminated against less 
often than those not in paid work (18 % versus 24 %). 
The same distinction exists between more highly edu-
cated54 (18 %) and less educated respondents (21 %). 
Respondents from the two lowest income quartiles are 
more likely to have felt discriminated against in shops 
than those from the two highest income quartiles. This 
difference is only valid for those in paid work.

One in five (18 %) trans respondents who exercised 
at a sport and fitness club in the year preceding the 
survey  say  that  they  felt  personally  discriminated 
against because of being trans. The group of queer/
other respondents areless likely than the other sub 
groups to indicate having felt discriminated against 
in this way (14 %). Feeling discriminated against at a 
sport or fitness club is less frequent among the older 
age groups (aged 40 and above) than among younger 
respondents. Trans respondents in paid work are less 

54  More highly educated covers respondents with college/

university/higher academic education.

likely to indicate having felt discriminated against than 
those not in paid work (15 % versus 24 %). Smilarly, 
trans respondents from the lower income quartiles are 
more likely to indicate having felt discriminated against 
than those from higher income quartiles. 

One in eight trans respondents (12 %) who visited a 
bank or insurance company in the year preceding the 
survey felt discriminated against because of being trans 
by bank or company personnel during that time. Again, 
trans women are the most likely to indicate having felt 
discriminated against in this way (18 %). For this type 
of discrimination, there is no difference between age 
groups. Trans respondents in paid work feel less often 
discriminated against than those not in paid work (10 % 
versus 18 %). Trans respondents who were not in paid 
work and who were from the lowest income quartile, 
are more likely to have felt discriminated against in this 
way than those not in paid work and from the other 
income quartiles. 

1�8�  Reporting discrimination 
incidents and rights 
awareness

“The reason for me not reporting discrimination is that it is 
structural and very difficult to pinpoint.” 

(Transexual, Bisexual, 37, Sweden)

Reporting discrimination incidents to the competent 
authorities, such as the Equality Bodies, is essential 
to combat discrimination based on gender identity. 
For the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds 
of gender identity to be effective, it is important to 
enforce the existing legal framework prohibiting dis-
crimination in the field of employment. The Gender 
Equality Directive (recast) provides for the establish-
ment of equality bodies tasked with assisting victims 
of discrimination in pursuing their complaints about 
discrimination (Article 20.2(a)). Victims of discrimina-
tion are encouraged to report incidents to equality 
bodies.  Moreover,  Member  States  must  allow  civil 
society organisations to help the victims in judicial or 
administrative proceedings (Article 17.2).

One of the main objectives of the EU LGBT survey was 
to collect information on the level of awareness of 
the legal prohibition of discrimination and the level of 
reporting of discrimination incidents which respond-
ents thought had occurred because they were LGBT. The 
survey asked those who encountered discrimination in 
any of the previously discussed services of public inter-
est whether they or someone else had reported the 
incident. Respondents were also asked to recall their 
most recent incident of discrimination. 

46

Only very small numbers of respondents reported their 
last incident (15 %) (Figure 27). Nevertheless, trans 
people are more likely to report the last incident of 
discrimination than other LGB groups (8 % of lesbian 
women, 11 % of gay men, 6 % of bisexual women and 
11 % of bisexual men).55 Trans women are the most 
likely to report it (23 %), and gender variant persons 
the least likely (6 %). 

Figure 27:   Reporting of the most recent 

discrimination incident, by identity 
group (%)

EU trans average 

15 

Trans women 

23 

Trans men 

12 

Female cross dressers 

7 

Male cross dressers 

Transgender 

13 

16 

Gender variant 

6 

Queer/other 

12 

Question:  

Base:  

0 

30 
 C6. Thinking about the most recent incident, did 
you or anyone else report it anywhere?

20 

10 

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
accessed various services in the 12 months 
preceding the survey, and felt discriminated 
against when doing so.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

Figure 28 illustrates that more incidents are reported 
when the last one happened at work (29 %). Existing 
equality legislation and policies and procedures in place 
for reporting discrimination that takes place at work 
might help explain these findings. For those whose latest 
experience of discrimination happened when looking 
for a job, the rate of reporting is higher among respond-
ents who know that their country of residence prohibits 
by law discrimination against persons because of their 
gender identity when applying for a job than among 
respondents who are not aware of such a law. The direc-
tion of the correlation can also be reversed: trans persons 
may well be better informed about their legal protec-
tion against discrimination once they themselves have 
reported an incident of discrimination. The data show 
that in general, however, the different country reporting 
rates hinge on which countries promote positive meas-
ures towards trans people, as indicated by the survey 
respondents. When respondents recognise such positive 
measures as fairly or very widespread in a country, the 
rate of reporting of discrimination experiences in the 
year preceding the survey reaches 23 %. When positive 
measures are very or fairly rare in the country, reporting 
rates remain at 14 %. This suggests that were domains 
other than employment to offer a similar level of protec-
tion against discrimination for trans people, reporting 
numbers in those domains would increase. 

The reasons for not reporting are diverse. An overall 
large number of respondents are: convinced that noth-
ing would happen or change (62 %); feeling that it is not 
worth it (47 %); concerned that the incident would not 
be taken seriously (40 %); or unwilling to reveal their 
sexual orientation and/or gender identity (38 %). Nearly 

Figure 28:  Reporting of the last discrimination incident, by type (%)

When looking for a house or apartment to rent or buy* 

1 

When looking for a job 

At work 

By healthcare personnel 

By social service personnel* 

2 

By school/university personnel 

9 

At a café, restaurant, bar or nightclub 

At a shop 

In a bank or insurance company* 

At a sport or ﬁtness club* 

2 

4 

5 

29 

13 

13 

13 

When showing your ID or any ofﬁcial document 

9 

10 

0 

20 

30 

40 

50 

Question:  

C6. Thinking about the most recent incident, did you or anyone else report it anywhere?

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who accessed the listed services in the 12 months before the survey, felt 
discriminated against when doing so, referring to the most recent incident domain.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

55  FRA (2014a).

47

Being Trans in the EU – Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

one in three (30%) did not know where to report their 
experience. Emotional reasons are also mentioned, such 
as shame, fear and being emotionally upset (Figure 29).

The cross dresser and gender variant respondent groups 
are the most likely not to report the most recent incident 

of discrimination because they are unwilling to reveal 
their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The 
group of trans women are the least likely to choose 
this option as a reason for not reporting (Figure 30).

Figure 29:  Why most recent incident of discrimination was not reported (%)

Nothing would happen or change 

62 

Not worth reporting it – ‘it happens all the time' 

Concerned that the incident would not have been taken seriously 

Did not want to reveal my sexual orientation and/or gender identity 

47 

40 

38 

Didn't know how or where to report 

Too much trouble, no time 

Dealt with the problem myself/with help from family or friends 

Because I was too emotionally upset to report it 

Fear of intimidation by perpetrators 

30 

25 

18 

16 

16 

Other reason(s) 

10 

0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Questions:  

C6. Thinking about the most recent incident, did you or anyone else report it anywhere? ‘No’. 

C7. Why was it not reported?

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were discriminated against, and did not reported the most recent 
discrimination incident.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 30:   Respondents not reporting discrimination incidents to avoid revealing their sexual orientation and/

or gender identity (%)

EU trans average 

Trans women 

Trans men 

Female cross dressers 

Male cross dressers 

Transgender 

Gender variant 

Queer/other 

29 

38 

37 

48 

43 

38 

40 

48 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

Questions:  

 C6. Thinking about the most recent incident, did you or anyone else report it anywhere? ‘No’.  
C7. Why was it not reported? – 2. Did not want to reveal my sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

Base:  

 Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were discriminated against, and did not reported the most recent 
discrimination incident.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

48

 
Discrimination: experiences, awareness, reporting and perceptions

FRA opinions

Discrimination in employment and access to goods and services

The survey results show a strikingly strong correlation between gender expression and discrimination experiences. 
When revising current equality legislation or adopting new legislation in that area, the EU legislator should ensure 
that the legislation also covers discrimination based on gender identity. The current legal protection granted by EU 
law to those who intend, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment should be extended to all trans 
persons. 

The  survey  shows  that  very  few  trans  respondents  report  the  discrimination  incidents  they  experience  to 
the  authorities.  The  EU  should  continue  to  monitor  closely  the  effectiveness  of  national  complaints  bodies  and 
procedures in the context of the implementation of the Gender Equality Directive (2006/54/EC) recast) and Gender 
Equality Directive on Goods and Services (2004/113/EC). EU Member States should ensure that equality bodies and 
other national complaints mechanisms are adequately mandated and resourced in order to increase awareness of 
discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and improve reporting of incidents. 

EU Member States should ensure that the public sector develops and implements diversity strategies and equal 
treatment policies in full respect of privacy, sharing experiences and good practices addressing the needs of trans 
persons. This may be achieved by, for example, adoptng codes of conduct and facilitating changes in name and 
gender markers on employment-related documents. Member States should encourage efforts by trade unions and 
employers’ organisations to improve diversity and non-discrimination policies on the grounds of gender identity at 
the workplace and in vocational training institutions.

Discrimination in education

The survey shows that education is an area where trans respondents experience bullying and negative reactions 
because  of  their  gender  expression  or  identity.  The  EU  should  help  combating  bully  of  trans  persons  in  schools 
whether of students or parents, as part of its efforts to combat gender stereotypes through the EU Strategy for 
equality  between  women  and  men.  The  EU’s  Programme  for  Education  should  encourage  peer  learning  among 
EU Member States and promote existing best practices tackling transphobic bullying. 

EU Member States should ensure that schools provide a safe and supportive environment for trans persons, free 
from discrimination, bullying and exclusion. Schools should be encouraged to adopt general anti-bullying policies 
that include trans issues. 

The  competent  public  authorities,  such  as  equality  bodies,  national  human  rights  institutions  and  children’s 
ombudspersons,  should  be  properly  mandated,  resourced  and  encouraged  to  explore  cases  of  bullying  and 
discrimination on grounds of gender identity in education. 

EU Member States should ensure that objective information on gender identity and gender expression is part of 
school curricula, to encourage respect and understanding among staff and students and to raise awareness of the 
problems faced by trans persons. EU Member States should provide training to educational professionals on how to 
approach trans issues in education and on how to deal with incidents of transphobic bullying and harassment. 

Discrimination and access to health

As the survey shows, about one in five respondents who accessed healthcare services or social services in the year 
preceding the survey felt discriminated against by healthcare or social service personnel because of being trans. 
EU Member States should ensure that adequate training and awareness raising is offered to healthcare practitioners 
and  health  insurance  personnel  on  the  health  needs  of  trans  persons  to  eliminate  prejudices  and  improve  the 
provision of services to trans persons. 

EU  Member  States  should  consider  ensuring  that  trans-specific  healthcare  services  are  available  and  that  trans 
persons  can  enjoy  equal  and  respectful  treatment  when  accessing  healthcare  services.  Member  States  should 
consider facilitating gender confirming treatment, and, where this is unavailable, promoting access to such treatment 
in an EU Member State that offers it.

EU Member States should reference trans-specific healthcare in their national health plans and policies and ensure 
that health surveys, training curricula and health policies also take into account trans persons and their needs.

49

2 

Violence and harassment

2.1.  Research and policy 

context

“The implementation of the provisions of this Convention 
by the Parties, in particular measures to protect the rights 
of victims, shall be secured without discrimination on 
any ground such as sex, gender, race, colour, language, 
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, 
association with a national minority, property, birth, 
sexual orientation, gender identity, age, state of health, 
disability, marital status, migrant or refugee status, or 
other status.”

Council of Europe (11 May 2011), Council of Europe Convention 
on preventing and combating violence against women and 
domestic violence

Acts of violence and harassment infringe the right to 
life, the right to respect for physical and mental integrity 
and therefore human dignity. These rights are protected 
by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In 2012, the EU adopted the Victims’ Directive (Directive 
2012/29/EU), establishing minimum standards on the 
rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The 
directive aims to ensure that victims of crime receive 
appropriate information, support and protection and are 
able to participate in criminal proceedings (Article 1). 
The directive mentions ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender 
expression’ several times. In Recital 9, for instance, 
it establishes ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expres‑
sion’ as grounds of discrimination. Relevant authori‑
ties responsible for providing help to victims of crime 
should identify specific protection needs by individu‑
ally assessing victims (Article 22). In this regard, they 
should take the victim’s gender identity or expression 
into account (Recital 56).

The EU Victims’ Directive should be seen in the context 
of previously adopted EU legislation which requires 

Main findings

•  Trans respondents report a high level of violence, 

hate‑motivated attacks and harassment. One in three trans 
respondents (34 %) experienced violence or was threatened 
with violence in the five years preceding the survey. One 
in eight (15 %) experienced violence or was threatened 
with violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. Trans 
respondents are the most likely of all LGBT groups to say 
they were attacked or threatened with violence in both the 
five‑year and one‑year time periods.

•  Nearly one in ten (8 %) of all trans respondents were 

physically or sexually attacked or threatened with violence in 
a way which they think happened in part or entirely because 
they were perceived to be trans.

•  The annual incidence rate of violence is around one incident 
per two trans respondents, which is twice as high as the 
incidence rates for lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents. 
About two in five (44 %) trans respondents who were 
victims of violence in the 12 months preceding the survey 
indicate that this happened three times or more in the 
preceding year.

•  Trans women, male cross dressers and transgender 

respondents are the most likely to say they experienced 
hate‑motivated violence in the 12 months preceding the 
survey.

• 

In general, physical and/or sexual attacks (assaults) 
happened more often than the threats of such violence.

•  Two in three trans respondents (62 %) indicate that they 

were personally harassed by someone or a group in a way 
that really annoyed, offended or upset them – at work, at 
home, on the street, on public transport, in a shop, in an 
office or on the internet – in the 12 months preceding the 
survey.

•  Socio‑demographic analyses of the data on harassment 

indicate that respondents who are younger, not in paid work, 
and/or from the lowest income class are the most likely to 

51

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

have experienced hate‑motivated violence in the 12 months 
preceding the survey.

•  Perpetrators of violence and harassment are in most cases 
unknown males acting in groups. Most incidents take place 
in public outdoor spaces. Of all outdoor locations, trans 
respondents most often cite incidents in a street, square, 
car park or other public place. Of all indoor locations, 
hate‑motivated violence happens most often at home, 
whereas hate‑motivated harassment happens most often 
at the workplace. One in 10 of the most recent incidents of 
harassment took place on the internet or by email, including 
Facebook, Twitter and so on.

•  One in four of the most serious (24 %) violent incidents are 
reported to the police. Trans respondents are the most likely 
of all LGBT groups to report to the police. However, only 
8 % of the most serious hate‑motivated harassments are 
reported.

•  The most cited reason for not going to the police is a deep 
mistrust of the police authorities: half of the respondents 
did not report the incident because they thought that the 
police would not do anything, and one in three because they 
thought they could not do anything. Additionally, over one 
in three respondents did not report the incident out of fear of 
a homophobic and/or transphobic reaction from the police. 
In the case of hate‑motivated harassment, respondents most 
often say that the incident was too minor, not serious enough 
to be reported, or that it did not occur to them that they could 
report it.

•  When hate‑motivated violence or harassment was reported 

to an organisation other than the police, most trans 
respondents reported to an LGBT organisation (more than 
half), one in 10 reported to a state or national institution, 
such as an equality body, and/or around 7 %–15 % to 
a general victim support organisation.

Member States to take measures to combat certain 
forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by 
means  of  criminal  law  (Framework  Decision 
2008/913/JHA). Although this framework decision is 
restricted to race, colour, religion, descent or national 
or ethnic origin, a majority of EU Member States have 
opted  to  include  other  grounds,  such  as  sexual 
orientation or gender identity, in criminal definitions 
protecting against discrimination.56

The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, an impor‑
tant  standard‑setting  instrument,  explicitly  includes 
gender  identity.  The  convention  aims  to  “prevent, 
prosecute and eliminate violence against women and 
domestic violence” (Article 1.1). The convention includes 
a non‑discrimination clause, according to which “imple‑
mentation of the provisions of this Convention […] shall 
be secured without discrimination on any ground such as 
[…] gender identity”. This is based on the understanding 

56  FRA (2014b), pp. 137, 219.

52

that violence against women is a form of gender‑based 
violence that is committed against women because they 
are women. Violence against trans people could also be 
considered gender‑based violence when that violence is 
committed against trans people because they are trans 
(or gender nonconforming). Those who fail to adhere to 
norms on how men and women should behave in society, 
known as binary gender norms, experience resentment 
or even violence in their social surroundings, whatever 
their sexual orientation or gender identity. The FRA’s 
LGBT Main results report found that this holds true for 
the entire LGBT sample, not just for trans respondents.57

The European Parliament called on Member States “to 
register and investigate hate crimes against LGBTI58 
people,  and  adopt  criminal  legislation  prohibiting 
incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orienta‑
tion and gender identity.” Similarly, the Recommenda‑
tion Rec(2010)5 encourages Council of Europe member 
states to “ensure effective, prompt and impartial inves‑
tigations into alleged cases of crimes and other inci‑
dents, where the sexual orientation or gender identity 
of the victim is reasonably suspected to have consti‑
tuted a motive for the perpetrator”. It also calls upon 
them to “ensure that […] those responsible for such acts 
are effectively brought to justice and, where appropri‑
ate, punished in order to avoid impunity”.59

A study from Scotland found that a quarter of the trans 
respondents left their homes – often ending up home‑
less – because of transphobic reactions from family 
members,  roommates  or  neighbours.60  A  European 
research study found that eight in 10 trans respond‑
ents experienced some form of harassment in public, 
with negative comments followed by verbal abuse the 
most common types of harassment across all coun‑
tries.61 In a recent violence study in Belgium, four fifths 
of the trans participants reported having experienced 
transphobic verbal harassment, one third indicated 
sexual violence and a quarter reported having expe‑
rienced physical violence at some point before the 
survey.62 In general, trans women are more likely to 
experience harassment than trans men. Those who are 
not recognised as trans, reflected in what is known as 
the level of passability, helps shield them from violent 
experiences.63 An Irish study found that eight in 10 trans 
respondents avoid some public places or situations due 
to fear of harassment.64

57  FRA (2014a).
58  The acronym ‘LGBTI’ also includes ‘intersex’ persons.
59  CoE, Committee of Ministers (2010), Recommendation 

Rec(2010)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states 
on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual 
orientation or gender identity..

60  Morton, J. (2008).
61  Turner, L. et al. (2009).
62  Motmans, J.et al. (2014).
63  Ibid.
64  McNeil, J. et al. (2013).

Violence and harassment

2.2.  What did the survey ask?
“The fear of harassment or worse makes me walk society’s 
lines and avoid being my real self.” (Gender variant, 43, 
Germany)

While the previous sections focused on social accept‑
ance in the general environment and the feeling of 
being discriminated against, this section examines the 
results concerning experiences of attacks, threats and 
harassment trans respondents encounter.65 The EU LGBT 
survey asked respondents about their experience of 
violence and harassment over two time periods – the 
five years and the 12 months preceding the survey – 
employing a technique frequently used in victimisa‑
tion surveys. The questionnaire captured information 
about incidents experienced and identified as violence 
or harassment by respondents. These instances were 
not necessarily judged as such by administrative or judi‑
cial processes.

If a respondent indicated having experienced violence 
or harassment in the 12‑month timeframe, the survey 
queried the number of such incidents. In analysing these 
answers, researchers computed the incidence rate of 
violence or harassment experienced by survey respond‑
ents. To estimate the proportion of hate‑based violence 
and harassment respondents had suffered, the survey 
answers first clarified whether or not victims felt that 
the last incident of violence or harassment in this time 
period was in any way related to them being a trans 
person. Additionally, the questionnaire collected several 
other details about the last incident of violence or har‑
assment, such as the types, perpetrators and reporting.

Throughout this chapter, we deal both with physical or 
sexual attacks and with threats of violence. In addition, 
‘hate‑motivated violence’ and ‘hate‑motivated harass‑
ment’ are used to describe incidents which respondents 
thought happened in part or entirely because they were 
perceived to be trans.

2.3.  Violence and 

hate‑motivated violence

“To be a transgender in Lithuania is the hardest thing 
imaginable. I live with constant fear, in the end you 
don’t even want to live at all. […]. I experience so much 
discrimination, harassment and violence that this has 
become my daily life.” (Transgender, 25, Lithuania)

“Homophobia and transphobia are violations of human 
dignity. Homophobic and transphobic attitudes are 
incompatible with the values and principles upon which 
the European Union is founded – as laid out in Article 2 of 
the Treaty.”

European Commission (2013), The Commission’s actions are making LGBT 
rights a reality, SPEECH/13/424, The Hague, 17 May 2013

In the five years preceding the survey, 34 % of all trans 
respondents experienced violence or threats of vio‑
lence, and 15 % experienced violence or threats of 
violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. Trans 
respondents are the most likely of all LGBT groups to 
say they were attacked or threatened with violence in 
both the five‑year and one‑year time periods. A break‑
down by trans identity group shows a particularly high 
prevalence of violent incidents for some groups in the 
12 months prior to the survey (32 % for queer/other 
respondents  and  36 %  for  male  cross  dressers,  for 
example) (Figure 31).

Understanding  how  trans  persons  experience  vio‑
lence also requires considering whether or not they 
are victims of repeated incidents of violence, mean‑
ing that they may have been attacked or threatened 
with violence multiple times within a 12‑month period. 
Respondents who say that they experienced violence 
in the 12 months preceding the survey were asked how 
many times this occured.66 The average number of vio‑
lent incidents experienced per respondent per year was 
then calculated by taking the data on the number of 
violent incidents per year for the various respondent 
groups and applying the survey’s weighting method‑
ology. This process gives an annual incidence rate of 
violence, showing how often survey respondents were 
victims of attacks or threats of violence in the 12 months 
preceding to the survey.

The results show that the annual incidence rate of vio‑
lence is around one incident per two trans respondents, 
which is twice as high as the incidence rates for lesbian, 
gay and bisexual respondents.

Around two in five (42 %) trans respondents who were 
victims of violence in the 12 months before the survey 
indicate that this happened three times or more in the 
previous year (Figure 32).

65  Acknowledging that recollecting memories and answering 
questions about the details of past incidences of violence 
could cause significant psychological discomfort for some 
respondents, the questionnaire offered direct links to LGBT 
and victim‑support organisations and national helplines for 
distressed respondents.

66  Respondents were asked to specify whether they had been 
victims of violence once, twice, three times, four times, 
five times, six to 10 times or more than 10 times in the 
previous year. For this analysis, the “six to 10 times” 
category was assigned a fixed number of seven incidents, 
and the “more than 10 times” category 11. Those who did 
not report any experience of violence in the past year were 
assigned 0. This included all incidents, regardless of whether 
or not respondents attributed them to their being trans, and 
could have happened anywhere in the EU.

53

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 31:  Prevalence of violence and threats of violence in the last five years and the last 12 months, by 

identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

15 

18 

14 

19 

18 

18 

34 

38 

32 

41 

36 

38 

11 

12 

27 

32 

In the ﬁve years before the survey 

In the 12 months before the survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   F1_A. In the last 5 years, have you been: physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence at home or elsewhere 

(street, on public transport, at your workplace, etc.) for any reason? Yes.

FA1_2. When did the LAST physical/sexual attack or threat of violence happen? In the last 12 months.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 32:  Number of incidents of violence in the 
last 12 months among trans 
respondents (%)

34

28

14

24

Once

Twice

Three

Four or more

Question:  

Base:  

FA1_3. How many times did somebody 
physically/sexually attack or threaten you with 
violence in the last 12 months in the European 
Union/in this country?

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
experienced physical/sexual attack or threat of 
violence in the 12 months before the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

2.3.1.  Hate‑motivated violence

Of those trans respondents who say they experienced 
violence or threats of violence in the 12 months pre‑
ceding the survey, the majority (56 %) think that the 
last such incident happened in part or entirely because 
they were perceived to be trans. When asked about 
the most serious incident in the last five years, half of 
all trans respondents (50 %) think this incident hap‑
pened in part or entirely because they were perceived 
to be trans.

Combined with the data on the prevalence of violence, 
the data on hate‑motivated incidents indicate that in 
the 12 months preceding the survey, 8 % of all trans 
respondents were physically or sexually attacked or 
threatened with violence which they think happened 
partly or entirely because they were perceived to be 
trans (Figure 34). This calculation takes into account 
both the most recent and the most serious incident, 
if it took place in the 12 months preceding the survey. 
Trans women, male cross dressers and transgender 
respondents are the most likely to say they expe‑
rienced hate‑motivated violence during that timed. 
In general, physical and/or sexual attacks (assaults) 
happened more often than threats of physical and/or 
sexual violence (5 % assaults versus 3 % threats). This 
finding was true for all identity groups.

A breakdown by identity group shows that female and 
male cross dressers are the most likely to have suffered 
multiple violent incidents (three times or more) in the 
12 months preceding the survey (Figure 33).

The  number  of  respondents  who  experienced 
hate‑motivated violence in the 12 months preced‑
ing  the  survey  varies  greatly  by  Member  State 
(Figure 35). Respondents from Lithuania indicate the 

54

 
Violence and harassment

Figure 33:  Respondents who were attacked or threatened with physical and/or sexual violence in the last 

12 months, by number of incidents and identity groups (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

34 

30 

35 

35 

35 

35 

34 

33 

24 

25 

24 

16 

17 

25 

23 

21 

42 

45 

41 

49 

48 

40 

43 

46 

Once 

Twice 

Three times
or more 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

FA1_3. How many times did somebody physically/sexually attack or threaten you with violence in the last 12 months in the 
European Union/in this country?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who experienced physical/sexual attack or threat of violence in the 12 months 
before the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

highest percentage of hate‑motivated violence (19 %). 
But even in countries with a robust legal apparatus 
against  hate‑motivated  crimes,  such  as  Belgium, 
the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands, 
around one in 10 respondents say they experienced 
hate‑motivated crime in the year preceding the survey. 
These  numbers  are  much  higher  than  what  police 
statistics show.

Socio‑demographic analyses of the data indicate that 
respondents who are younger, not in paid work, and/
or from the lowest income class are the most likely 
to have experienced hate‑motivated violence in the 
12 months preceding the survey. Respondents in paid 
work indicate such experiences less often (7 %) than 
those not in paid work (11 %). Regardless of being in 
paid work or not, those from the lowest income class 

Figure 34:  Prevalence of hate‑motivated violence in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

5 3

Trans women

9

6

Trans men

4 3

Female cross dressers

6 2

Male cross dressers

10

4

Transgender

7

4

Gender variant

3 2

Queer/other

3 2

Assault 
Threat 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   FA1_2. When did the LAST physical/sexual attack or threat of violence happen?

FA2_2. When did the MOST SERIOUS incident of physical/sexual attack or threat of violence you experienced in the last 
5 years happen?

FA1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of physical/sexual attack or threat of violence in the past 12 months happened partly 
or completely because you were perceived to be trans?

FA2_5. Do you think this physical/sexual attack or threat happened partly or completely because you were perceived to 
be trans?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

55

 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 35:  Prevalence of hate‑motivated violence 

in the last 12 months, by EU Member 
State (%)

2.3.2.  Type, perpetrators and place 

of hate‑motivated violence

EU trans average
LT
IE
BE
UK
RO
BG
EE*
HU
SK
SE
LV*
HR
CZ
NL
FR
DE
ES
PL
EL
DK
IT
AT
FI
PT
SI*
MT*
LU*
CY*

19 

8 

13 
12 
12 
11 
11 
11 
10 
10 
10 
10 
9 
9 
8 
8 
8 
7 
7 
7 
6 
6 
6 

4 

2 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0

10

20

30

40

50

Questions:  

 FA1_2. When did the LAST physical/sexual attack 
or threat of violence happen?

FA2_2. When did the MOST SERIOUS incident of 
physical/sexual attack or threat of violence you 
experienced in the last 5 years happen?

FA1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of 
physical/sexual attack or threat of violence in the 
past 12 months happened partly or completely 
because you were perceived to be trans?

FA2_5. Do you think this physical/sexual attack 
or threat happened partly or completely because 
you were perceived to be trans?

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

report more experiences of hate‑motivated violence in 
the 12 months preceding the survey than those from 
the highest income class (12 % versus 5 %).

“I have experienced humiliation, beatings, and insults from 
people I know and people I do not know, but I wanted people 
in my surroundings to learn that I am a human being like 
any other, and that my sexual orientation does not make 
me different from them! I am a human being – a person. 
I am proud of being gay; I’ve never lied and will never do 
so in the future, no matter what price [I have to pay].” 
(Trans, Gay, 29, Bulgaria)

To gather further information on the nature of violent 
hate‑motivated incidents, the survey asked respond‑
ents who experienced hate‑based violence in the year 
preceding the survey about the last violent incident 
they experienced. Respondents were also asked for 
specific  details  about  the  most  serious  incident  of 
violence experienced in the five years preceding the 
survey.

Figure 36:  Most recent incident of hate‑motivated 

violence, by type of violence (%)

1

17

2

28

5

7

40

Physical attack 

Sexual attack* 

Physical and sexual
attack 

Threat of physical
violence 

Threat of sexual
violence* 

Threat of both physical
and sexual violence 

Don't know* 

Questions:  

 FA1_4. Thinking about the LAST physical/sexual 
attack or threat of violence, what happened 
to you?

Note:  

Base:  

FA1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of 
physical/sexual attack or threat of violence in the 
past 12 months happened partly or completely 
because you were perceived to be trans?

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who 
were physically/sexually attacked or threatened 
with violence in the 12 months before the survey 
partly or entirely because they were perceived to 
be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

56

 
 
 
 
Violence and harassment

Type of hate‑motivated violence

The most common recent incident was a threat of vio‑
lence (60 %). In four out of 10 cases (40 %) the respond‑
ents reported an actual attack. This result concerns only 
the most recent incident suffered in the 12 months pre‑
ceding the survey. Other, perhaps more serious, inci‑
dents might have taken place in the same time period.

Because of the total low numbers of trans respondents 
with experience of hate‑motivated incidents (N=540), 
the  different  types  of  incidents  were  recoded  into 
‘physical and/or sexual attacks’ and ‘physical and/or 
sexual threats’. A breakdown by identity group shows 
that female cross dressers, gender variant respondents 
and male cross dressers are the most likely to indicate 
having experienced physical and/or sexual attacks. 
All other identity groups indicate more threats than 
actual attacks (Figure 37). There is no notable differ‑
ence between attacks or threats of a sexual versus of 
a physical nature between the different identity groups.

Perpetrators of hate motivated violence and 
threats of violence

“I find most problems I face come from strangers in 
public spaces. I don’t think I’m very obviously trans but 
quite a few people – particularly teenagers – spot me.” 
(Transsexual, 39, United Kingdom)

In the survey, victims of violence were asked to give 
information about the perpetrators, both with respect 

to the most recent incident they encountered in the 
year preceding the survey and the one that they con‑
sidered the most serious in the five years preceding 
the survey. The answers to both queries are strikingly 
similar, sketching a general profile of perpertrators as 
unknown, male, heterosexual and acting in groups.

As can be seen in Table 3, however, almost one in 10 
trans respondent indicates that the perpetrators belong 
to their own household. Further data analysis shows 
that for hate‑motivated violence that took place in 
the 12 months preceding the survey, the number of 
household‑based perpetrators rises to one in four in 
the groups of trans men and of queer/other identified 
respondents. These are not (only) young people who 
might suffer violence from older household members: 
the age at which respondents are most vulnerable to 
hate‑motivated violence perpetrated by a household 
members is between 40 and 54 years old.

Another striking finding is that in one in three cases 
the  perpetrator  was  identified  as  a  teenager  (or 
a group of teenagers). This percentage climbs to 51 % 
for respondents aged 18–24 and to 72 % for trans men 
aged 18–24.

“I am actually afraid to go to Athens Pride, because there 
is this awful organisation named ‘Golden Dawn’. They 
support Hitler and admire Nazis, so they hate homosexuals 
and want us dead. They are powerful. All I want is to be 
free to be myself, but how can I do that if I’m in danger”? 
(Transgender, 18, Greece)

Figure 37:  Most recent incident of hate‑motivated attack or threat,by type of incident and identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

39

40

Trans men

24

60

57

76

Female cross dressers*

63

37

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

39

49

50

Queer/other

32

49

60

50

68

1

3

2

1

Physical and/
or sexual attack 

Physical and/
or sexual threat 

Don't know 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

FA1_4. Thinking about the LAST physical/sexual attack or threat of violence, what happened to you? Recoded.

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

EU LGBT survey respondents who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months before 
the survey partly or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

57

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 3: 

Trans respondents’ perception of the perpetrators of hate‑motivated violence and threats of violence 
in the last 12 months (%)

Last

Most serious

Was the perpetrator alone?

Alone

More perpetrators

What was the gender of the perpetrator(s)?

Male

Female

Both male and female

Don’t know

Do you think the perpetrator(s) was/were …?

Gay

Lesbian

Bisexual

Heterosexual/straight

Mixed sexual orientation

Don’t know

Who was/were the perpetrator(s)?

Family/household member

Neighbour

Colleague at work

Someone from school, college or university

A customer, client or patient

Someone else you know

Member of an extremist/racist group

Teenager or group of teenagers

Police officer

Security officer/bouncer

Other public official (e.g. border guard, civil servant)

Someone else you didn’t know

Other person(s)

32

68

77

5

18

0

2

1

1

63

7

26

9

10

7

11

5

12

17

38

6

5

5

46

4

37

63

82

5

12

1

3

1

2

63

5

26

9

7

6

11

4

13

14

32

6

4

4

41

4

Questions:  FA1_6.; FA2_6. Was the perpetrator alone, or was there more than one perpetrator?

FA1_8.; FA2_8. What was the gender of the perpetrator(s)?

FA1_9.; FA2_9. Do you think the perpetrator(s) was Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Heterosexual/straight, Mixed sexual orientation, 
Don’t know

FA1_7. Thinking only about the LAST incident – who was the perpetrator(s)? (Response categories as listed in the table)

FA2_7. Do you think the perpetrator(s) was …?(Response categories as listed in the table)

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
before the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) partly or entirely because they were perceived to 
be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

58

 
 
 
 
Violence and harassment

Location of hate‑motivated violent incidents 
and threats of violence

Victims were also asked where they encountered the 
most recent and the most serious instances of violence. 
Again, the characteristics of the most recent and the 
most serious crime hardly differ by location. Nor does 
the type of attack substantially alter the location: the 
distribution of the locations of hate‑based threats and 
actual assaults are fairly similar.

The  hate‑motivated  incidents  took  place  almost  as 
often indoors as outdoors. In most cases, the most seri‑
ous hate‑motivated incident occurred on the street or 
in a square, car park or other open public space. Public 
places seem to be the most dangerous place for trans 
people to be. In addition, almost one in 10 incidents took 
place at the respondent’s home (Table 4).

2.3.3.  Reporting hate‑motivated 

violence and threats of violence

Reporting to the police

The incidents of violence or threats of violence which 
the  survey  respondents  recounted  are  typically 

considered criminal acts. As such, they could or should 
be reported to the police. Of the hate‑motivated inci‑
dents of violence and threats of violence against trans 
respondents, over one in five of the most recent (21 %) 
and almost one in four of the most serious violent inci‑
dents (24 %) were reported to the police (Figure 38). 
Trans respondents are the most likely of all LGBT groups 
to report to the police.

A breakdown by identity groups shows that trans men 
are the least likely to report incidents of violence or 
threats of violence to the police for both the last and 
the most serious incident. Female cross dressers are 
the most likely to report the most recent hate‑moti‑
vated incident of violence or threat of violence that 
took place in the year preceding the survey (37 %), and 
trans women are the most likely to report the most 
serious one (32 %).

Overall,  threats  of  violence  are  much  less  likely  to 
be reported than attacks: 15 % of the most serious 
hate‑motivated threats of physical and/or sexual vio‑
lence  in  the  five  years  preceding  the  survey  were 
brought to police attention, compared to 33 % of the 
most serious hate‑motivated physical and/or sexual 
attacks (Figure 39).

Table 4: 

Location of incidents of hate‑motivated violence and threat of violence in the last 12 months (%)

Last

Most serious

At my home

In some other residential building, apartment*

At school, university*

At the workplace*

In a café, restaurant, pub, club

In a car*

In public transport

In a sports club*

Elsewhere indoors*

In a street, square, car park or other public place

In a park, forest*

At an LGBT‑specific venue (e.g. club, bar) or event (e.g. pride march)*

Elsewhere outdoors*

Other*

8

3

5

3

10

1

9

0

2

46

3

2

5

2

9

4

6

4

8

1

7

0

3

43

4

1

7

2

Question:  

FA1_10.; FA2_10. Where did it happen?

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
preceding the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they 
were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

59

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 38:  Reporting to the police of the last and most serious hate‑motivated incident of violence, by identity 

group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

21 

24 

26 

32 

10 

13 

24 

27 

25 
24 
24 

15 

19 

12 

20 

37 

Last hate-motivated incident of violence
in the 12 months before the survey 

Most serious hate-motivated incident
of violence in the ﬁve years
before the survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   FA1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of physical/sexual attack or threat.of violence in the past 12 months happened partly or 

completely because you were perceived to be transgender?

FA2_5. Do you think this physical/sexual attack or threat happened partly or completely because you were perceived to be 
transgender? Yes.

FA1_11, FA2_11. Did you or anyone else report it to the police?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
before the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 39:  Reporting of the last and most serious hate‑motivated violence to the police, by type of crime (%)

Reporting physical and/or
sexual threat to the police

15 

17 

Reporting physical and/or
sexual attack to the police

33 
33 

Most serious hate-motivated
incident of violence in the ﬁve years
before the survey 
Last hate-motivated incident of violence
in the 12 months before the survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   FA1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of physical/sexual attack or threat of violence in the past 12 months happened partly or 

completely because you were perceived to be trans? Yes.

FA2_5. Do you think this physical/sexual attack or threat happened partly or completely because you were perceived to 
be trans? Yes.

FA1_11, FA2_11. Did you or anyone else report it to the police? Yes.

FA1_4. Thinking about the LAST physical/sexual attack or threat of violence, what happened to you? 1. Physical attack, 2. Sexual 
attack, 3. Physical and sexual attack, 4. Threat of physical violence, 5. Threat of sexual violence, 6. Threat of both physical and 
sexual violence, 9. Don’t know.

FA2_4. Thinking about the MOST SERIOUS physical/sexual attack or threat of violence, what happened to you? 1. Physical attack, 
2. Sexual attack, 3. Physical and sexual attack, 4. Threat of physical violence, 5. Threat of sexual violence, 6. Threat of both physical 
and sexual violence, 9. Don’t know.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
before the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Reasons for not reporting hate‑motivated 
violence to the police

The most cited reason for not going to the police in all 
cases of hate‑motivated violent incidents or threats 

is a profound mistrust in the police authorities: half of 
the respondents did not report the incident because 
they thought that the police would not do anything, and 
one in three because they thought they could not do 
anything. Additionally, over one in three respondents 

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
Violence and harassment

Table 5:  Reasons for not reporting hate‑motivated incidents in the last 12 months to the police (%)

Last

Most serious

Did not think they would do anything

Fear of a homophobic and/or transphobic reaction from the police

Did not think they could do anything

Fear of offender, fear of reprisal

Shame, embarrassment, didn’t want anyone to know

Too minor/not serious enough/never occurred to me

Too emotionally upset to contact the police

Would not be believed

Dealt with it myself/involved a friend/family matter

Thought it was my fault

Other reason

Went someplace else for help

Didn’t want the offender arrested or to get in trouble with the police

Somebody stopped me or discouraged me

Went directly to a magistrate or judge to report the incident

51

42

38

31

29

27

24

24

18

8

8

7

7

5

0

47

36

33

29

31

20

24

22

17

10

8

6

6

5

0

Question: 

FA1_12.; FA2_12. Why did you not report it to the police? (Response categories as listed in the table)

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the previous 
12 months (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) partly or entirely because they were perceived to be trans, and 
who did not report the incident in question to the police.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

did not report it out of fear of a homophobic and/or 
transphobic reaction from the police (Table 5).

Reporting to other organisations

Other frequently cited reasons for not reporting are of 
an emotional nature: one in three did not go to the 
police because they were ashamed or embarrassed and 
didn’t want anyone to know, and a quarter was too 
emotionally upset to contact the police. One in three 
reported a fear of the offender or fear of reprisal. When 
answering this question, respondents could indicate as 
many categories as they wished.

Victims were asked if they or anyone else reported 
the hate‑motivated incident to organisations or insti‑
tutions other than the police. A quarter of both the 
last hate‑motivated incidents that happened in the 
12 months preceding the survey, as well as of the most 
serious hate‑motivated incidents that happened in the 
five years preceding it, were reported to other organisa‑
tions or institutions (Table 6). This is almost the same as 
the percentage of hate‑motivated violence and threats 

Table 6:  Reporting the last and the most serious hate‑motivated incidents to organisations other than 

the police (%)

Reported

No, did not report

Don’t know

Last

26

73

1

Most serious

25

73

2

Question:  

FA1_13.; FA2_13. Did you or anyone else report it to any of the following organisations/institutions?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
preceding the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they 
were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

61

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

that is reported to the police. Although this overall 
reporting rate might seem low, trans persons report 
violence more frequently to other organisations than 
the LGBT average.

questions, the survey clarified that: “by harassment we 
mean unwanted and disturbing behaviour towards you 
such as name calling, or ridiculing that did not involve 
actual violence or the threat of violence”.

Of  those  respondents  who  reported  incidents  of 
hate‑motivated violence to organisations other than the 
police, reporting to an LGBT organisation was the most 
frequently chosen answer of all listed options (more 
than half). Only around one in 10 reported to a state or 
national institution, such as an equality body, and/or 
around 15 % to a general victim support organisation 
(Table 7). It seems that these official institutions are not 
very attractive to trans people.

Over half of all trans respondents (58 %) indicate that 
they were personally harassed by someone or a group 
of people in a way that really annoyed, offended or 
upset them – at work, at home, on the street, on public 
transport, in a shop, in an office or on the internet – in 
the five years preceding the survey. Over a third (35 %) 
of all respondents indicate that theywere harassed, for 
whatever reason, in the 12 months before the survey 
(Figure 40).

2.4.  Harassment and 
hate‑motivated 
harassment
“[…] in the years when my gender was perceived as 
ambiguous I felt threatened and harassed on a daily 
basis. […] the insults range from generic [scum etc] to 
orientation‑based [faggot etc]. My family is supportive of my 
sex change and unaware of my orientation.” (Transsexual, 
Gay, 29, Poland)

In addition to questions on experiences of violence, 
respondents were also asked whether they had expe‑
rienced  serious  harassment.  Before  presenting  the 

The data on the prevalence of harassment show that, 
among the trans groups, female cross dressers are the 
most likely to indicate that they were harassed in the 
year preceding the survey. Female cross dressers and 
trans women are the most likely to say that they were 
harassed in the five years preceding the survey.

The  annual  incidence  rate  of  harassment  is  around 
1.8  incidents  per  trans  respondent,  which  is  high 
compared  to  the  incidence  rates  for  lesbian  (1.1), 
gay (0.8), bisexual women (1.2) and bisexual men (0.9) 
respondents.

As  explained  in  Section  2.1,  the  calculation  of  the 
annual incidence rate takes into account the repetitive 

Table 7:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate‑motivated violence to organisations other than 

the police (%)

Non‑governmental organisation

LGBT organisation

General victim support organisation

State or national institution (such as an equality body)

Hospital or other medical service

Rape crisis centre

Other organisation

Last

17

67

14*

9*

20

4*

20

Most serious

14

51

16

12

27

4*

20

Question:  

FA1_13.; FA2_13. Did you or anyone else report it to any of the following organisations/institutions? (Response categories as 
listed in the table).

Note: 

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
preceding the survey (last incident) or five years (most serious incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they 
were perceived to be trans and who did not report this to organisations other than the police.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

62

Violence and harassment

Figure 40: Prevalence of harassment in the last 12 months and the last five years, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

58

68

64

71

65

35

36

36

43

42

49

53

51

51

28

30

Prevalence of harassment
in the ﬁve years preceding
the survey 

Prevalence of harassment
in the 12 months preceding
the survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   F1_B. In the last five years, have you been: personally harassed by someone or a group for any reason in a way that really 
annoyed, offended or upset you – either at work, home, on the street, on public transport, in a shop, in an office or on the 
internet – or anywhere? Yes.

FB1_2. When did the LAST incident of harassment happen? In the last 12 months.

Base:  

All Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

incidents trans respondents suffer. Respondents who 
say that they experienced violence in the 12 months 
preceding the survey were asked how many times this 
had occurred.67

Three out of five (63 %) trans respondents who expe‑
rienced harassment in the 12 months preceding the 
survey indicate that this happened three times or more 
in that time period (Figure 41).

Figure 41:  Respondents who were harassed one or more times in the last 12 months, by number of incidents 

and identity groups (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

19

21

18

17

14

12

Trans men

17

15

13

Female cross dressers

10

15

13

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gendervariant

Queer/other

15

16

21

22

15

7

18

14

22

19

13

16

49

50

55

62

63

52

43

42

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

FB1_3. How many times did somebody harass you in the last 12 months?

Base:  

EU trans survey transgender respondents who were harassed in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Once 

Twice 

Three times 

Four times
or more 

67  Respondents were asked to specify whether they had been 
victims of violence once, twice, three times, four times, 
five times, six to 10 times or more than 10 times in the 
previous year. For this analysis, the “six to 10 times” 
category was assigned a fixed number of seven incidents, 
and the “more than 10 times” category 11. Those who did 
not report any experience of violence in the past year were 
assigned a 0. Note that this included all incidents, regardless 
of whether or not respondents attributed them to their being 
trans, and could have happened anywhere in the EU.

63

 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

2.4.1.  Hate‑motivated harassment

One in five (22 %) trans respondents experienced har‑
assment in the 12 months preceding the survey which 
they think happened partly or entirely because they 
were perceived to be trans (Figure 42).

Of  all  identity  groups,  trans  women  (37 %)  and 
transgender respondents (32 %) are the most likely to 
have experienced hate‑motivated harassment in the 
12 months preceding the survey. Queer/other respond‑
ents (12 %) and gender variant respondents (18 %) are 
the least likely to attribute a trans negative motive to 
the incident of harassment.

A breakdown by EU Member State shows great vari‑
ation in the number of respondents who experienced 
hate‑motivated harassment in the 12 months preced‑
ing the survey (Figure 43). Respondents in the United 
Kingdom (37 %), Ireland (31 %) and Lithuania (31 %) 
are twice as likely as those in Romania (19 %), Por‑
tugal  (18 %),  Poland  (17 %),  Slovenia  (14 %)  and 
Italy (10 %) to have experienced hate‑motivated vio‑
lence in the 12 months preceding the survey (exclud‑
ing results for countries where the number of trans 
respondents was very low).

Socio‑demographic analyses of the harassment data 
indicate  that  respondents  who  are  younger,  not  in 
paid work, and/or from the lowest income class are 
the most likely to have experienced hate‑motivated 
harassment in the 12 months preceding the survey. 

Trans respondents in paid work report hate‑motivated 
harassment less frequently in that time period than 
those not in paid work (26 % versus 21 %). Regard‑
less of being in paid work or not, respondents from the 
two lowest income quartiles are more likely to indicate 
that they experienced hate‑motivated harassment in 
the 12 months preceding the survey than those from the 
two highest income quartiles (27 % versus 20 %). These 
are the same socio‑demographic respondent groups 
that face the most hate‑motivated violence and the 
most discrimination because they are trans.

2.4.2.  Type, perpetrators and location 

of hate‑motivated harassment

To gather further information on the nature of hate‑moti‑
vated harassment, the survey asked respondents who 
experienced hate‑based harassment in the year preced‑
ing the survey about the last serious harassment inci‑
dent they experienced. Respondents were also asked 
for specific details concerning the most serious incident 
of harassment experienced in the five years preceding 
the survey.

Type of hate motivated harassment

Of all hate‑motivated incidents of harassment which 
happened in the year preceding the survey, the last inci‑
dent most frequently involved ridiculing (74 %) or name 
calling (66 %). When looking at the types of incidents 
of hate‑motivated harassment in the last five years, the 
same pattern emerges (Figure 44).

Figure 42:  Prevalence of hate‑motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

22 

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

37 

26 

26 

27 

32 

18 

Queer/other

12 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   FB1_2. When did the LAST incident of harassment happen? 1. In the last 12 months, 2. More than 12 months ago.

FB2_2. When did the MOST SERIOUS incident of harassment you experienced in the last 5 years happen? 1. In the last 
12 months, 2. More than 12 months ago.

FB1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of harassment in the past 12 months happened partly or completely because you 
were perceived to be trans?

FB2_5. Do you think this incident of harassment happened partly or completely because you were perceived to be trans?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

64

 
 
 
Figure 43:  Prevalence of hate‑motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by EU Member State (%)

Violence and harassment

EU trans average
MT*
UK
CY*
LT
IE
HU
BE
DE
SK
DK
CZ
ES
HR
SE
NL
LV*
AT
BG
EL
FR
FI
RO
PT
LU*
PL
SI
EE*
IT

50

37
36

22

31
31

28
27
26

24
24
24
23
23
22
22
21
21
21
21
20
20
19
18
17
17

14

11
10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   FB1_2. When did the LAST incident of harassment happen?

FB2_2. When did the MOST SERIOUS incident of harassment you experienced in the last 5 years happen?

FB1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of harassment in the past 12 months happened partly or completely because you 
were perceived to be trans?

FB2_5. Do you think this incident of harassment happened partly or completely because you were perceived to be trans?

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 44: Types of hate‑motivated harassment (%)

Name calling

Bullying

Ridiculing

Other verbal insult,
abuse, humiliation
Excessive /constant
negative comments

Aggressive gestures

Isolation from something
or somebody; ignoring
Other non-verbal insult,
abuse, humiliation

Other

5 

8 

27 

34 

57 
57 

46 
46 

39 

42 

26 
25 

20 
21 

66 

63 

74 

68 

Most recent incident
of harassment
in the 12 months
preceding the survey 

Most serious incident
of harassment
in the ﬁve years
preceding the survey 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

FB1_4., FB2_4. Thinking about the LAST incident of harassment, what happened to you? Response categories as listed in the figure.

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months (last incident) or five years (most serious 
incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

65

 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

A breakdown by identity groups reveals only minor dif‑
ferences between these groups when considering the 
last incident of harassment in the 12 months preceding 
the survey (Table 8). Male cross dressers report bullying 
and excessive/constant negative comments more often 
than the other groups. Female and male cross dressers 
reported isolation more often than the other groups. 
Gender variant respondents indicate other verbal insults 
less often, and also report less isolation. Trans women 
and female cross dressers report aggressive gestures 
more often than the other groups. The results are similar 
when looking at trans respondents’ experiences in the 
most serious incident of harassment in the five years 
preceding the survey.

Perpetrators of hate‑motivated harassment

Victims of harassment were asked about the perpetra‑
tors of the most recent incident and about the perpe‑
trators of the most serious incident in the five years 
preceding the survey. The general picture was almost 
identical for both. The characteristics of the perpetra‑
tors  of  hate‑motivated  harassment  mirror  those  of 

hate‑motivated violence. Perpetrators act in groups, 
are male and are not known to the victim (Table 9).

As for violent incidents, the data again show a high 
rate of teenage perpetrators (one in three). Harassment 
by someone in the household and from the immedi‑
ate social context is also frequent: 15 % of the most 
recent cases involved a colleague at work and 14 % 
someone from school, college or university. In four 
out of 10 cases, women perpetrate harassment either 
alone (10 %) or together with men (28 %–31 %).

Location of hate‑motivated harassment 
incidents

Victims were also asked where the most recent and the 
most serious instances of hate‑based harassment took 
place. As in the previous analysis, the characteristics 
of the most recent and the most serious incidents are 
nearly identical.

Compared to the data on hate‑motivated violence, 
slightly more incidents of hate‑motivated harassment 

Table 8: 

Type of last hate‑motivated harassment in the last 12 months, by identity group (%)

g
n

i
l
l

a
c
e
m
a
N

64

71

67

65

62

70

67

66

g
n
y

i

l
l

u
B

26

23

23

38

28

23

30

27

g
n

i
l

u
c
i
d
R

i

74

78

75

77

72

77

71

74

,
t
l
u
s
n

i

l

a
b
r
e
v
r
e
h
t
O

n
o
i
t
a

i
l
i

m
u
h

,

e
s
u
b
a

t
n
a
t
s
n
o
c
/
e
v
i
s
s
e
c
x
E

s
t
n
e
m
m
o
c
e
v
i
t
a
g
e
n

63

60

58

63

53

45

52

57

43

49

46

52

47

43

48

46

s
e
r
u
t
s
e
g
e
v
i
s
s
e
r
g
g
A

43

31

48

35

38

36

39

39

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

EU trans average

i

g
n
h
t
e
m
o
s
m
o
r
f
n
o
i
t
a
o
s
I

l

g
n
i
r
o
n
g

i

;
y
d
o
b
e
m
o
s

r
o

,
t
l
u
s
n

i

l

a
b
r
e
v
‑
n
o
n
r
e
h
t
O

n
o
i
t
a

i
l
i

m
u
h

,

e
s
u
b
a

26

27

36

32

22

19

28

26

17

20

13

26

19

20

26

20

r
e
h
t
O

4

3

7

4

5

5

6

5

Question:  

FB1_4. Thinking about the LAST incident of harassment, what happened to you?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months preceding the survey in part or entirely because 
they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

66

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9:  Perpetrators of incidents of hate‑motivated harassment (%)

Most recent incident

Most serious incident

Violence and harassment

Was the perpetrator alone?

Alone

More perpetrators

Don’t know

What was the gender of the perpetrator(s)?

Male

Female

Both male and female

Don’t know

Do you think the perpetrator(s) was/were …?

Gay

Lesbian

Bisexual

Heterosexual/straight

Mixed sexual orientation

Don’t know

Who was/were the perpetrator(s)?

Family/household member

Neighbour

Colleague at work

Someone from school, college or university

A customer, client or patient

Someone else you know

Member of an extremist/racist group

Teenager or group of teenagers

Police officer

Security officer/bouncer

Other public official (e.g. border guard, civil servant)

Someone else you didn’t know

Other person(s)

27

70

3

57

10

31

2

2

1

1

61

6

29

9

8

15

14

5

15

10

36

5

4

6

45

5

29

69

2

60

10

28

2

2

1

1

61

5

29

8

7

13

16

4

15

8

31

3

3

5

42

5

Questions:   FB1_6.; FB2_6. Was the perpetrator alone, or was there more than one perpetrator?

FB1_8.; FB2_8. What was the gender of the perpetrator(s)?

FB1_9.; FB2_9. Do you think the perpetrator(s) was …?1. Gay, 2. Lesbian, 3. Bisexual, 4. Heterosexual/straight, 5. Mixed sexual 
orientation, 9. Don’t know.

FB1_7. Thinking only about the LAST incident – who was the perpetrator(s)?(Response categories as listed in the table)

FB2_7. Do you think the perpetrator(s) was …? (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months (last incident) or five years (most serious 
incident) before the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

took place in closed public spaces. Almost half of 
the  last  (47 %)  and  the  most  serious  (48 %)  inci‑
dents  of  hate‑motivated  harassment  occured 
indoors.  Of  indoor  locations,  the  workplace  was 

most frequently mentioned. One in 10 of the most 
recent  incidents  of  harassment  (11 %)  took  place 
on the internet or by email, such as on Facebook or   
Twitter (Table 10).

67

 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 10:  Location of incidents of hate‑motivated harassment (%)

Last incident

Most  serious 
incident

At my home

In some other residential building, apartment

At school, university

At the workplace

In a café, restaurant, pub, club

In a car

In public transport

In a sports club

Elsewhere indoors

In a street, square, car park or other public place

In a park, forest

At an LGBT‑specific venue (e.g. club, bar) or event (e.g. pride march)

Elsewhere outdoors

On the internet/email

Other

6

2

7

12

7

1

8

1

4

31

1

1

5

11

3

6

2

10

11

8

0

6

0

5

32

1

2

5

7

3

Question:  

FB1_10.; FB2_10. Where did it happen? (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months (last incident) or five years (most serious 
incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

2.4.3.  Reporting of hate‑motivated 

harassment

Reporting to the police

“Once, I received an email from someone I know, writing 
that I am a cripple and I have to be fucked by real men, 
then I would remember who I must be; and I turned to the 
police. They said that they could not do anything and it was 
not a crime. Since that time, I have not turned to police, it 
does not make sense. I fear that the police will blame me.” 
(Queer, 40, Latvia)

Some  of  the  incidents  of  harassment  respondents 
describe could be considered criminal acts punishable 
by law. Most activities that typically characterise har‑
assment incidents, however, such as ridiculing, name 
calling and aggressive gestures, often do not qualify 
as criminal activities, although they may frighten or 
upset the victims.

Only 6 % of the most recent hate‑motivated harass‑
ments and 8 % of the most serious hate‑motivated har‑
assments were reported to the police.

Reasons for not reporting hate‑motivated 
harassment to the police

“The most serious incident of harassment was not reported 
to the police because I wanted to forget about it ASAP.” 
(Trans woman, 31, United Kingdom)

Respondents’ reasons for not reporting hate‑motivated 
harassment to the police differ slightly from their rea‑
sons for not reporting hate‑motivated violence. In the 
case of hate‑motivated harassment, respondents most 
often say that the incident was too minor, not serious 
enough to be reported, or that it did not occur to them 
that they could report it (50 % for the last and 39 % for 
the most serious incidents) (Table 11). This is only half 
as often as for hate‑motivated violence. On the other 
hand, fear of the offender or fear of reprisal is less often 
a reason for not reporting hate‑motivated harassment 
than for not reporting hate‑motivated violence.

For hate‑motivated violence, around a third of respond‑
ents felt that the police either would not or could not 
do anything about either the last or the most serious 
incident of hate‑motivated harassment, whereas almost 

68

Figure 45:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate‑motivated harassment to the police, 

by type of incident (%)

Violence and harassment

EU trans average

Name calling

6

Bullying

Ridiculing

Other verbal insult, abuse, humiliation

Excessive /constant negative comments

Aggressive gestures

Isolation from something or somebody; ignoring

Other non-verbal insult, abuse, humiliation

Other

0

8
8

9
9

10

6
7

8

10

11

11

9

7

7

8

9

8

8

10

14

Most recent incident
of harassment in
the 12 months
preceding the survey 

Most serious incident
of harassment in
the ﬁve years
preceding the survey 

20

30

40

50

Questions:   FB1_5. Do you think the LAST incident of harassment in the past 12 months happened partly or completely because you 

were perceived to be transgender? Yes.

FB2_5. Do you think this incident of harassment happened partly or completely because you were perceived to be [category 
on the basis of A3 or A4]? ‘Yes’.

FB1_11., FB2_11. Did you or anyone else report it to the police? Yes.

FB1_4., FB2_4. Thinking about the LAST incident of harassment, what happened to you?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months (last incident) or five years (most serious 
incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

one in four feared a homophobic or transphobic reac‑
tion from the police.

Again, emotional reasons are important to understand 
non‑reporting:  over  one  in  five  (last  incident)  and 
almost one in four (most serious incident) was ashamed, 
embarrassed and/or didn’t want anyone to know. One 
in 10 was too emotionally upset to contact the police.

Reporting to other organisations

Victims were asked if they or anyone else reported the 
hate‑motivated incident to other organisations or insti‑
tutions, namely an NGO, an LGBT organisation, a general 
victim support organisation, a state or national institu‑
tion such as an equality body, a hospital or other medi‑
cal service, a rape crisis centre, an internet provider or 
another organisation.

As regards both the last hate‑motivated incidents and 
the most serious hate‑motivated incidents,only 16 % 
were reported to one of these organisations or insti‑
tutions (Table 12). This is lower than the percentage 
of respondents who reported hate‑motivated attacks 
or threats to other organisations, but still higher than 
the reporting rate of hate‑motivated harassment to 
the police.

When respondents did report incidents of hate‑moti‑
vated harassment to organisations other than the police, 
this most often involved an LGBT organisation (56 % for 

the most recent and 53 % for the most serious incident). 
Around one in 10 reported to a state or national institu‑
tion, such as an equality body, and/or to general victim 
support organisation, and/or a hospital or other medi‑
cal service and/or an internet provider. Almost one in 
five went to a NGO and almost one in four to another 
organisation. The respondents could have reported the 
incidents to multiple organisations, and therefore in the 
survey they were able to select multiple options from 
the list of organisations (Table 13).

2.4.4. Avoidance behaviour

“Repeatedly I experience when I am traveling with my 
partner, vulgarities, suggestive remarks, threats, not only 
when we hold hands sometimes, but even when we ’only’ 
walk side by side. We do dress inconspicuously. Sometimes 
we are forced to change out intended path to avoid 
certain streets or squares. The latent fear, to become ’the 
neighbourhood fagots’, forces us to avoid physical closeness 
in public. This denial of our feelings burdens me greatly.” 
(Trans man, 39, Germany)

In addition to general safety concerns experienced by 
many members of the LGBT community, trans people 
may  fear  assault,  threat  or  harassment  specifically 
because of their trans identity. One third of all trans 
respondents (32 %) avoid expressing their gender (or 
their desired gender) through physical appearance and 
clothing because of such fears. In addition, half of the 
respondents (50 %) indicate that these fears also lead 
them to avoid certain places or locations (Figure 46).

69

 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 11:  Reasons for not reporting hate‑motivated harassment to the police (%)

Last incident

Most  serious 
incident

Too minor / not serious enough / never occurred to me

Did not think they would do anything

Did not think they could do anything

Fear of a homophobic and/or transphobic reaction from the police

Shame, embarrassment, didn’t want anyone to know

Dealt with it myself/involved a friend/family matter

Would not be believed

Fear of offender, fear of reprisal

Too emotionally upset to contact the police

Other reason

Didn’t want the offender arrested or to get in trouble with the police

Went someplace else for help

Thought it was my fault

Somebody stopped me or discouraged me

Went directly to a magistrate or judge to report the incident

50

43

35

25

21

21

15

14

10

8

6

5

5

3

0

39

41

32

22

24

21

13

16

13

8

5

5

5

4

0

Question:  

FB1_12.; FB2_12. Why did you not report it to the police?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months preceding the survey (last incidence) or 
five years (most serious incident) in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans and who did not report the 
incident to the police.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table 12:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate‑motivated harassment to organisations other 

than the police (%)

Reported

No, did not report

Don’t know

Last incident

Most  serious 
incident

16

82

2

16

82

2

Question:  

FB1_13.; FB2_13. Did you or anyone else report it to any of the following organisations/institutions?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were harassed in the 12 months preceding the survey (last incidence) or 
five years (most serious incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Across  all  identity  groups,  respondents  assigned 
a male sex at birth are more likely to avoid expressing 
their gender than those assigned a female sex (38 % 

versus 21 %). They are also more likely to avoid certain 
places (55 % versus 41 %).

70

Table 13:  Reporting incidents of the last and most serious hate‑motivated harassment to organisations other 

than the police (%)

Violence and harassment

Non‑governmental organisation

LGBT organisation

General victim support organisation

State or national institution (such as an equality body)

Hospital or other medical service

Rape crisis centre

Internet service provider

Other organisation

Last 
incident

Most serious incident

18

56

7

11

10

1

12

24

17

53

9

12

12

1

8

23

Question:  

FB1_13.; FB2_13. Did you or anyone else report it to any of the following organisations/institutions? (Response categories as 
listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who were physically/sexually attacked or threatened with violence in the 12 months 
(last incident) or five years (most serious incident) preceding the survey in part or entirely because they were perceived to be 
trans and who reported this to organisations other than the police.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 46: Avoiding gender expression or certain places for fear of assault, threat or harassment, 

by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

32 

28 

13 

50 

50 

67 

33 

46 

39 

58 

61 

63 
62 
62 

Avoids expressing gender

Avoids certain places 

0 

20 

24 

34 

40 

60 

80 

100 

Questions:   TR9. Do you avoid expressing your gender (or your desired gender) through your physical appearance and clothing for fear 

of being assaulted, threatened or harassed? Yes.

E2. Do you avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because you are trans? Yes.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

‘Age’ represented the only other marked difference 
the analysis detected by socio‑demographic back‑
ground variable regarding avoiding gender expres‑
sion or locations. In general, young trans respondents 
are more likely than older ones to avoid expressing 
their gender (or their desired gender) through physical 
appearance and clothing for fear of assault, threat or 
harassment. Older respondents in contrast are more 

likely to avoid certain places or locations because of 
these fears.

The Figure 47 breakdown by EU Member State is lim‑
ited to the 25–54‑year‑old age groups. This makes it 
possible to avoid the age effect at country level and to 
remove from the equation both the overrepresentation 
of respondents aged 18–24 and the underrepresentation 

71

 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

of those aged 55 and above. The analysis shows that 
avoiding gender expression ranges from 19 % in Italy 
to 57 % in Latvia, and avoiding certain places varies 
from 37 % in Austria to 70 % in the United Kingdom 
(Figure 47).

Almost  two  in  three  trans  respondents  (60 %) 
avoid  being  open  about  themselves  as  a  trans 

person in public transport, while one in five avoid 
it even in their own homes for fear of assault, threat 
or harassment by others (18 %). This is more likely 
to be more the case for female and male cross dress‑
ers and for gender variant respondents, of whom 
a quarter avoids being open about being trans at 
home and nearly three quarters in public transport 
(Table 14).

Figure 47:  Avoiding gender expression or certain places for fear of assault, threat or harassment, by EU Member 

State (%) (age group 25–54)

EU trans average

32 

52 

LT*

LV

PL

RO

BG

HU

IE

PT

HR

SE

FR

UK

MT*

SK

EL

BE

EE*

FI

SI*

DE

AT

DK

NL

ES

CY*

CZ

LU*

IT

51 

47 

45 

59 

57 
57 

77 

54 

55 

56 

60 

56 

59 

66 

66 

52 

52 

54 

70 

67 

43 

42 

39 

37 

36 

35 

33 

33 

32 

31 

31 

31 

30 

29 

27 

27 

24 

23 

20 

20 

20 

19 

Avoids expressing gender 

Avoids certain places 

43 

48 

50 

55 

54 

48 

47 

50 

38 

38 

37 

38 

40 

39 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Questions:   TR9. Do you avoid expressing your gender (or your desired gender) through your physical appearance and clothing for fear 

of being assaulted, threatened or harassed? Yes.

E2. Do you avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because you are trans? Yes.

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey aged 25–54.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

72

 
Table 14:  Avoiding being open about being trans at certain places for fear of assault, threat or harassment (%)

Violence and harassment

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

18

30

48

46

60

44

54

43

50

21

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

11

18

34

44

58

36

54

41

41

24

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

17

30

35

44

57

47

51

40

44

26

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

24

39

53

38

68

41

67

46

61

23

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

26

42

65

57

64

54

65

54

66

20

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

19

29

49

46

59

45

49

40

46

22

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

24

40

67

54

70

60

57

48

63

14

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

17

32

48

44

57

40

53

44

53

20

My home

School

Workplace

A café, restaurant, pub, club

Public transport

A sports club

A street, square, car parking lot or other public place

A park

Public premises or buildings

Other

Question:  

E3. Where do you avoid being open about yourself as transgender for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed by 
others?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

For those aged 25 and above, respondents who are not 
in paid work are the most likely to avoid being open at 
home; in a café, restaurant, pub, club; in a street, square, 
car parking lot or other public place; and in public prem‑
ises or buildings.

Perception of public attitudes and avoidance 
behaviour

The  more  widespread  the  trans  respondents  per‑
ceive  expressions  of  hatred  and  aversion  towards 
LGBT persons in public to be, the more likely they are 
to avoid expressing their gender and to avoid cer‑
tain places or locations for fear of being assaulted or 
harassed for being trans. Similarly, the more wide‑
spread trans respondents think assaults and harass‑
ment against LGBT persons are, the more likely they 

are to avoid expressing their gender and avoid certain 
places. Those respondents who say that expressions 
of hatred and aversion, as well as assault and harass‑
ment, are rare, are the most likely to say they neither 
avoid expressing their gender nor avoid certain places 
or locations for fear of being assaulted or harassed 
for being LGBT (Tables 15 and 16). These differences 
remain regardless of the respondents’ personal expe‑
riences with discrimination or harassment in the year 
preceding the survey because they were perceived 
as trans. This finding underlines the effect of gen‑
eral social views and reactions towards LGBT persons 
on the daily life of trans people and their ability to 
enjoy the right to respect for private life –– the right 
to express one’s identity in all areas of life including 
public areas of social life without being discriminated 
against on any grounds.

73

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 15:  Perceptions of hatred and aversion by respondents who avoid expressing their (desired) gender (%)

Expressions of hatred and aversion towards LGBT persons in public

No. of respondents

Yes

No

Don’t know

Avoid expressing the (desired) 
gender for fear of being assaulted, 
threatened or harassed in public

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

362

1,746

2,844

1,454

173

6,579

Assaults and harassment against LGBT persons

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

362

1,746

2,844

1,454

173

6,579

19

23

33

45

34

32

18

26

35

46

32

32

72

69

59

48

54

60

74

66

57

48

56

60

10

8

8

7

12

8

8

8

9

6

12

8

Questions:   B1. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? C. Expressions of hatred and aversion 

towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender in public; D. Assaults and harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or 
transgender people.

E2. Do you avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because you are trans?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

74

 
Violence and harassment

Table 16:  Perceptions of hatred and aversion by respondents who avoid certain places (%)

Expressions of hatred and aversion towards LGBT persons in public

Number of respondents

Yes

No

Don’t know

Avoid certain places or locations 
for fear of being assaulted, 
threatened or harassed in public

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

362

1,746

2,844

1,454

173

6,579

Assaults and harassment against LGBT persons

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

409

2,274

2,542

904

450

6,579

30

43

53

59

43

50

27

46

55

64

41

50

50

39

30

24

36

32

55

37

27

21

39

32

20

18

17

16

21

17

18

17

18

14

20

17

Questions:   B1. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? C. Expressions of hatred and aversion 

towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender in public; D. Assaults and harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or 
transgender people.

E2. Do you avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because you are trans?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

75

 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

FRA opinions

When assessing national legislation transposing Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime (the EU 
Victims’ Directive), the European Commission should pay particular attention as to whether gender identity or gender 
expression are adequately included as personal characteristics of victims in individual assessments.

When implementing the EU Victims’ Directive, EU Member States should pay attention to the protection needs of 
victims of crimes committed because of the victim’s gender identity (in accordance with the Recitals 9, 17 and 56 of 
the Directive). EU Member States should ensure that throughout the criminal proceedings, in accordance with the 
Article 21 of the EU Victims’ Directive, the right to protection of privacy of transgender persons, including previous 
names and gender, is fully respected.

EU  Member  States  should  consider  enacting  criminal  law  provisions  which  afford  protection  against  transphobic 
crimes  and  ensure  that  law  enforcement  authorities  are  trained  to  tackle  transphobic  crime  effectively,  which 
includes raising awareness on trans issues.

EU  Member  States  should  address  the  underreporting  of  hate  crime,  including  crimes  against  trans  persons,  as 
underlined  by  the  December  2013  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Council  Conclusions  on  combating  hate  crime  which 
reflected the conclusions of the 2013 Vilnius FRA Fundamental Rights Conference. Member States are called upon to 
take appropriate measures to facilitate hate crime reporting by victims and as far as possible also through associations 
that support them. This should include measures to build trust in police and other state institutions. Law enforcement 
authorities should therefore be trained on how to handle cases reported by trans persons, particularly concerning 
victims’ support and the systematic recording of incidents. Practices such as ‘third party reporting’, engaging civil 
society organisations through multi‑agency partnerships, could also be considered to improve reporting rates.

EU  Member  States  should  ensure  that  law  enforcement  authorities  properly  record,  investigate  and  prosecute 
hate‑motivated crimes based on gender identity and gender expression in line with ongoing efforts to improve and 
approximate data collection on crime (such as the Eurostat Working Group on Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice 
Statistics in the framework of the EU Statistics Action Plan 2011–2015). To develop evidence‑based legal and policy 
measures, Member States should collect statistics on numbers and types of crime and gender identity of victims (in 
accordance with Article 28 and Recitals 56 and 64 of the Directive 2012/29/EU) as well as on the number of convicted 
offenders and the type of sentence imposed.

76

3 

Daily life as a trans person

3.1.  Research and policy 

context

Trans people are largely invisible in society and public 
opinion about them is often negative and ill‑informed. 
These negative social attitudes can affect their daily 
life, influencing their overall openness and leading to 
forms of ‘avoidance behaviour’.

Recent public attitude studies in Belgium, the Neth‑
erlands and Sweden show general public acceptance 
of publicly‑funded sex reassignment surgery. In these 
studies, the public also generally supports the right of 
transsexuals to marry and adopt children and to work 
with children. They say they are willing to have trans‑
sexuals as co‑workers.68 Negative attitudes are more 
frequent  when  trans  persons  come  ‘too  close’,  for 
instance, the possibility of having one as a partner or 
a neighbour.69 In general, studies measuring attitudes 
show that women are more tolerant than men in accept‑
ing people who cross gender norms,70 and that gender 
variance  is  less  favoured  in  men  than  in  women.71 
Knowing someone who is trans plays a positive part in 
influencing the comfort level of respondents.72

Many trans persons are at high risk of poor physical and 
mental health. Several studies have shown that many 
trans persons experience suicidal thoughts, suffer from 
depression, anxiety, and self‑harm, even attempting 
suicide.73

68  Dierckx, M. et al. (2014); Kuyper, L. (2012); Landén, M., and 

Innala, S. (2000).

69  Landén, M., and Innala, S. (2000).
70  Dierckx, M., et al. (2014); Herek, G. M., et al. (2002).
71  Winter, S., et al. (2008).
72  Dierckx, M., et al. (2014); European Commission (2012).
73  Dhejne, C., et al. (2011); Heylens, G., et al. (2013); 

Keuzenkamp, S. (2012); Motmans, J. et al. (2010); Whittle, S. 
et al. (2007).

Main findings

•  The recognition of their gender identity is of critical 
importance for trans people, affecting their level of 
openness. The results show notable differences in the daily 
life experiences among trans respondents in the EU.

Psychological and medical help:

•  Two in five trans respondents (39 %), especially those 

from lower income classes and those without a job, have 
sought medical or psychological help related to their gender 
identity needs.

•  Experiences when seeking help are very diverse: seven out 
of 10 (71 %) report positive experiences with psychologists, 
psychiatrists or other specialist or care providers. The 
satisfaction rate drops to below half (45 %) however, where 
general practitioners are concerned. One in five (20 %) 
indicate that their general practitioner did not seem to 
want to help, and one in 10 (11 %) say that he or she simply 
refused to help.

•  Half of those (52 %) who have not sought psychological or 
medical help simply do not want or need help. The groups 
of male and female cross dressers, gender variant, and 
queer/other respondents in particular are the most likely 
to not want/need care. A third of trans men (33 %) and 
trans women (37 %) also indicate that they do not want 
psychological or medical help for being trans.

•  Those respondents who do want or need psychological or 

medical care, but who have not sought it so far, report many 
reasons for not seeking help, such as not daring, not knowing 
where to go or being afraid of care providers’ prejudice.

•  Almost four in five (79 %) trans respondents state that more 
medical treatment options would help them to live a more 
comfortable life as a trans person.

Some, not all, trans persons undertake a gender reas‑
signment process, often referred to as ‘a transition’, to 

77

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Legal gender recognition:

•  One in three trans respondents (30 %) felt discriminated 

against in the 12 months preceding the survey where they 
had to show their identification or any official document 
that identifies their sex. The prevalence of this type of 
discrimination is twice as high among trans respondents 
under 40 years of age, respondents who are not in paid work 
and those who are less educated.

•  Almost nine in 10 (87 %) say that easier legal procedures for 
gender recognition in the preferred gender would help them 
live a more comfortable life as a trans person.

Openness:

•  Most of the time trans respondents do not openly indicate 

that they are trans.

•  Among all trans respondents, trans women and trans men 
are the most open about their identity, whereas gender 
variant respondents are the most closed.

•  Openness increases with age and with income.

•  Trans respondents with a higher educational level are in 

general less open than those with lower educational levels, 
regardless of their age.

•  The openness in different spheres of life also differs 

significantly across Member States.The more widespread the 
existence of positive measures promoting respect for the 
human rights of trans people (such as equality plans, public 
campaigns and specialised services) are in a country, the 
more respondents tend to be generally open and the less 
they are generally closed about their trans identity.

adapt the body to the gender identity. Over the last 
40 years, hormonal and surgical gender reassignment 
procedures have been increasingly refined and accepted 
medically as standard procedures for the treatment of 
trans adults.74 A group that has only recently been the 
focus of attention for psychological care are (very) 
young children and adolescents.75 The World Profes‑
sional Association for Transgender Health76 published 
the Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, 
Transgender, and Gender‑Nonconforming People, in 
which they describe evidence‑based treatment proto‑
cols for children, young people and adults.77

Access  to  specialised  gender  identity  care  provid‑
ers is not always possible or easy. According to the 

Transgender Eurostudy, a quarter of the respondents 
indicated that they were refused treatment because 
a practitioner did not approve of gender reassignment.78 
The high cost of gender reassignment treatment can 
also be a substantial obstacle.79 The Transgender Euro‑
study showed that the majority of respondents were 
refused state funding for hormones and more than 
82 % of respondents were refused state funding for the 
acceptable baseline surgeries (the minimum required 
for trans persons to live in their acquired gender).80 
This is especially worrisome when taking into account 
that studies show a positive impact of gender reassign‑
ment care on the health‑related quality of trans per‑
sons’ lives. Self‑harm and suicidal thoughts decrease 
after transitioning.81 Persons receiving gender reas‑
signment care such as cross‑sex hormone therapy,82 
facial feminisation and genital surgery have an over‑
all better quality of life than trans persons who have 
not received these therapies, but who would want to 
receive them.83 Furthermore, trans persons with affec‑
tive and anxiety disorders show a marked reduction in 
psychiatric problems after the process of gender reas‑
signment care, especially after the initiation of hormone 
therapy.84 Even when the social circumstances in society 
are unfavourable, trans persons demonstrate stable 
mental, social and professional functioning after gender 
reassignment care.85

3.2.  What did the survey ask?

The EU LGBT survey devoted a section to respondents’ 
opinions of public attitudes and behaviour towards LGBT 
persons in general. This section focuses on personal 
experiences with maltreatment and reactions to behav‑
ing in ‘too feminine’ or ‘too masculine’ a way, and in 
particular on whether or not respondents avoid cer‑
tain behaviours or locations for fear of being assaulted, 
threatened or harassed for being trans. The chapter 
then analyses data on the possibility for trans respond‑
ents to live their lives according to their gender identity 
feelings. Is psychological or medical care available to 
those who wish for it? And can respondents change 
their gender markers in official documents? It then 
presents findings on other people’s awareness of the 
participants’ trans background and the participants’ 
responses about how open they are about being trans 
in their private and professional lives. These findings are 
to be read against information – from sources other than 

74  Gooren, L. J. (2011); Green, R. (2010).
75  Bandini, E. et al.(2011); de Vries, A. L. et al. (2011); Platero, R. 

(2014); Sills, I. N. (2014).

76  The WPATH is an international multidisciplinary professional 
association whose mission is to promote evidence‑based 
care, education, research, advocacy, public policy and 
respect in transgender health. See www.wpath.org for more 
information. In 2014, a European branch was established, see 
www.epath.eu.

77  Coleman, E. et al. (2012).

78  Whittle, S., et al. (2008).
79  De Cuypere, G., et al. (2007).
80  Whittle, S., et al. (2008).
81  McNeil, J., et al. (2013).
82  Gómez‑Gil, E., et al. (2013); Gorin‑Lazard, A., et al. (2012); 
Newfield, E., et al. (2006); Wierckx, K., et al. (in review).
83  Ainsworth, T. A., and Spiegel, J. H. (2010); Motmans, J., et al. 

(2012).

84  Heylens, G., et al. (2014).
85  Jokic‑Begic, N., et al. (2014).

78

Daily life as a trans person

the survey – concerning the background of public per‑
ceptions, and the medical and legal possibilities avail‑
able in their country of residence. The final section of 
this chapter describes possible measures to improve 
the situation as seen by the respondents.

3.3.  Living a trans life

Living a life according to the gender identity personally 
felt might include access to psychological or medical 
help, as well as to legal gender recognition procedures. 
These  two  are  frequently  intertwined,  for  instance 
when legal gender recognition procedures demand 
certain medical criteria such as psychiatric diagnosis 
and/or surgical body modifications. Not receiving or 
not wanting to receive psychological or medical help 
to go through the gender recognition procedures func‑
tion as a barrier to the enjoyment of trans persons’ 
fundamental rights. Ultimately, they are not allowed to 
have their gender identity legally recognised and freely 
expressed in society.

3.3.1.  Legal gender recognition 

procedures

Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Council of Europe 
stresses that member states should take appropriate 
measures  to  guarantee  the  full  legal  recognition  of 
a person’s gender reassignment in all areas of life, in 
particular by making possible the change of name and 
gender in official documents in a quick, transparent and 
accessible way. It also states that “prior requirements, 
including  changes  of  a  physical  nature,  for  legal 
recognition of a gender reassignment, should be regularly 
reviewed in order to remove abusive requirements.”

It is important for trans persons to know if they are able 
to legally change their gender marker according to their 
gender identity, and what criteria authorities require. 
Not being able to have identity documents that match 
their gender identity and the way they present them‑
selves in social life might contribute to discrimination 
and/or violence, as the results show.As indicated by 
relevant research, without a set of matching documents 
such as a passport, identification card, social security 
number or bank card, participation in society becomes 
very difficult.86

Gender recognition procedures are in ongoing devel‑
opment. The EU does not yet have a unified standard. 
As the FRA Annual report 2013 shows, there is a trend 
among  EU  Member  States  to  adopt  laws  regulat‑
ing requirements for and procedures of legal gender 

86  Köhler, R., et al. (2013).

recognition,87 but there is huge variety across the EU 
as to what these requirements should be. In Denmark, 
for example, the requirements for legal gender rec‑
ognition are minimal. Some other countries, however, 
impose requirements which must be fulfilled prior to 
legal gender recognition, including divorce. Moreover, 
there are 12 EU Member States which require sterilisa‑
tion prior to legal gender recognition.88

Regarding the latter requirement, six United Nations 
entities recently expressed their concern that “sterili‑
zation requirements run counter to respect for bodily 
integrity, self‑determination and human dignity, and can 
cause and perpetuate discrimination against transgen‑
der and intersex persons”.89

Awareness of legal gender recognition 
procedures

“Despite overwhelming political support for change and 
courts declaring it a crime against Swedish law there is still 
the clause in the law stating that all transsexuals have to 
have their reproductive abilities completely removed in order 
to be recognised.” (Trans, Bisexual, 23, Sweden)

Almost one in 10 trans respondents indicate in the EU 
LGBT survey that in their country of residence a person 
cannot change their official documents to match their 
preferred  gender.  Almost  three  quarters  of  trans 
respondents say that it is possible to do so in their 
counry, albeit sometimes upon fulfilment of certain 
criteria (Figure 48).

Almost one in five of all trans respondents does not 
know if a person can change their official documents 
to match their preferred gender in the country where 
they live. Queer/other respondents, gender variant and 
female and male cross dressers are the most likely not 
to know whether such changes are possible. These 
groups might also be less likely to need these proce‑
dures, which could explain their lack of knowledge. 
Looking  only  at  the  groups  of  trans  men  and  trans 
women, who by definition are those who might want 
to access these procedures the most, percentages of 
those unaware of existing procedures drop to 4 % of 
trans women and 3 % of trans men.

The lack of awareness about legal gender recognition 
procedures in one’s country hints at gaps in Member 
States’ fulfilment of their duty to implement quick, 
transparent and accessible procedures as stated in Rec‑
ommendation CM/Rec(2010)5. A breakdown by coun‑
try shows the differences in the percentages of trans 
respondents who are unaware of the possibility for 
a person to change their official documents to match 

87  FRA (2014b), p. 137.
88  TGEU (2014).
89  World Health Organisation (2014), p 7.

79

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 48: Awareness of the possibility to change 

Figure 49: Trans respondents who don’t know 

official documents to match the 
preferred gender (%)

5

18

9

68

Yes, without
obligatory criteria

Yes, upon fulﬁlment
of certain criteria

No

Don't know

Question:  

TR7. As far as you know, in the country where 
you live, can a person change their official 
documents to match their preferred gender? 
(Response categories as in the figure).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

their preferred gender. This ranges from only 10 % in 
the Netherlands to 49 % in Greece (Figure 49).

Requirements for legal gender recognition

“Only 35 countries in Europe have legal provisions to 
recognize a trans person’s gender identity. Trans people’s 
existence is de facto illegal in 14 countries as these provide 
for no recognition. 21 countries in Europe require by law 
that trans people undergo sterilization before their gender 
identity is recognized. Other requirements may include 
diagnosis of a mental disorder, medical treatment and 
invasive surgery, assessment of time lived in new gender 
identity, being single or divorced. Such requirements violate 
a person’s dignity, physical integrity, right to form a family 
and to be free from degrading and inhuman treatment.”

Transgender Europe (TGEU) (2014). Trans Rights Europe Map & Index 2014, 
www.tgeu.org/Trans_Rights_Europe_Map

whether it is possible to change official 
documents to match preferred gender, 
by EU Member State (%)

60

49

48

43

42

40

39

EU trans
average
CY*

19

EL

SK

LU*

BG

HR

EE*

RO

CZ

LT

PT

IT

SI*

IE

BE

LV*

PL

MT*

HU

AT

SE

FI

DK

DE

ES

FR

UK

NL

33

32

31

26

25

25

25

22

21

21

20

19

19

17

16

13

12

11

11

11

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Question:  

TR7. As far as you know, in the country where 
you live, can a person change their official 
documents to match their preferred gender?

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Four in five trans respondents (78 %) say that, as far 
as they are aware, in the country where they live they 
have to prove a medical/psychological diagnosis of 
transsexuality/gender dysphoria90/transgenderism 
or similar to change their official documents to match 
their preferred gender. Three in five trans respond‑

90  Gender dysphoria is defined as the discomfort or distress 

that is caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender 
identity and that person’s sex assigned at birth.

ents (61 %) are of the view that applicants need to 
undergo mandatory psychotherapy/psychiatric treat‑
ment. Half of all trans respondents (50 %) believe that 
irreversible gender reassignment has to be proven to 
change one’s official documents (Figure 50).

The requirement of diagnosis, treatment and surgery 
conflicts  with  the  Yogyakarta  Principles,  which 
underline that: “Each person’s self‑defined sexual 
orientation and gender identity is integral to their 

80

Daily life as a trans person

Figure 50:  Trans respondents’ perceptions concerning requirements for changing official documents to match 

the preferred gender in their country of residence (%)

Get divorced/not be married

36 

Prove your
permanent infertility

27 

Prove your irreversible
gender reassignment 

31 

45 

50 

25 

33 

28 

26 

Complete the real life test

66 

11 

24 

Prove hormonal treatment (started or
ﬁnished) to change your gender 

Undergo mandatory psychotherapy/
psychiatric treatment 

Prove medical/psychological
diagnosis of transsexuality/gender

56 

61 

18 

26 

17 

21 

78 

5 

17 

Yes

No

Don’t know

Other 

15 

10 

75 

0

10

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Question:  

TR8. As far as you know, what would you have to do in order to change your official documents to match your preferred 
gender in the country where you live?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who thought it is possible to change official documents to match the preferred 
gender in their country of residence only upon fulfilment of certain criteria (n= 4,459).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

personality and is one of the most basic aspects of 
self‑determination, dignity and freedom. No one shall 
be forced to undergo medical procedures, including 
sex reassignment surgery, sterilisation or hormonal 
therapy, as a requirement for legal recognition of their 
gender identity.”91 The Council of Europe Commissioner 
for  Human  Rights  has  also  called  upon  member 
states to abolish sterilisation and other compulsory 
medical treatments as a necessary legal requirement 
to  recognise  a  person’s  gender  identity  in  laws 
regulating the process for name and sex change.92 
The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  World  Professional 
Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) have 
issued an Identity Recognition Statement,93 as well 
as a De‑psychopathologisation Statement,94 in which 
they argue that no person should have to undergo 
surgery  or  accept  sterilisation  as  a  condition  of 
identity recognition, and that nonconforming gender 
expressions or gender identities are not inherently 
pathological or negative.

The European Parliament, in Article 16 of its Resolution 
of 28 September 2011 on human rights, sexual orienta‑
tion and gender identity at the United Nations, called on 

91  International Commission of Jurists (2007).
92  Hammarberg, T. (2009).
93  World Professional Association for Transgender Health 

(WPATH) (2010a).

94  WPATH (2010b).

the European Commission and the World Health Organi‑
sation to withdraw gender identity disorders from the 
list of mental and behavioural disorders, and to ensure 
a non‑pathologising reclassification in the negotiations 
on the 11th version of the International Classification of 
Diseases (ICD‑11).

“I hate myself and I want to die, partly because there is 
no way in which I can afford hormone therapy and [sex 
reassignment surgery] SRS before I’m over 30 years old, 
in which case the effect of the therapy will be highly 
unsatisfying and unconvincing.” (Transsexual, 23, Poland)

Discrimination because of non‑matching 
identity documents

“Whenever I have to indicate my gender there is the female 
and the male option, and neither of those applies to me.” 
(Gender variant, 21, Slovenia)

“The most stressful thing I find about being transsexual and 
having not changed my name to a female name yet – as 
I am waiting for the right time to come out at work – is not 
having any documents with a female identity. I spend around 
a third of my life living as a woman yet have to constantly 
show ID with male credentials which is uncomfortable and 
embarrassing.” (Transsexual, 37, United Kingdom)

Nearly one in three trans respondents felt discrimi‑
nated against in the 12 months preceding the survey 
in a situation where they had to show their ID or an 

81

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

official document that identifies their sex (Figure 51). 
Trans men, trans women and transgender respondents 
are the most likely to indicate having felt discriminated 
against in this way, because the exhibited document 
did not visibly match or correspond to their experi‑
enced gender or they were harassed. The prevalence 
of feeling discriminated against is twice as high among 
trans respondents under 40 years of age), respond‑
ents who are not in paid work and those with less 
education.

“I’m a Swedish 21‑year‑old genderqueer person. I was born 
a female, but I don’t feel happy with my body. I don’t want 
to go through gender reassignment because I don’t want 
to become a man. In my daily life everybody defines me 
as a woman, and although I’m very happy with my life in 
general this makes me very sad. Sometimes I think about 
death because that would take away the pain of living 
in a body that doesn’t feel like my own. I wish there was 
a possibility for genderqueer/nongender persons to get 
plastic surgery and a possibility to change your official 
gender to x, like in Australia.” (Queer, 21, Sweden)

3.3.2.  Psychological or medical help

Looking for psychological or medical help

More than four in five trans respondents (83 %) say that, 
in the country where they live, it is possible for a person 
to alter his/her physical appearance through procedures 
including gender reassignment treatment; self‑treatment 
such as hormonal treatment or genital surgery. One out 
of 10 is not able to say whether or not such treatment 
is possible and/or available in their country. (Figure 52).

In total, two in five respondents (39 %) have sought 
trans specific medical or psychological help (Table 17). 
Respondents who have sought such treatment are on 
average four years older than those who have never 
sought medical or psychological assistance, and they 
are  more  often  to  be  found  in  the  lowest  income 
quartiles (72 %, compared to 62 % of respondents 

Figure 51:  Feeling discriminated against in the last 12 months in a situation where it was necessary to show an 

official document stating the owner’s sex, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

30 

Trans women

36 

Trans men

43 

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

26 

26 

Transgender

40 

Gender variant

21 

Queer/other

17 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   C4. During the last 12 months, have you personally felt discriminated against because of being trans in any of the following 

situations: ‑ K. When showing your ID or any official document that identifies your sex.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who had to show an official document stating the owner’s sex in the 12 months 
preceding the survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

82

Figure 52:  Respondents’ perceptions concerning the possibility to have gender reassignment treatment or 

self‑treatment, by EU Member State (%)

EU trans average

83

7

10

Daily life as a trans person

NL

FI

SE

UK

ES

DE

AT

DK

BE

PT

CZ

PL

HU

FR

IT

EE*

RO

SI*

IE

SK

EL

LV*

LU*

CY*

BG

HR

MT*

LT

97

97

97

96

94

90

89

87

85

84

84

84

81

78

76

72

71

68

67

63

61

59

57

50

49

46

40

16

61

2

1

3

2

2

1

3

2

4

5

5

3

7

8

6

3

12

16

14

7

9

2

5

11

9

28

14

11

15

Yes

No

Don't know

11

19

7

20

11

15

21

14

30

18

30

60

13

25

25

24

29

21

20

33

25

23

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:  

TR4. As far as you know, can a person alter his/her physical appearance through gender reassignment treatment or 
self‑treatment (e.g. hormonal treatment) genital surgery, etc. in the country where you live?

Note:  

Base:  

*Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

who have not sought medical or psychological help). 
They are also more often (40 %) not in paid work than 
those who have not looked for psychological or medi‑
cal help (30 %). The survey data alone do not provide 
a clear answer about causal relationships between 
unemployment, income and seeking medical help, as 
different factors may be both cause and effect at the 

same time. A lower income level and a higher unem‑
ployment rate may be an effect of going through a tran‑
sition and therefore needing medical care. Those who 
are employed and have higher incomes and a higher 
life satisfaction may, on the other hand, feel the need 
to seek medical care and psychological support less 
frequently.

83

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 17:  Seeking psychological or medical help for being a trans person (%)

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

EU trans average

Yes

84

88

27

23

56

16

11

39

No

15

12

68

71

43

82

70

52

Don’t know

Sample 
(n/N)

1

0

5

6

1

2

19

9

1,122

576

255

300

1,048

707

2,571

6,579

Question:  

TR1. Have you ever sought psychological or medical help for being a trans (transgender) person?

Note: 

Base:  

N = total trans respondents sample; n = subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Reasons for not looking for psychological or 
medical help

Half of those respondents who have not sought psycho‑
logical or medical help indicate that they do not want or 
need help. Male and female cross dressers, gender vari‑
ant, and queer/other respondents are the most likely 
not to want/need care. But one third of trans men and 
trans women also report not wanting psychological or 
medical help (Figure 53).

“So I consider myself as a man with feminine tendencies in 
a female body. When I talk to others about this, they think 
I am mad. You are either male or female, basta! Well, so I am 
nothing.” (Female cross dresser, 32, Denmark)

Earlier in this report it was found that four in five trans 
respondents perceive that in the country where they 
live they have to prove a medical/psychological diag‑
nosis  of  transsexuality/gender  dysphoria/transgen‑
derism or similar to change their official documents to 
match their preferred gender. One third (32 %) of all 
trans respondents said they did not want or need psy‑
chological or medical help. This implies that they are 
de facto excluded from the right to change their legal 
gender marker if they wish to do so. In other words, 
based on the survey respondents’ perceptions, one in 

three trans persons has no access to legal gender rec‑
ognition due to the legal requirement for a medical/psy‑
chological diagnosis.

Trans respondents indicate a number of other reasons 
for not seeking psychological or medical help besides 
not needing it. Prominent among these are not daring, 
not  knowing  where  to  go  and  fearing  prejudice  on 
behalf of care providers (Figure 54).

Experiences with care providers

The experiences of trans respondents with care provid‑
ers are in most cases rather positive, with the exception 
of general medical practitioners. General practitioners 
are often the first care provider a trans person would 
contact and/or have a longer care relationship with. 
According to the survey one in five respondents has 
experience of general practitioners who did not seem to 
want to help or outrightly refused to help the respond‑
ents (Figure 55).

In  total,  18 %  of  trans  respondents  would  consider 
going or have already gone abroad for medical treat‑
ment to alter their physical appearance. This includes 
buying hormones from other countries over the inter‑
net (Figure 56).

84

Figure 53:  Trans respondents who did not seek psychological or medical help because they think they do not 

Daily life as a trans person

need it, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

52 

Trans women

Trans men

37 

33 

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

42 

Gender variant

Queer/other

65 

56 

58 

53 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Questions:   TR1. Have you ever sought psychological or medical help for being a trans (transgender) person? No.

TR2. Why not? – 3. I do not want/need help.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who have not sought psychological or medical help for being trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 54:  Reasons for not seeking psychological or medical help for being trans (% of cases)

 It is not available in the country
where I live
It is not covered by my country's public
health insurance

I cannot afford it due to ﬁnancial reasons

4 

10 

16 

I do not dare to

30 

 I do not have conﬁdence
in the services provided

I do not know where to go

It takes too much time (including waiting lists)

10 

I am afraid of prejudice from the care providers

It is too complicated in terms of bureaucracy

14 

I have had previous bad experiences
with care providers

7 

19 

23 

23 

Other reason

47 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

Questions:   TR1. Have you ever sought psychological or medical help for being a trans (transgender) person? No.

TR2. Why not? (Response caterogies as listed in the figure above, category ‘I do not want / need help’ excluded’).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey who had not sought psychological or medical help for being trans (excluding 
respondents who indicated that they do not want/need help).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

85

 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 55:  Trans respondents’ experiences when seeking help for being trans (% of cases)

45 

51 

71 
71 

Was informative and helpful 

Wanted to help but could not offer 
everything I needed 

Wanted to help, but I did not consent 
to the treatment proposed 

Did not seem to want to help me  

Refused to help me 

29 

22 

4 

8 
10 

20 

16 

14 

11 

8 

13 

0 

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

General medical practitioner 

Psychologist or psychiatrist 

Other specialist or care provider 

Questions:   TR1. Have you ever sought psychological or medical help for being a trans (transgender) person? Yes.

TR3. From whom did you seek help and what was the outcome? (Service providers and response categories as listed in the 
figure; response category ‘Does not apply to me’ excluded).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure 56:  Trans respondents on going abroad for 

medical treatment (%)

3.4.  Awareness and openness 

about trans background

44 

8 

10 

12 

26 

Yes, I have done 

No, I have not done 

Yes, I would do 

No, I would not do 

Maybe 

Question:  

TR5. Have you gone abroad or considered going 
abroad for medical treatment to alter your 
physical appearance, including buying hormones 
over the internet from other countries?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey. 
(Response categories as listed in the figure).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

3.4.1.  Awareness of respondents’ 
trans identity in their social 
environment

“The discrimination I have experienced has been principally 
in my family. […] The topic of bisexuality/transgender/
homosexuality does not come up often, but every time it 
does come up it is invariably treated as something dirty and 
depraved. Also, when my father sees homosexuals publicly 
displaying affection, he makes (light) jokes about them. […] 
I think my parents would be shocked and dismayed if I told 
them that I was bisexual and a cross dresser. For this reason 
I have not come out to them, or to my brother who is probably 
more open.” (Transgender (cross dresser), 33, Germany)

A trans‑negative environment can lead to many years of 
hiding ones identity feelings. Respondents were asked 
to what extent their partner(s), family members, friends, 
neighbours and/or work colleagues/schoolmates know 
about the respondent’s trans identity or background.95

Almost nine out of 10 trans respondents report that 
their partner is aware that they are trans, but there 
are significant differences between the identity groups. 

95  Respondents who indicated that a particular social circle did 
not apply to them, for example because they did not have 
multiple partners or work colleagues, are excluded from the 
analysis. The proportion of “does not apply” answers was 
systematically higher among cross dressers and queer/other 
respondents.

86

 
Daily life as a trans person

Almost a quarter of the queer/other, and one out of 
three male cross dressers and gender variant respond‑
ents state that their partner is not aware of it (Table 18).

Examining respondents’ social networks more gener‑
ally, the awareness of respondents’ trans identity is 
much lower than the percentage of partner(s) who 
are aware of it. Over half of the respondents (54 %) 
indicate that none or only a few family members are 
aware of their trans identity. Almost half (46 %) of all 
trans respondents say that none or only a few of their 
friends are aware of it. Awareness among neighbours, 
work colleagues and schoolmates is even lower. Four in 
five (81 %) trans respondents indicate that none or only 
a few neighbours are aware of their trans identity, while 
seven out of 10 (71 %) say that their work colleagues/
schoolmates are not aware of it. Female and male cross 
dressers and gender variant respondents indicate the 
highest levels of non‑awareness in their social circles, 
whereas trans women and trans men indicate the high‑
est levels of awareness (Table 19).

The survey asked respondents about the degree to which 
they themselves are open about being trans in their vari‑
ous social circles, such as with family members, friends, 
neighbours, colleagues at work, schoolmates, immediate 
superiors or heads of departments, customers/clients at 
work, and medical staff/healthcare providers. There are 
notable differences between the different types of iden‑
tity groups: whereas trans women and trans men are the 
most likely to be open to all in their social circles, gender 
variant respondents are the least likely to be. For each 
and every social category, more than half of the respond‑
ents in the queer and other identity group indicate that 
these questions about being open to others about their 
gender identity do not apply to them.

In general, when awareness by others and openness 
toward  others  are  compared,  it  appears  that  trans 
respondents are known by more people in their social 
environment as being a trans person than they them‑
selves are open to. This difference is most clear for family 
members.

3.4.2.  Openness about being trans

“Life being Transgendered is scary, I am always on the 
lookout for negative reactions, and feel the need for 
“Stealth” when in most public situations such as using Public 
transport etc, this involves wearing heavier and baggier 
clothes than I would prefer to.”  
(Transsexual, 39, United Kingdom)

“I’m sure that I would have suffered more discrimination 
and harassment if I had been open about being trans. 
When I had to mention this in legal contexts, I did so, but 
besides my family, healthcare personnel and ex‑partners, 
no one knows that I wasn’t born male. So it was relatively 
easy for me, but that I need to keep this strictly a secret to 
have it easy is of course a bad situation.” (Trans man, 38, 
Netherlands)

Table 18:  Partner’s awareness of respondents’ trans identity or background

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

85

15

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

93

7

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

97

3

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

91

9

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

70

30

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

94

6

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

69

31

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

77

23

Yes

No

Question:   G1_A. Does your current partner know that you are transgender?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

87

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 19:  Awareness of respondents’ trans identity or background in the social environment of the 

respondents (%)

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

29

25

16

29

12

34

24

29

62

19

9

11

44

27

13

16

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

8

16

21

55

6

20

25

48

35

23

17

24

27

23

17

33

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

8

24

22

46

5

27

30

38

60

24

9

7

38

25

21

16

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

49

27

11

13

11

45

27

16

83

11

3

4

49

34

9

8

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

45

34

12

10

20

50

15

14

75

14

6

6

62

22

6

10

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

27

31

17

25

9

37

26

28

64

18

9

9

43

30

12

14

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

61

23

9

7

33

46

14

7

82

13

3

2

73

17

5

5

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

37

28

15

20

11

38

24

26

68

18

6

8

40

32

15

13

Family members

None

A few

Most

All

Friends

None

A few

Most

All

Neighbours

None

A few

Most

All

Work colleagues/schoolmates

None

A few

Most

All

Question:   G2. In your opinion, how many people know that you are transgender?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

To  be  able  to  distinguish  between  the  openness  of 
respondents in different spheres of life, three differ‑
ent scales of openness were created.96 The first, ‘open‑
ness in the private sphere’, was created on the basis 

96  The computation of the statistical distribution of the EU LGBT 
survey respondents according to different levels of openness 
was explained in detail in the EU LGBT survey technical 
report. The same method was applied to the trans sample.

of responses to the questions on openness towards 
family members, friends and neighbours. The second, 
‘openness in the work environment’, was created on 
the basis of responses to the questions on openness 
towards  work  colleagues/schoolmates,  immediate 
superior/head of department and customers/clients. 
The last, ‘openness in health care settings’, was based 
on the responses to a question on openness towards 

88

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daily life as a trans person

medical staff/healthcare providers. General openness 
was based on respondents’ answers ‘open to most’ and 
‘open to all’.

These indicators show that in general only 36 % of the 
trans respondents are open to most or all in their pri‑
vate life sphere, a quarter (23 %) are open in the pro‑
fessional sphere and over one third (37 %) in healthcare 
settings (Figure 57). Figure 57 makes clear that there 
is generally less openness in professional life than in 
private or healthcare settings. General openness dif‑
fers widely according to the different identity groups. 
It is higher for trans women and trans men, especially 
in healthcare settings. Gender variant respondents are 
the most closed.

General openness increases with age and with income 
level. Strikingly though, respondents with a higher edu‑
cational level are in general less open than those with 
lower educational levels, even when controlled for age.

The openness in the different life spheres also differs 
significantly across EU Member States. Only one in 10 is 
open in the private sphere in Latvia, Portugal, Poland and 
Lithuania. In Belgium and the Netherlands more than half 
of the respondents are open in the private sphere. For 
the professional sphere the percentages are much lower: 
the highest levels of openness in the professional sphere 
are found in Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the 
Netherlands. Even in these Member States, however, only 
around one in three trans persons is open (Figure 58).

Figure 57:  General openness in the private, professional and healthcare sphere, by identity group (%) open to 

most and open to all

EU trans average 

23 

Trans women 

Trans men 

30 

Female cross 
dressers 

Male cross 
dressers 

Transgender 

Gender variant 

Queer/other 

13 
14 

12 

21 

18 

19 

21 

11 

6 

9 

30 

23 
24 

36 

37 

40 

34 

38 

61 

67 

50 

55 

Private sphere 

Professional sphere 

Health care settings 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   G3. To how many people among the following groups are you open about yourself being transgender? Private sphere: 

family members, friends, neighbours; Professional sphere: work colleagues/schoolmates, immediate superior/head 
of department, and customers/clients; Healthcare settings: medical staff/healthcare providers. General openess was 
calculated as a percentage of answers ‘open to most’ and ‘open to all’.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey (excluding respondents who felt that the question does not apply to them).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

89

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Figure 58:  General openness in the private, professional and health care sphere, by EU Member State (% open 

to most and open to all)

EU trans average

23 

65 

56 

55 

53 

53 

36 

37 

38 

36 

44 

43 

41 
42 

46 

45 

41 

40 

40 

39 

42 

38 

37 

37 

31 

31 

25 

23 

24 

25 

23 

24 

17 

27 

21 

24 

23 

30 

43 

35 

34 
34 

34 
33 

NL 

BE 

UK 

DE 

FR 

SE 

MT* 

0 

AT 

DK 

EE* 

CZ 

ES 

IT 

FI 

LU* 

IE 

HU 

SI* 

BG 

SK 

EL 

HR 

RO 

CY* 

0 

LT 

PL 

PT 

LV 

17 

15 

14 

10 
10 

13 

10 

14 

20 

19 
20 

16 
17 
16 

11 
10 

11 

14 

14 

3 

6 

10 

8 

12 

10 
9 

9 

14 

13 

4 

50 

36 

25 

30 

23 

29 

27 
27 

21 

23 

22 

Private sphere 

Professional sphere 

Health care settings 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   G3. To how many people among the following groups are you open about yourself being transgender? A. Family members 
B. Friends C. Neighbours D. Work colleagues/schoolmates E. Immediate superior/head of department F. Customers, clients, 
etc. at work G. Medical staff/healthcare provide.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey (excluding respondents who felt that the question does not apply to them).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

90

Daily life as a trans person

3.5.  Perceived public 

attitudes, negative 
reactions and life 
satisfaction

3.5.1.  Perceived public attitudes

“The biggest question I have as a cross‑dresser is the 
following: if a woman adopts men’s clothing, behaviour, 
expressions, and a general male attitude towards life, she 
is not criticised in the least. It’s accepted behaviour. If they 
wear feminine clothes one day, but typically male costumes 
the next day, nobody will even raise an eyebrow. That’s 
the result of years of feminist movements: the right to 
wear and behave as they like. Men, by contrast, desiring to 
wear feminine clothes and exhibit a feminine behaviour, 
are unable to do so. Why? Why is our European society 
so tolerant of women aspiring to behave and dress like 
men, but so discriminating towards men who enjoy (or 
are driven to) feminine behaviour? This goes beyond the 
’rights’ of transgender persons; it should give us pause 
for reflection why women and men don’t enjoy the same 
freedom of expression through their clothes and behaviour.” 
(Cross dresser, 42, Portugal)

The  survey  asked  respondents  their  views  on  the 
extent to which politicians use offensive language or 

others make casual jokes about LGBT people in their 
country. To gather information about the role of gender 
expression in the reactions respondents experienced 
from other people, the survey also asked participants 
whether or not they had received negative reactions 
because they had behaved in ‘too’ feminine or mas‑
culine a way.

According to 86 % of the respondents, casual jokes 
in everyday life about LGBT persons are fairly to very 
widespread in their country. More than half perceive 
assaults and harassment against LGBT persons to be 
fairly to very widespread, in the country in general, 
going beyond their own experiences. Furthermore, 
around half of the respondents also perceive offen‑
sive language about LGBT people by politicians to be 
fairly to very widespread. On the other hand, four in 
five trans respondents indicate that positive meas‑
ures to promote the respect for the human rights 
of transgender people (for instance equality plans, 
public campaigns, specialised services) are very or 
fairly rare in the country in which they live. Three 
quarter of respondents believe that it is very to fairly 
rare that public figures in politics, business, sports, 
etc. are open about being lesbian, gay, bisexual and/
or transgender (Table 20).

Table 20:  Trans respondents’ perceptions on whether or not a described course of conduct or situation is 

widespread in their country (%)

Very or 
fairly rare

Fairly or very 
widespread

Don’t  
know

Offensive language about lesbian, gay, bisexual 
and/or transgender people by politicians

Casual jokes in everyday life about lesbian, gay, 
bisexual and/or transgender people

Expressions of hatred and aversion towards lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and/or transgender in public

Assaults and harassment against lesbian, gay, 
bisexual and/or transgender people

Public figures in politics, business, sports, etc. are open about 
themselves being lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender

Positive measures to promote respect for the human 
rights of transgender people (for instance equality 
plans, public campaigns and specialised services)

43

13

33

39

75

80

49

86

65

53

21

13

8

1

2

8

4

7

Question:   B1. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? (courses of conduct/situations as listed 

on table rows above – selected items from question B1; response categories: very rare, fairly rare, fairly widespread, very 
widespread, don’t know).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

91

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

3.5.2.  Experiences of maltreatment

“By now I don’t get randomly harassed for having a history 
of transsexualism because it’s simply not visible when 
I’m clothed. However, in the years when my gender was 
perceived as ambiguous I felt threatened and harassed on 
a daily basis.” (Trans man, 29, Poland)

Trans respondents were asked if they were treated in 
a negative or disrespectful way in the six months pre‑
ceding the survey in a variety of day‑to‑day settings.

In that period, around four in 10 of all trans respond‑
ents  dealt  at  least  once  with  people  who –  due  to 
the respondent being perceived as LGBT – acted as if 
they considered themselves better (44 %), and were 
treated at least once with less respect (41 %) or less 
courtesy (38 %) than other people. In the same time 
period, one in three respondents met people who acted 
as if they were afraid of them due to perceiving them 
as LGBT. A quarter of all trans respondents perceived 
people acting as if they thought they were not clever. 
One  out  of  five  trans  respondents  received  poorer 

services than others (e.g. in restaurants, shops), was 
followed around by people in public places, or encoun‑
tered people who acted as if they thought the respond‑
ent was dishonest due to perceiving the respondent as 
LGBT. In all but one example, trans women are the most 
likely to indicate that this happened to them at least 
once. Transgender respondents are the most likely to 
report that people have acted as if they thought they 
were dishonest (Table 21).

One  in  eight  trans  respondents  indicate  that  they 
often  or  almost  always  receive  negative  reactions 
because they behave in too feminine or too mascu‑
line a way. Cross dressers who are female at birth 
report much higher incidences of regularly negative 
reactions for behaving in too masculine a way (40 %), 
than male cross dressers do for behaving in too femi‑
nine a way (26 %). One in three trans men (female 
at birth) (34 %) receive negative reactions for behav‑
ing in too masculine a way, while the same happened 
somewhat less to trans women (male at birth) (24 %) 
(Table 22).

Table 21:  Trans respondents who have experienced selected situations at least once in the last six months due to 

being perceived as LGBT, by identity group (%)

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

38

48

41

19

24

30

22

44

19

50

26

28

36

24

51

30

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

46

48

22

27

35

24

54

20

34

38

21

26

27

24

41

20

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

45

47

22

24

33

27

45

22

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

40

44

17

26

30

25

46

14

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

30

32

14

17

24

16

35

16

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

32

36

17

22

28

19

41

14

You have been treated with less 
courtesy than other people

You have been treated with less 
respect than other people

You have received poorer services than 
others (e.g. in restaurants, shops)

People have acted as if they 
thought you were not clever

People have acted as if they 
were afraid of you

People have acted as if they 
thought you were dishonest

People have acted as if they 
were better than you

You have been followed around by 
people in public places, such as a shop

Question:   G4. In the last six months, in your day‑to‑day life, how often have any of the following things happened to you because you 
are or are assumed to be transgender? (situations as listed on the table rows above; sum of response categories ‘happened 
only once in the last six months’, ‘2‑5 times in the last six months’ and ‘6 times or more in the last six months’.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

92

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daily life as a trans person

Table 22:  Receiving negative reactions because of being perceived to behave often or almost always in too 

feminine or too masculine a way, by identity group (%)

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

24

6

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

15

17

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

8

34

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

4

40

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

26

9

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

17

17

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

12

17

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

16

13

Too feminine

Too masculine

Question:   A6. Have you ever received negative reactions because you behave or have behaved in a too feminine or too masculine way? 

(sum of response categories ‘Often’ and ‘Almost always’).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

3.5.3.  Life satisfaction

Respondents were asked how satisfied they were with 
their life nowadays. As this came at the end of the ques‑
tionnaire, the results may be influenced by respondents 
having recalled various negative experiences from the 
recent past when answering the earlier questions.

The average rating for life satisfaction for trans respond‑
ents in the EU‑28 on a scale of 1–10 is 6.9, which is not 
much lower than the rating for life satisfaction in the 
EU‑28 among the general population (7.1).97 At the same 
time, the life satisfaction score of trans respondents is 
lower that the life satisfaction of other LGB groups sur‑
veyed by FRA (Figure 59).

Figure 59:  Life satisfaction in the EU LGBT survey, by identity group, and in the European Working Conditions 

Survey 2009 (mean score on scale 1‑10)

8.0

7.3

6.1

5.9

6.7

5.9

7.2

7.2

7.2

7.0

7.0

6.9

7.1

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

n
e
m
o
ns w
Tra

n
e

ns m
Tra

ale
M

ale
m
e
F

cross dressers
cross dressers

er
d
n
e
nsg
Tra

d
n
e
G

nt
aria
er v

er

er/oth

e
u
Q

n
e
m
o
al w

n
e
m
o
n w
Lesbia

u
x

Bise

n
e

y m
a
G

n
e

al m

ns
erso
ns p
Tra

u
x

Bise

e
g
era
v
8 a
2
U
E

Question:   G5. All things considered, how satisfied would you say you are with your life these days? Please answer using a scale, 

where 1 means very dissatisfied and 10 means very satisfied.

Base:  

EU LGBT survey respondents.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

97  European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and 

Working Conditions (Eurofound) (2009).

93

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

In the EU LGBT survey, the results differ significantly 
by trans identity group, even when controlled for age. 
Female cross dressers and gender variant respondents 
show the lowest life satisfaction, followed by trans 
men. Male cross dressers are the most satisfied of all 
trans groups.

“I am and have been fortunate to live in an area and work 
for companies where discrimination and harassment are 
minimal, so have been able to transition and live openly 
as myself. There were no issues getting my paperwork 
changed, and apart from delays in getting surgery 
everything has gone smoothly. A positive note in what can 
be a difficult situation.” (Trans woman, 37, United Kingdom)

The results differ largely by country, with the lowest 
satisfaction  scores  among  trans  respondents  in 
Latvia (4.6) and Poland (4.9), and the highest in Bel‑
gium (9.3) (Figure 60).

Life satisfaction is strongly correlated with openness in 
private and in professional life: the more open respond‑
ents are about being trans, the more satisfied they are 
with life.

Figure 60: Life satisfaction by EU Member State (mean score on the scale from 1‑10)

EU trans average

CY* 

BE 

BG 

FR 

HR 

HU 

ES 

DK 

DE 

FI 

LT 

CZ 

PT 

RO 

IE 

SE 

LU* 

NL 

UK 

IT 

AT 

SK 

EE* 

SI* 

EL 

MT* 

PL 

LV 

9.7 

9.3 

6.9 

7.9 

7.7 

7.5 

7.4 

7.4 

7.2 

7.2 

7.1 

7.1 

7.0 

6.9 

6.8 

6.8 

6.7 

6.7 

6.6 
6.6 
6.6 

6.6 

6.5 

6.3 

6.2 

6.1 

5.9 

5.5 

4.9 

4.6 

0

1 

2 

3 

4 

5

6

7

8

9

10

Question:   G5. All things considered, how satisfied would you say you are with your life these days? Please answer using a scale, 

Note:  

Base:  

where 1 means very dissatisfied and 10 means very satisfied.

* Cases where the number of applicable responses was fewer than 30.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

94

As is known from the literature on quality of life stud‑
ies, overall life satisfaction is strongly influenced by 
socio‑demographic  characteristics  such  as  gender, 
age, health and so on.98 The data from the EU LGBT 
survey on trans respondents confirms previous litera‑
ture showing the positive influence of older age: the 
older the respondents, the more satisfied they are with 
their quality of life. Life satisfaction tends to correlate 
positively with having children, employment and higher 
income. The trans respondents in the highest income 
quartile are more satisfied (7.8) than those from the 
lowest income quartile (6.6). Trans respondents in paid 
work are more satisfied (7.3) than students (6.9) and 
other non‑working respondents (6.0). No notable dif‑
ferences, however, are found for respondents living 
with children (6.9) or not (6.4). The survey did not ask 
all respondents if they had children of their own. Only 
those with children under the age of 18 in their cur‑
rent household were asked if they were a parent or 
legal guardian of a child (or children). Respondents with 
a lower educational level are less satisfied with their 
life (6.5) than those with a higher educational level (7.3) 
(controlled for age).

“I was surprised at how little negative reaction I received 
during my ‘coming out’ and medical treatment. I don’t speak 
openly about my past because I just want a ‘normal’ life.” 
(Trans woman, 27, Austria)

3.5.4.  How do trans respondents think 
their life can be improved?

Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)5  underlines  that 
member states should raise awareness among public 
authorities and public institutions at all levels of their 
responsibility to refrain from statements, in particular 
to the media, which may reasonably be understood as 
legitimising such hatred or discrimination.

“Member states should also install positive measures to 
promote respect for trans people (for instance equality plans, 
public campaigns, specialised services, etc.). The information 
and insights gathered by diverse equality authorities and 
other specialised bodies can inform policy makers and civil 
servants who wish to take initiatives in setting up policy 
action plans to enhance the emancipation of trans citizens in 
their country.”

European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet) (2010), Making equality 
legislation work for trans people, Brussels, Equinet

The EU LGBT survey focused on measuring the problems 
of trans persons in daily life, and their experiences with 
discrimination, harassment and violence. The survey 
also asked respondents their opinion about ways to 
improve their living conditions. One such question was: 

98  Eurofound (2009).

Daily life as a trans person

“What would allow you to be more comfortable living 
as a transgender person in the country where you live?”

Over nine in 10 respondents agree with the statement 
that if national authorities promote the rights of trans 
persons, this would allow them a more comfortable 
living as a trans person. Nine out of 10 say that their 
life would improve if: public figures in politics, busi‑
ness, sports, etc. would speak out openly in support 
of trans persons; if measures to respect trans persons 
were implemented at schools; and if religious leaders 
showed better acceptance of differences in gender 
identities. Almost nine in 10 say that easier legal pro‑
cedures for gender recognition in the preferred gender 
would help them to live a more comfortable life. Over 
three quarters of respondents think that workplace 
anti‑discrimination policies referring to gender identity 
would enhance their lives as trans persons (Table 23).

The  only  occasion  where  differences  between  the 
identity groups emerge is as regards the item ‘more 
options for medical treatment’. Transgender (80 %), 
trans women and trans men (both 85 %) were more 
likely than the other groups (79 %) to agree or strongly 
agree that more such options would help them live 
more comfortably as trans persons.

The importance of having positive measures, such as 
equality plans, public campaigns and specialised ser‑
vices, promoting respect for the human rights of trans 
persons becomes clear when their existence is corre‑
lated with trans respondents’ avoidance behaviour. The 
more common it is in their country to have such positive 
measures, the less trans respondents report avoiding 
certain places or locations for fear of assault, threat or 
harassment because of being trans (Table 24).

“It would simply be nice if everybody in the EU received 
the education that being LGB or T was as much a choice 
as being left handed. I do hope that people will look back 
on this decade and the treatment of LGBT children with 
the same regret as we now look back on the treatment 
of left‑handed children (forcing them to conform with 
the majority) which took place in the early 20th century.” 
(Transsexual, 55, United Kingdom)

95

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table 23:  Respondents’ opinions on ways to enhance a comfortable life as trans person (%)

Agrees or 
strongly agrees

Current situation 
is fine

Strongly 
disagrees 
or disagrees

More options for medical treatment

Easier legal procedures for gender 
recognition in the preferred gender

Workplace anti‑discrimination policies 
referring to gender identity

Measures implemented at school to 
respect transgender people

Public figures in politics, business, sports, etc. 
speaking openly in support of transgender people

National authorities who promote the 
rights of transgender people

Better acceptance of differences in 
gender identities by religious leaders

79

87

77

93

92

94

92

12

7

5

2

3

2

2

9

6

4

5

5

4

6

Question:  

TR6. What would allow you to be more comfortable living as a transgender person in the country where you live? (Selected 
items as listed in the table; column ‘Disagree’ presents the sum of response categories ‘Disagree’ and ‘Strongly disagree’; 
column ‘Agree’ presents the sum of response categories ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly agree’).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table 24:  Respondents who avoid certain places for fear of assault, threat or harassment because of being trans, 

by measures to promote respect for the human rights of trans persons (%)

Avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed

Positive measures

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

Yes

53

51

47

38

38

50

No

28

33

39

44

38

32

Don’t know

No. of respondents

19

15

14

18

24

17

2,646

2,546

776

130

481

6,579

Questions:   B1_I. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? Positive measures to promote respect 
for the human rights of transgender people (for instance equality plans, public campaigns, specialised services, etc.) ‑ In your 
opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live?

E2. Do you avoid certain places or locations for fear of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because you are trans?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

96

 
Daily life as a trans person

Table 25:  Respondents who avoid expressing their gender or desired gender for fear of assault, threat or 

harassmented, by measures to promote respect for the human rights of trans persons (%)

Avoid expressing (desired) gender for fear 
of being assaulted, threatened or harassed

Positive measures

No. of respondents

Yes

Very rare

Fairly rare

Fairly widespread

Very widespread

Don’t know

Total

2,646

2,546

776

130

481

6,579

35

32

25

28

29

32

No

56

61

67

66

60

60

Don’t know

8

7

8

5

11

8

Questions:   B1_I. In your opinion, how widespread are the following in the country where you live? Positive measures to promote respect 

for the human rights of transgender people (for instance equality plans, public campaigns, specialised services, etc.).

TR9. Do you avoid expressing your gender (or your desired gender) through your physical appearance and clothing for fear of 
being assaulted, threatened or harassed?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

FRA opinion

As the survey has shown, obtaining identity documents matching their gender identity and expression is a problem 
that hinders normal social life for many trans respondents. EU Member States should ensure the full legal recognition 
of a person’s preferred gender, including the change of first name, social security number and other gender indicators 
on identity documents.

Gender recognition procedures should be accessible, transparent and efficient, ensuring respect for human dignity 
and freedom. In particular, divorce and medical interventions, such as sterilisation, should not be required in legal 
gender recognition processes.

EU Member States should fully recognise documents and decisions issued by other EU Member States in the area 
of legal gender recognition, to facilitate the enjoyment of trans persons’ right to freedom of movement in the EU.

97

 
Conclusions

The EU LGBT survey results provide for the first time 
robust and comparable data revealing an alarming real‑
ity for trans persons in the EU, who experience dis‑
crimination, harassment and violence in all spheres of 
life due to their trans identity. In an effort to escape 
these experiences, trans persons avoid expressing their 
gender identity and stay away from places where they 
fear assault, threat or harassment simply because they 
are trans. This reality deprives them of their right to 
participate equally in society and of several fundamen‑
tal rights, such as the rights to dignity, to privacy, to 
respect for private life and to freedom of expression. 
The use of avoidance strategies increases their social 
invisibility and reinforces negative public stereotypes 
and attitudes, fuelling the phenomena of exclusion and 
marginalisation.

The analysis shows that some groups are particularly 
vulnerable: those who are young, those not in paid 
work (among them many young trans persons), and 
those from the lowest income strata. They are more 
likely to report experiences of discrimination, harass‑
ment and violence. One third of all trans respondents 
avoid expressing their gender (or their desired gender) 
through their physical appearance and clothing for fear 
of being assaulted, threatened or harassed because 
of it. Almost one out of five avoid being open about 
being trans even at home. Half of the trans respond‑
ents indicate that they avoid certain places or locations, 
notably public transport, for fear of assault, threat or 
harassment.

The  more  widespread  respondents  perceive  such 
expressions of hatred and aversion to be, the more 
likely they are to avoid both expressing their gender 

and going to places for fear of being assaulted or har‑
assed. The openness of respondents is affected by their 
perception of the prevailing social attitudes towards 
trans persons in their society even for those who do not 
have personal experiences of discrimination, violence 
or harassment. In the few EU countries where there are 
positive measures to promote respect for the human 
rights of trans persons, respondents tend to be gener‑
ally more open in different spheres of life and less likely 
to report that they avoid certain places. Overall in the 
EU four out of five trans respondents report positive 
measures promoting the rights of trans persons as very 
or fairly rare. Over nine in 10 respondents say that if 
authorities would promote the rights of trans persons, 
it would empower them to lead a more dignified and 
comfortable life.

Hate crime and the repeat victimisation of trans persons 
forces many to adopt survival strategies that effectively 
strip them of their fundamental rights, as they hide 
or disguise their gender identity or background. This 
also means that society remains largely unaware of 
the challenges and rights’ violations that trans persons 
face in their daily life. Lack of acknowledgement of this 
disquieting truth provides fertile ground in turn for dis‑
crimination and further victimisation of trans persons.

The evidence and opinions provided in this report are 
intended to support EU institutions and Member States 
in taking more effective legal and policy measures to 
improve  this  situation.  Measures  promoting  equal‑
ity can contribute to fighting discrimination and hate 
crime against trans persons, ensuring that as mem‑
bers of an inclusive society they can achieve their full 
human potential.

98

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Winter, S., Webster, B., and Cheung, P. (2008), ‘Meas‑
uring Hong Kong undergraduate students’ attitudes 
towards transpeople’, Sex Roles, Vol. 59, Nos. 9–10, 
pp. 670–683.

World Health Organisation (2014), Eliminating forced, 
coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization: an 
interagency statement, OHCHR, UN Women, UNAIDS, 
UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO.

World Professional Association for Transgender Health 
(WPATH) (2010a), Identity recognition statement, www.
wpath.org.

World Professional Association for Transgender Health 
(WPATH) (2010b), De‑psychopathologisation statement, 
www.wpath.org.

Transgender Europe (TGEU) (Producer) (2014), Trans 
Rights  Europe  Map  &  Index  2014,  www.tgeu.org/
Trans_Rights_Europe_Map.

Turner, L., Whittle, S., and Combs, R. (2009), Transphobic 
Hate Crime in the European Union, London, ILGA‑Europe 
and Press for Change.

United  Nations  (UN),  General  Assembly  (2008),  UN 
declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, 
Geneva and New York, United Nations, 18 December 
2008.

UN,  Human  Rights  Council  (2011),  Resolution  17/19 
Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, 
Geneva and New York, United Nations, 14 July 2011.

UN, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
(OHCHR) (2012), Born free and equal. Sexual orienta‑
tion and gender identity in international human rights 
law (HR/PUB/12/06), New York and Geneva, United 
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Van Caenegem, E., Wierckx, K., Elaut, E., Buysse, A., 
Dewaele, A., Van Nieuwerburgh, F., De Cuypere, G., 
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Vennix, P. (2010), Trans people and work. A research into 
the work situation of trans people in the Netherlands 
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naar de arbeidssituatie van transgenders in Nederland 
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Weinberg, G. (1972), Society and the healthy homosex‑
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Whittle,  S.  (2000),  Employment  discrimination  and 
transsexual people, Manchester, The School of Law, 
Manchester Metropolitan University.

Whittle, S., Turner, L., and Al‑Alami, M. (2007), Engen‑
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102

Annex 1: Approach and research methodology

The EU LGBT survey collected information from LGBT 
persons living in the EU. A total of 93,079 persons who 
identified  themselves  as  lesbian,  gay,  bisexual  and 
transgender participated in this survey. Among these, 
6,771 self‑identified as transgender. After data clean‑
ing99 the responses of 6,579 survey respondents were 
used in the analysis for this report. Note that the main 
results report includes the total group of 6,771 trans 
respondents and compares them to the other groups 
of respondents – lesbian women, gay men, bisexual 
women and bisexual men. Trans persons’ responses, 
with very few exceptions, indicate the highest levels 
of discrimination, harassment and violence of all LGBT 
respondents. This report analyses the trans respond‑
ents in more detail, to uncover differences within this 
very diverse group of respondents.

Survey method

The  survey  was  conducted  through  an  anony‑
mous  online  questionnaire,  primarily  promoted  in 
LGBT‑related  online  media  and  social  media.  This 
methodology generated by far the largest collection 
of empirical information about LGBT persons available 
in Europe or worldwide.

The bulk of the questionnaire was composed of closed 
questions, with respondents given a range of possi‑
ble responses among which they were asked to select 
the  one  or  several  response  categories  which  best 
reflected their opinions and experiences. Where rel‑
evant, to accommodate respondents who felt unable 
to answer the question or who felt that the question 
did not apply to them, one option was to answer ‘don’t 
know’. At the end of the questionnaire was an open 
section where respondents could provide additional 
information. A non‑representative selection of these 
responses is quoted verbatim in this report.

The  main  advantage  of  the  online  methodology  is 
the  complete  anonymity  of  respondents,  allowing 
the survey to reach LGBT persons who may not be 
open about their sexual orientation or gender iden‑
tity, as well as to obtain data about negative expe‑
riences that people do not normally talk about. The 
main limitation of the online methodology is that the 
sample thus obtained is not statistically representa‑
tive of the total LGBT population, which, as a ‘hard to 
reach’ population, cannot be identified in population 

99  In this particular case, data cleaning involved detecting and 
removing from the survey data set responses that seemed 
to inaccurately self‑identify as transgender. For more details 
see the section on survey method in this annex.

registers. Nevertheless, the results can be considered 
robust because the number of survey respondents is 
very large and the survey managed to reach out to 
heterogeneous populations within the target groups 
in each country. This was possible due to the coun‑
try‑level awareness‑raising campaigns, as well as by 
survey organisers’social media activities during data 
collection.

The content of the questionnaire, the research process 
and the details of the technical aspects of the survey 
implementation can be found in the Annex of the EU 
LGBT Main results report as well as in the separate tech‑
nical report.100

Some important aspects to mention briefly here are:

•  Statistical  representativeness:  the  absence  of 
a  statistical  consensus  on  the  measurement  of 
gender identity and the lack of available data on the 
proportion of trans people within the general popu‑
lation, combined with the difficulties in approach‑
ing people to take part in a survey on the basis of 
their gender identity, meant that selecting respond‑
ents through random sampling was not feasible. 
In statistical terms, the EU LGBT survey therefore 
represents the opinions of 6,771 people who identi‑
fied themselves as transgender, who were internet 
users, who were informed about the survey and 
who decided to participate in it. Nevertheless, the 
very large sample size means it is plausible that the 
tendencies found in the results reflect to a large 
extent those of the trans population in the EU. As 
mentioned in the first chapter of this report, feel‑
ings of gender incongruence are much more wide‑
spread than self‑identifications as trans persons. 
The propensity of trans persons to identify their 
gender identity in terms of given categories may 
vary across countries, social strata, age, social and 
cultural contexts or other variables, as well as over 
time. These factors may also influence the extent 
to which trans people are open about their identity, 
even in the case of an anonymous online question‑
naire. Unequal access to the internet may also have 
influenced the sample, especially in the Member 
States with lower levels of internet access.

•  Data  quality  and  consistency:  respondents’ 
 eligibility was established at the beginning of the 
questionnaire. Only those who self‑identified as 
transgender, who lived in one of the 28 EU Member 
States  –  regardless  of  legal  circumstances 
(residence status) or citizenship – and who were

100 For more details on the EU LGBT survey and its methodology, 

see the Technical Report: FRA (2013c).

103

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

  aged at least 18 were allowed to complete the 
full questionnaire. Throughout the questionnaire, 
the  wording  of  questions  was  adapted  to  the 
respondents’ particular group. For example, trans 
respondents  were  asked  about  their  personal 
experiences as a trans person rather than as an 
‘LGBT’ person. Certain questions were asked only 
of trans respondents, for example those related to 
gender reassignment.

•  Weighting of data: to avoid the influence of under‑ 
or  overrepresentation  of  any  nationality  in  the 
sample, data weighting was applied to the EU‑level 
results. This procedure guarantees that the opinions 
of the trans respondents from each country are rep‑
resented proportionally in the survey according to 
the country’s total population size. In the absence of 
reliable statistics on the size of the trans population 
in the EU, this weighting was based on the assump‑
tion that the relative size of the trans population 
over the age of 18 is the same in each EU Member 
State;  country  weights  are  computed  based  on 
Eurostat data. In this report, the base number (N) 
of responses to each question is presented as an 
unweighted count, whereas the percentages of 
respondents selecting a particular answer are pre‑
sented in weighted form.

Data cleaning

To fully understand the diversity within the sample, 
secondary  in‑depth  analysis  was  conducted.  In 
the EU LGBT survey, respondents were asked ‘Are/
were you a transgender person’ (Question A3), and 
those  who  answered  ‘yes’  were  offered  a  list  of 
categories to define in more detail how they identify 
themselves. This list of categories included also the 
category ‘other’, and respondents who selected that 
category could provide more information in an open 
text field.

First,  the  open  answers  of  the  group  of  trans 
 respondents  who  identified  as  ‘other’  (n  =  1,683) 
were  analysed  in  detail.  Second,  the  open  text 
answers of those respondents whose sex at birth was 
not in line with their chosen gender identity were 
analysed in detail (n = 118). This analysis resulted 
in  the  recoding  of  192  respondents  as  non‑trans 
respondents. Excluding these respondents from the 
subsequent analysis was necessary to ensure that the 
results truly reflect the opinons and experiences of 
trans persons. Furthermore, the number of excluded 
cases is relatively small compared to the total number 
of trans respondents – in total, 6,579 trans respondents 
remained for the analysis carried out in this report. 
This data‑cleaning process is described in more detail 
in what follows.

Analysis of the ‘other’ 
sub‑identity

One in twelve (8 %) respondents identified themselves 
as a trans person according to the analyses of the FRA 
survey results presented in the main results report.101 
In the survey, following an initial question concerning 
gender identity, the respondents identifying as trans 
were able to further self‑identify as part of a trans sub‑
group. Transgender, transsexual, queer and ‘other’ were 
the most common identification categories selected 
(Figure A1).

Table A1 presents the distributions of these subgroups 
within the EU Member States covered.

Examining  the  results  presented  in  Table  A1,  the 
large  number  of  trans  respondents  who  chose  the 
option ‘other’ is striking (n=1,683 or 25 % of all trans 
respondents). Respondents who chose this response 
category could explain in an open text answer field in 
more detail and in their own words how they identify 

Figure A1:  Sub‑identities within the trans 

respondents group (unweighted %)

25

16

18

6

3

15

10

8

Transgender

Transsexual

Woman with
a transsexual past

Man with
a transsexual past

Gender variant

Cross dresser

Queer

Other

Question:   A3_1. Please select the one answer that fits you 

the best. (response categories as listed in the 
figure).

Base:  

Survey respondents identifying as trans.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

101 FRA (2014a).

104

Annex 1: Approach and research methodology

Table A1:  Description and numbers of trans respondents, by EU Member State (unweighted N)

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

N

167

165

106

25*

170

1329

143

24*

264

214

481

435

108

134

Transgender

Transsexual

Woman with 
a transsexual past

Man with 
a transsexual past

Gender variant

Cross‑dresser

Queer

Other

16

33

10

6

10

27

39

26

38

21

12

4

12

10

17

51

13

3

2

0

16

3

25

44

6

0

0

1

0

0

4

14

15

30

200

260

14

100

5

65

14

8

56

28

101

170

210

223

35

25

5

2

9

26

11

30

1

3

1

0

3

2

9

5

55

15

1

1

23

12

41

116

20

39

4

3

15

14

30

89

70

92

24

25

54

64

70

82

105

14

71

26

8

15

40

57

113

9

3

1

18

13

29

21

14

40

7

7

6

9

12

39

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

N

139

650

40

38

46

18*

251

259

Transgender

Transsexual

Woman with 
a transsexual past

Man with 
a transsexual past

Gender variant

Cross‑dresser

Queer

Other

35

23

7

1

12

19

18

65

90

15

9

32

21

88

24

330

5

8

3

0

9

7

3

5

8

3

4

1

3

6

4

9

6

8

3

1

0

8

8

12

5

2

0

1

1

0

6

3

58

64

22

12

9

18

20

48

19

62

2

5

35

59

37

40

87

4

10

2

2

6

6

10

47

147

374

29*

115

813

11

6

1

3

15

9

23

79

48

87

18

21

19

47

63

71

7

2

0

0

1

2

5

12

15

10

0

1

35

3

37

14

178

201

111

14

66

51

84

108

Question: 

A3_1. PLEASE SELECT THE ONE ANSWER THAT FITS YOU THE BEST.

Notes:  

N = trans sample per country.

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

themselves. Furthermore, at the end of the question‑
naire, the survey gave all respondents the opportunity 
to voice anything they considered important or worth 
mentioning, in addition to the questions already asked. 
The answers to these two open text questions were 
further analysed.

Overall, 1,683 respondents answered ‘other’ in the 
question concerning self‑identification with different 
trans groups. The answers given by these respond‑
ents to the survey’s final open text question (‘J1: Feel 

free to tell us about anything you consider important 
or worth mentioning’) were further analysed in view 
of respondents’ trans identity. Based on the analysis 
of these open text answers, 189 respondents were 
recoded as non‑trans as their open text replies noted 
that they were not/never trans or gender noncon‑
forming. This recoding was done carefully: if there 
was any doubt about the interpretation of the state‑
ment of a respondent, the respondent continued to be 
categorised as trans. The framing of the question (A3) 
‘Are / were you a transgender person?’ was inclusive 

105

 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

of those respondents who had experienced a period 
of cross‑gender identification that had since passed. 
Therefore, some of the trans respondents who cur‑
rently identify with their birth sex are included in the 
total trans sample.

Second, the open description fields that respondents 
could use when they chose the ‘other’ sub identity 
(question a3_1_oth) were carefully analysed case by 
case. The same data‑cleaning method was applied: 
only when the respondents described themselves in 
a very clear way as non‑trans were they recoded as 
such. In the end, only one respondent was recoded 
in this way. The reviewing of the open answer field 
also led to recoding those respondents who fitted one 
of the offered sub‑identities (they wrote ‘queer’, for 
example, when ‘queer’ was one of the listed options, 
used  slightly  different  terminology,  or  gave  more 
details concerning their situation). The following list 
gives the full overview of these answers, and makes 
it  clear  to  which  sub‑identity  category  they  were 
recoded.

likely to be transgender, but not yet diagnosed (n=1)

Answers recoded into transgender:
• 
•  Trans (n=13)
•  Transgender (n=23)
•  Transgender, I’m male and female through life (n=1)

Answers recoded into transsexual:
•  When other = FTM or MTF:102 (n=12)
•  When other = a man in a woman body (or vice versa)

(woman)
In opposite‑sex body (n=1)

• 
•  Male,  FTM.  (Transsexual  background  type)  (n=1) 

(birth sex = female)

•  Male, Transsexual past (n=1) (birth sex = female)
•  Male, Transsexual, Intergender (n=1) (birth sex 

= female)
•  Post‑op (n=1)
•  Technically transsexual, do not use term (n=1)
•  Trans man (n=19)
•  Trans woman (n=7)
•  Transgender or Transsexual (n=3)
•  Transgender woman to man (n=1)
•  Transgender, chosen to live like transsexual 

woman (n=1)

•  Transgender, transsexual (n=6)
•  Transgender, Woman (n=1)
•  Transmale, transman, man, transgender (n=1)
•  Transsexual (n=12)
•  Transsexual man (n=3)
•  Transsexual woman (n=7)

•  Transsexual, Female to Male (n=1)
•  Woman in a man’s body (n=1)

Answers recoded into gender variant:
•  Agender (n=4)
•  Bigender (n=8)
•  Dual gender (n=1)
•  Fluid gender (n=4)
•  Gender neutral (n=8)
•  Gender fluid (n=4)
•  Gender non‑conformist (n=1)
•  Genderless (n=1)
•  Genderqueer (n=28)
I feel the 2 (n=1)
• 
Intergender (n=15)
• 
Intergender, Queer (n=2)
• 
•  Male, Genderqueer (n=1) (birth sex = male)
•  Neuter (n=5)
•  No label (n=2)
•  Non‑gender (n=4)
•  Pangender or pansexual (n=6)
•  Polygender (n=2)
•  Third gender? (n=1)
•  Transgender, dual role (n=1)
•  Transgender,  trans,queer,  intergender,  agénero, 

bigénero (n=1)

Answers recoded into cross dresser:
•  cross dresser (n=17)
•  Male, Crossdresser (n=1)
•  Male, Transvestite, Bisexual (n=1) (birth sex = male)
•  Transvestite (n=7)
•  Transvestite, Crossdresser (n=1)

Answers recoded into queer:
•  queer (n=10)

In a second stage, cross dressers were divided into 
female  and  male  cross  dressers,  since  the  initial 
data‑analysis revealed major differences in the expe‑
riences of these two groups.

Contradiction between birth 
sex and trans sub identity
The EU LGBT survey report mentioned 58 respondents 
with a female birth sex who identified as ‘a woman 
with  a  transsexual  past’,  and  60  respondents  with 
a male birth sex who identified as ‘a man with a trans‑
sexual past’, which seems contradictory. Therefore, the 
answers of these 118 respondents to the open feedback 
question (J1) at the end of the survey were translated 
and analysed.

102 FTM = a person who identifies on the male spectrum but 

who was assigned a female sex at birth, MTF = a person who 
identifies on the female spectrum but who was assigned 
a male sex at birth.

Reading the open feedback question of these respond‑
ents, one realised that individual personal stories do not 
always fit in a predetermined normative or statistical 

106

Annex 1: Approach and research methodology

categorisation. Some respondents described a period 
of cross‑gender identification that had passed, that 
they had grown out of, but that still remained signifi‑
cant enough to tick the box ‘yes, I am/was transgender 
person’. The wording of the question in both present 
and past tense allowed them to mention their experi‑
ences within that given period.

Based on this analysis, the following recoding took place:
•  three respondents with a female birth sex and iden‑
tifying as ‘a woman with transsexual past’ were 
recoded as having a male birth sex;

•  two respondents with a male birth sex and identify‑
ing as‘a man with transsexual past’ were recoded as 
having a female birth sex;

•  one respondent with a male birth sex and identify‑
ing as ‘a man with transsexual past’ was recoded as 
‘a woman with transsexual past’;

•  two respondents with a female birth sex and iden‑
tifying as ‘a woman with a transsexual past’ were 
recoded as non‑trans.

For the others, information was lacking on how to inter‑
pret their situation. It became clear thatfive respond‑
ents had mistakenly selected the ‘wrong’ birth sex, 
but this might be true for others as well. It is also pos‑
sible that some respondents thought that they should 
state their current or legal sex, which may represent 
their experience more accurately. As before, during the 
data‑cleaning process only those answers where there 
could be no doubt were recoded.

Results after data cleaning

After the data cleaning, 192 respondents were recoded 
as  non‑trans  respondents.  In  total,  the  answers  of 
6,579 trans respondents were used in the analysis pre‑
sented in this report (Table A3).

The data‑cleaning of the trans respondents in the EU 
LGBT survey does not lead to any major differences in 
the proportions in the sub‑identity groups (Table A2).

Table A2:  Description of trans respondents, before and after data cleaning, within country (unweighted %)

Before data cleaning

After data cleaning

Transgender

Transsexual

Woman with a transsexual past

Man with a transsexual past

Gender variant

Cross dresser

Queer

Other

Total

n

1,066

1,217

397

199

539

654

1,016

1,683

6,771

%

15.7

18.0

5.9

2.9

8.0

9.7

15.0

24.9

100

n

1104

1295

342

141

573

753

1,026

1,345

6,579

%

16.8

19.7

5.2

2.1

8.7

11.4

15.6

20.4

100

Question:   A3. Are/were you a transgender person? – Yes/No. If YES: A3_1. PLEASE SELECT ONE ANSWER THAT FITS YOU BEST – 

Transgender/Transsexual/Woman with a transsexual past/Man with a transsexual past/Gender Variant/Cross dresser/Queer/
Other.

Note:  

Base:  

n = trans subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

107

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table A3:  Number of trans respondents before and after data cleaning, by EU Member State (unweighted)

Before data cleaning

After data cleaning

Recoded as non‑trans

1

5

1

0

4

11

0

1

2

11

18

10

9

3

0

63

2

2

0

0

7

2

3

18

4

4

0

11

192

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HU

HR

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SK

SI

UK

N

167

165

106

25

170

1,329

143

24

264

214

481

435

134

108

139

650

40

38

46

18

251

259

87

147

374

115

29

813

N

166

160

105

25

166

1,318

143

23

262

203

463

425

125

105

139

587

38

36

46

18

244

257

84

129

370

111

29

802

Total

6,771

6,579

Question:   A3. Are / were you a transgender person? – Yes.

Note:  

Base:  

N = trans sample per country.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012. Population 18+:Eurostat 2012

108

Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

After data cleaning, 6,579 trans respondents who com‑
pleted the FRA EU LGBT survey remained. Table A4 
shows the sample size by EU Member State (country the 
respondents currently live in), its total population over 
the age of 18 and the proportion of responses relative 
to the total adult population. It also shows the number 
of responses according to the weighting methodology 
described earlier.

As explained above, it is not possible to say that the trans 
sample of the EU LGBT survey is statistically representa‑
tive of the total EU trans population, which is unknown. 
Nevertheless, the 6,579 respondents represent the larg‑
est dataset ever collected within the EU, representing 
a wide range of opinions, behaviours and attitudes that 
are present in the statistical universe of the survey – i.e. 
all trans people aged 18 and above, living in the EU.

The largest number of responses, a fifth of the total 
sample, came from persons residing in Germany – the 
most populous of the 28 EU Member States – with a fur‑
ther 12 % coming from the United Kingdom and almost 
9 % from Italy. Participation rates ranged widely, with 
the highest value recorded in Finland and the lowest in 
Spain. In the EU‑level analysis all responses were con‑
sidered in proportion to the relative population size of 
the different EU Member States.

Sample composition

As the number of trans persons in the population with 
respect  to  the  total  population  of  each  country  is  not 
known, it is impossible to assess any possible selection 
bias in terms of key socio‑demographic characteristics of 
the respondents. However, participation in online surveys 
varies between countries and depends very much on local 
networks and stakeholders, especially in the case of the 
EU LGBT survey, which was promoted by LGBT associations, 
in publications and websites and through social media.

A precondition for participation was unobstructed and 
continuous access to the internet for the amount of time 
it took to complete the questionnaire (typically from 
30 minutes to one hour). Thus, unequal access to and dif‑
ferences in the capacity to use internet due to age, edu‑
cation, income and local infrastructure will be reflected 
in the survey results. Women and older persons do show 
lower internet usage rates throughout the EU, but this 
alone will not sufficiently explain some apparent imbal‑
ances in the sample structure. Further research is needed 
to reveal the social dynamics behind different participa‑
tion rates between respondent groups. Different experi‑
ences of discrimination can lead to a higher motivation, 
or reluctance, to participate in a survey on discrimination. 
The results could also, however, reflect different levels 
of self‑declaration or organisation among trans persons 
within a country. Not all trans persons are lesbian, gay 
or bisexual, and communities of LGB and trans persons 
might be, but are not always, closely linked to each other. 
When a trans organisation is not available in a certain 
EU Member State to promote and support the survey, 
this might influence the participation of trans persons 
in that country.

The trans universe includes persons with a wide range 
of possible gender identities and expressions as well as 
possible medical interventions that trans persons have 
undergone to express that gender. The survey asked 
respondents  who  self‑identified  as  being  (or  having 
been) a trans person, to further categorise themselves 
as gender variant, cross‑dressers, transgender, trans‑
sexual, men or women with a transsexual past, queer or 
‘other’. Transgender, transsexual, queer and ‘other’ were 
the most common identifications. Given the large number 
of categories, and to facilitate the analysis of the data with 
respect to gender differences, a less detailed categorisa‑
tion was adopted for the analysis of survey data. Based 
on the terms that trans respondents identified with as well 
as (for transsexuals and cross dressers) their sex assigned 
at birth, seven identity group categories were created:

1.  trans  women:  transsexual,  and  women  with 

a transsexual past (male at birth)

2.  trans men: transsexual, and men with a trans‑

sexual past (female at birth)

3.  female cross dressers
4.  male cross dressers
5.  transgender
6.  gender variant
7.  queer/other

The respondents who self‑identified as ‘transgender’ 
have  not  been  regrouped  into  trans  women  or  trans 
men, because the term ‘transgender’ might be used in 
multiple ways: some trans men and trans women prefer 
this term over the term transsexual, but others use it 
more in the sense of gender variant. Respondents with 
a male sex assigned at birth and a self‑chosen identity 
as ‘men with a transsexual past’, as well as those with 
a female sex assigned at birth and a self‑chosen identity 
as ‘woman with a transsexual past’ were recoded into 
the category ‘other’.

These  identity  groups,  though  limited,  provide 
a framework through which to analyse the respond‑
ents’ living situation and experiences in life. Since 
‘transgender’ is one of the sub identity groups within 
the total sample, the expressions ‘trans respondents/
persons/people’ are used to refer to the total sample 
to avoid confusion.

109

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table A4:  Sample size, by EU Member State (N) and their population aged 18 and above, the proportion of the 

number of cases in the sample relative to the total population aged 18 and above and weighted count

Country 
(of residence)

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

N

166

160

105

25

166

1,318

143

23

262

203

463

425

105

125

139

587

38

36

46

18

244

257

84

129

370

29

111

802

Total

6,579

Population aged 18  
and above

N relative to the total population 
aged 18 and above (%)

Weighted 
count

6,872,033

8,617,292

6,241,121

633,359

8,665,038

68,326,165

4,351,661

1,089,752

9,344,922

37,862,752

4,288,349

49,250,217

3,584,162

8,175,111

3,341,967

50,352,450

2,622,861

403,566

1,845,068

337,694

13,144,678

30,990,692

8,694,435

17,451,843

7,479,448

1,697,820

4,394,588

49,249,383

409,308,427

0.0024

0.0019

0.0017

0.0039

0.0019

0.0019

0.0033

0.0021

0.0028

0.0005

0.0108

0.0009

0.0029

0.0015

0.0042

0.0012

0.0014

0.0089

0.0025

0.0053

0.0019

0.0008

0.0010

0.0007

0.0049

0.0017

0.0025

0.0016

110

139

100

10

139

1,098

70

18

150

609

69

792

58

131

54

809

42

6

30

5

211

498

140

281

120

27

71

792

6,579

Note:  

Base:  

N = trans sample per country.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Sources:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012; Eurostat

Sample typology by subgroup

Only respondents who identified as a trans person were 
routed to complete the survey as a trans person. Of this 
trans person total, 17 % were classified as transgender, 

17 % as trans woman, 10 % as trans men, 4 % as female 
cross  dresser,  4 %  as  male  cross  dresser,  17 %  as 
transgender, 11 % as gender variant and 36 % as queer/
other (Table A5).

110

K
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5

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7
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4
6

4
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t
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Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

2
0
8

1
1
1

9
2

0
7
3

9
2
1

4
8

7
5
2

4
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6
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l

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6

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%

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S

111

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

To mitigate the effects of the overrepresentation of 
some countries in the total sample, a weighting meth‑
odology was applied to the data, as described above. 
Following the application of the weighting, 17 % of the 

sample identified as trans women, 9 % as trans men, 
4 % as female cross dresser, 5 % as male cross dresser, 
16 % as transgender, 11 % as gender variant, and 39 % 
as queer/other (Table A6).

Table A6:  Trans typology used in this report, by EU Member State (weighted %)

n
e
m
o
w

s
n
a
r
T

17

17

1

18

20

14

11

5

12

14

21

5

23

14

10

16

20

10

17

27

14

6

5

19

4

4

33

17

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

10

6

3

7

12

10

5

1

10

17

4

3

18

9

9

5

10

17

11

12

12

1

14

7

4

8

9

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

1

5

9

6

3

4

11

2

3

9

1

12

3

9

3

9

2

8

2

4

3

13

5

4

5

2

7

4

4

3

5

7

5

3

3

5

3

4

3

14

2

6

16

8

3

7

18

3

5

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

10

25

12

20

9

16

27

5

22

10

16

26

14

12

25

11

14

20

13

33

25

7

5

9

13

25

14

23

16

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

39

38

65

80

51

31

23

53

57

50

25

36

48

32

23

61

23

40

47

33

23

28

51

67

28

50

42

19

39

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

17

7

3

5

14

19

11

5

9

16

10

12

9

16

4

19

20

20

9

25

9

7

19

7

4

9

11

l

a
t
o
T

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

EU trans average

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

112

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

Sample typology by birth sex

Overall,  the  majority  of  the  trans  sample  involved 
respondents  who  were  assigned  a  male  sex  at 
birth (65 %). It should be noted that, for many trans 
persons, the ‘sex assigned at birth’ is not a relevant 
category, as they do not identify with it.

Almost  twice  as  many  respondents  were  trans 
women  as  were  trans  men.  The  large  number  of 
female cross dressers is striking, since they are often 
difficult to reach for research purposes. The queer/
other and gender variant categories have a majority 
of respondents who were assigned a male sex at birth 
(Table A7).

Sample typology by gender 
feelings, gender expression 
and gender wishes

The following tables provide more detail, drawing on 
trans respondents’ feeling feminine and/or mascu‑
line, looking feminine and/or masculine, and wishing 
to be more feminine and/or masculine, as indicated in 
the survey.

Gender feelings

Trans respondents were asked whether they agree or 
disagree with the statements ‘I feel feminine/I feel 
masculine’. Those who answered that they agree or 
strongly with the statements were grouped under the 

categories: feeling feminine/feeling masculine. Those 
who agreed with both statements were grouped under 
the category ‘feeling both masculine or feminine’ and 
those who disagreed with both, in the category ‘No 
feeling of being feminine or masculine’.

Table A8 shows that 89 % of trans women describe 
themselves as feeling feminine, and 85 % of trans men 
describe themselves as feeling masculine. Of the cross 
dressers assigned male at birth, a third feel feminine, 
a third masculine and a third feel both masculine and 
feminine. Cross dressers assigned a female sex at birth 
show a different distribution of gender feelings with 
more respondents having no feelings of being femi‑
nine or masculine.

The feelings of being feminine and/or masculine of 
the transgender subgroup are similar to the transsex‑
ual subgroup: those assigned a male sex at birth feel 
feminine (70 %), those assigned a female sex at birth 
feel masculine (72 %). Respondents in this survey who 
choose the option ‘transgender’ are obviously using 
the term more in the sense of belonging to the other 
gender as opposed to the sex which they were assigned 
at birth.

Gender variant respondents are the most likely among 
all groups of respondents to feel both feminine and 
masculine (42 %), followed by cross dressers (32 %). In 
the queer/other group there are again major differences 
according to the sex assigned at birth. Three quarters 
of those assigned a male sex at birth feel masculine, 
whereas two in five of those assigned a female sex at 
birth feel feminine (42 %).

Table A7:  Birth sex, by identity group (unweighted n, weighted %)

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

0

1,147

100

1,147

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

631

100

0

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

286

100

0

631

286

Female

Male

Total

n

%

n

%

N

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

0

287

100

287

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

463

39

641

61

1,104

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

154

17

599

83

753

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

2,521

35

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

987

37

1,384

4,058

63

65

2,371

6,579

Question:   A2.rc: What sex were you assigned at birth? ‑Female/Male.

Note:  

Base:  

n = trans subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

113

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table A8:  Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth, and gender belonging (how much they 

feel feminine and/or masculine) (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
or masculine

Don’t know

N/n

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
or masculine

Don’t know

n

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
and masculine

Don’t know

n

36

39

5

19

2

89

3

2

6

0

6,579

1,147

6

85

1

7

1

631

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/ Other

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

45

33

4

16

2

5

72

8

13

2

70

9

2

17

2

31

18

5

42

3

8

38

12

38

5

36

14

4

44

3

20

53

6

19

2

42

19

10

26

3

7

73

3

15

2

1,104

463

641

753

154

599

2,371

987

1,384

Total

23

33

9

32

3

573

Cross dresser

Female

17

36

14

30

3

286

Male

28

30

5

33

4

287

Questions:   A2. What sex were you assigned at birth? Female – Male.

A5. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I feel feminine/masculine. – Strongly disagree, disagree, agree, 
strongly agree.

Note: 

Base:  

N = total trans sample; n = trans subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Gender expression

Around  half  of  the  cross  dressers  say  that  their 
appearance follows their sex assigned at birth. One 
out of five cross dressers say that they look both 
masculine  and  feminine,  and  another  one  out  of 
five say that their looks are opposed to their sex 

assigned at birth. Around 70 % of the transsexual 
respondents have a look in line with their gender 
identity (Table A9).

Turning  to  the  transgender,  gender  variant  and 
queer  subgroups,  there  are  differences  between 
them according to the sex assigned at birth. In the 

114

 
Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

Table A9:  Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth and gender expression (how much they 

feel feminine and/or masculine) (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
or masculine

Don’t know

N/n

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
or masculine

Don’t know

n

Feeling feminine

Feeling masculine

No feeling of being 
feminine or masculine

Feeling both feminine 
or masculine

Don’t know

n

31

48

5

13

3

69

16

4

8

3

6,579

1,147

13

74

4

7

2

631

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/ Other

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

32

40

6

18

4

21

48

7

19

5

39

35

5

17

3

20

53

6

19

3

25

39

7

25

5

19

56

6

17

2

21

59

6

12

2

50

18

8

21

3

4

82

5

7

2

1,104

463

641

753

154

599

2,371

987

1,384

Total

29

41

6

20

3

573

Cross dresser

Female

44

23

8

21

4

286

Male

16

57

4

20

3

287

Questions:   A2.rc: What sex were you assigned at birth?

A5. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I look feminine/masculine – Strongly disagree, disagree, agree, 
strongly agree.

Note : 

Base:  

N = total trans sample; n = trans subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

transgender subgroup, almost half of the respond‑
ents assigned a female sex at birth have a male look, 
one  out  of  five  a  female  look  and  one  out  of  five 
look both masculine and feminine. Those transgen‑
der respondents assigned a male sex at birth indi‑
cate more often that their look matches their birth 
sex (35 %), and 39 % indicate having a feminine look. 

In the gender variant subgroup the same trend can be 
found, with more respondents assigned a female sex 
at birth having a masculine look than those assigned 
a male sex at birth having a feminine look. In the 
queer/other subgroup, the same trend as within the 
gender belonging question described earlier can be 
found: four out of five assigned a male sex at birth 

115

 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

look masculine, whereas those assigned a female sex 
at birth look feminine (50 %) or look both feminine 
and masculine (21 %).

Gender wishes

A third question respondents could answer dealt with 
their  wish  to  be  more  masculine  and/or  feminine. 

Queer/other respondents are those who least wish to 
be more masculine or feminine (46 %).

In the cross dresser subgroup, over four out of 10 wish 
a greater distance to their sex assigned at birth. In the 
transsexual group, 84 % of trans women wish to be 
more feminine and 73 % of trans men wish to be more 
masculine (Table A10).

Table A10: Respondent typology, by identity group, sex assigned at birth, and gender wishes (how much they 

would like to be more feminine and/or masculine)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Wishing to be more feminine

Wishing to be more 
masculine

Not wishing to be more 
feminine or more masculine

Wishing to be more feminine 
AND more masculine

Don’t know

N/n

Wishing to be more feminine

Wishing to be more 
masculine

Not wishing to be more 
feminine or more masculine

Wishing to be more feminine 
AND more masculine

Don’t know

n

Wishing to be more feminine

Wishing to be more 
masculine

Not wishing to be more 
feminine or more masculine

Wishing to be more feminine 
AND more masculine

Don’t know

n

37

29

28

3

3

84

2

12

1

0

6,579

1,147

5

73

19

1

1

631

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/ Other

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

Total

Female Male

49

31

15

2

2

2

71

21

2

3

78

6

12

3

1

64

10

13

7

5

11

45

29

4

12

76

3

10

8

4

13

34

46

4

3

21

21

49

4

4

9

41

44

4

2

1,104

463

641

753

154

599

2,371

987

1,384

Total

30

36

24

6

5

573

Cross dresser

Female

11

49

31

5

5

286

Male

46

24

18

7

5

287

Questions:   A2.rc: What sex were you assigned at birth?

A5. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I wish I was more feminine/masculine.

Note : 

Base:  

N = total trans sample; n = trans subgroup sample.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

116

 
Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

Sexual orientation

The questionnaire asked respondents several ques‑
tions about their sexual orientation: how they would 
describe their sexuality (self‑identification), types of 
sexual partners in the last fiveyears (sexual behav‑
iour)  and  to  whom –  males,  females,  both  males 
and females, or neither – they feel attracted (sexual 
attraction).

Self‑identification

Trans respondents are most likely to describe their 
sexual orientation as bisexual or gay (both 27 %). One 
in 10cannot classify their sexual orientation in any of 
the categories offered and indicate as their sexual 

Table A11:  Sexual orientation, by identity group (%)

orientation ‘other’.These respondents were given the 
possibility to further specify their answers in an open 
text field. Among these open answers, many list terms 
such as pansexual, asexual, queer and so on. Female 
cross dressers and transgender respondents are more 
likely to choose ‘other’ or to say that they cannot 
answer this question (Table A11).

Sexual behaviour

Respondents were asked to describe the type(s) of part‑
ners they had sex within the last five years. In all sub‑
groups except the queer/other group which is largely 
composed of respondents assigned a male sex at birth, 
the respondents most often had sex with women only 
(Table A12).

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

30

5

30

22

7

6

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

18

27

27

14

10

4

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

5

17

27

38

10

3

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

34

4

31

5

20

5

1

36

41

9

8

5

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

14

16

29

18

15

8

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

9

13

45

22

8

4

Lesbian

Gay

Bisexual

Heterosexual/Straight

Other

Don’t know

Question:   A4. Would you say you are…. (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table A12: Sexual partners in the last five years, by identity group (%)

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

30

10

15

9

19

16

1

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

24

9

15

10

29

12

1

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

27

9

14

7

20

23

1

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

36

9

15

7

15

17

1

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

32

11

16

10

11

18

2

10

9

22

15

35

9

31

12

26

8

13

10

1

Only women (or with one woman)

Mainly women

Both men and women

Mainly men

Only men (or with one man)

No one

Don’t know

Question:   A7. In the last five years, you have had sex with… (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

21

49

18

3

8

2

r
e
h
t
O
/
r
e
e
u
Q

17

7

12

12

45

5

1

117

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Sexual attraction

Age

The  sexual  attraction  of  trans  respondents  is  very 
diverse. Around a third are attracted to males, a third 
to females and another third to both females and males. 
Cross dressers and gender variant respondents are more 
attracted to both males and females than the other 
trans groups (Table A13). Cross dressers most often feel 
attracted either only to men or only to women.

Socio‑economic status

Respondents were asked a series of questions about 
their age, education, occupation, income, place of resi‑
dence, household composition, sexual orientation, civil 
status, children and migrant background, as contextual 
information for the analysis of the survey results.

In the survey the average age of the trans respond‑
ents is 34 years old: the youngest respondent was 18 
and the oldest 81 years old. Respondents were catego‑
rised into four categories by age. The largest age group 
represented in the sample are respondents aged 25–39 
and the smallest are those over 55 (Table A14). The age 
distribution of trans respondents follows the pattern of 
age distribution among all EU LGBT survey respondents. 
The only difference is that there are slightly more trans 
respondents aged 25–39 (by three percentage points), 
as well as slightly more respondents aged over 55 (again 
by three percentage points).

The groups of female cross dressers and trans men in 
particular tend to be young, with 47 % and 43 % of 
respondents under the age of 25 (Figure A2).

Table A13: Sexual attraction, by identity group (%)

Males

Females

Both males and females

I am not sexually attracted to anyone

Don’t know

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

24

34

34

5

3

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

35

31

29

3

2

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

28

33

30

7

3

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

4

44

42

7

3

46

14

38

1

1

17

39

42

2

1

r
e
h
t
O
/
r
e
e
u
Q

53

24

21

1

2

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

20

44

31

2

3

Question:   A8. Whom are you sexually attracted to? (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table A14: Age of respondents

Age distribution (years)

Frequency

18–24

25–39

40–54

55+

Total

1,961

2,576

1,535

506

6,578

%

30

39

23

8

100

Question:   A1. How old are you?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey (except one respondent who indicated s/he was 129. For all analyses, this answer 
was recoded as missing).

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

118

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

Figure A2: Age distribution, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

30 

39 

23 

8 

Trans women

16 

33 

35 

16 

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

43 

47 

30 

28 

Gender variant

25 

39 

15 

3 

40 

10 

4 

35 

37 

39 

27 

7 

24 

24 

11 

12 

18-24

25-39

40-54

55+

Queer/other

33 

43 

21 

3 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   A1. How old are you?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Education

Half of the respondents (49 %) have college, university 
or higher academic degrees. This is true for each trans 
group, with only minor variations. In addition, 16 % 
indicate a post‑secondary education other than college 
or university, and 30 % of respondents have secondary 
education.  There  are  virtually  no  respondents  who 

report primary education as the highest completed 
level of education (Table A15).

For analytical purposes, respondents were grouped into 
those who have completed college, university or have 
higher degrees (49 %), and a second group including 
all other respondents (51 %).

Table A15: Education type, by identity group

No formal education

Primary education

Secondary education

Post‑secondary education other 
than college/university

College/university/ higher academic education

Other

s
n
a
r
t
U
E

e
g
a
r
e
v
a

n
e
m
o
w

s
n
a
r
T

0

3

30

16

49

3

0

4

31

16

45

3

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

0

4

36

15

43

3

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

0

1

29

10

55

5

0

4

31

16

45

3

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

0

3

28

14

53

2

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

1

2

27

16

50

3

r
e
d
n
e
G

t
n
a
i
r
a
v

1

3

33

16

45

2

Question:   H5. What is the highest level of education you have achieved?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

119

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

The  age  differences  between  the  trans  respond‑
ent subgroups mean that an overall smaller number 
of those having achieved higher education – young 
people who may not yet have completed their edu‑
cation are overrepresented in the sample. To partly 
overcome this effect, only respondents aged 25 and 
above were selected for this particular analysis. The 
results show that gender variant respondents and trans 
women (both 48 %) are the least likely to have a higher 
education among the subgroups (Figure A3).

Occupation

Half of the trans respondents (51 %) indicate that they 
are in paid work (including those on temporary leave) 
and a further one in four are students (trans respond‑
ents between 18–24 account for 64 % of the students). 
One in eight respondents (14 %) are unemployed, and 
small  segments  of  the  sample  are  doing  unpaid  or 
voluntary work, are retired or otherwise not working 
(Table A16).

To simplify the analysis, respondents were grouped into 
three categories according to their economic activity: 
those in paid work (51 %), students (24 %) and ‘other 
not‑employed’ (25 %), which combined all the remaining 
categories (in unpaid or voluntary work, retired, other‑
wise not working (e.g. taking care of the home)). Again, 
because the age differences between the subgroups of 

trans respondents would influence these results, only 
respondents aged 25 or above were selected. This analysis 
shows notable differences between trans women and the 
other subgroups of respondents. Trans women are clearly 
best represented in the group of non‑working respond‑
ents (38 %), are least likely to be in paid work (50 %), and 
only a small sample are still students (11 %) (Figure A4).

The distribution of trans respondents by work status does 
not show much variation across Member States – although 
at the same time it must be noted that the number of 
trans respondents is quite low for some Member States. 
In all but one country, the proportions of the three cat‑
egories are the same: the highest numbers concern those 
in paid work, followed by students and then those who 
are not working. The only exception is the Netherlands, 
where the proportion of those not in paid work exceeds 
the proportion of students (Table A17).

Income

The EU LGBT survey asked respondents about their 
monthly net household income. Income levels were 
recorded in four broad categories, derived from the 
European  Social  Survey  (ESS)  income  distribution 
results.103 The four categories were tailored to income 
levels in each country surveyed, so that about 25 % of 
the general population had a household income corre‑
sponding to each category.

Figure A3: Education type (short form), by identity group, aged 25 and above (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

47 

52 

46 

53 

48 

54 

Female cross dressers

38 

62 

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

47 

43 

52 

44 

53 

57 

48 

56 

Less than
higher
education 

Higher
education 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   H5. What is the highest level of education you have achieved?

Base:  

Base: Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey aged 25 or above.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

103 For more information on the European Social Survey, see 

www.europeansocialsurvey.org/.

120

Table A16: Economic activity status, by identity group (%)

Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

65

3

14

7

5

6

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

57

4

19

3

7

10

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

60

2

17

13

1

6

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

54

68

6

9

15

4

13

3

13

6

6

5

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

65

4

13

7

7

4

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

70

2

10

5

7

6

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

68

4

13

8

3

5

In paid work (including on paternity 
or other temporary leave)

In unpaid or voluntary work

Unemployed

Student

Retired

Otherwise not working (e.g. taking care 
of home, on a long sick leave, disabled)

Question:   H6. Which of the following best describes your status? (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure A4: Economic activity status (short form), by identity group aged 25 and above (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

Gender variant

Queer/other

40 

36 

51 

50 

52 

51 

58 

52 

11 

33 

39 

24 

25 

38 

27 

25 

25 

25 

23 

20 

23 

24 

19 

28 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   H6. Which of the following best describes your status?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey aged 25 and above.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

In paid
work

Student

Other
non-working

Overall, the income distribution of the all LGBT survey 
respondents did correspondto that of the general popu‑
lation: about a quarter of all Survey respondents belong 
to each category. In contrast, compared with the overall 

results for LGBT respondents, trans respondents are 
more likely to report a household income in the bottom 
quartile (36 %) and less likely to report incomes in the 
top income quartile (19 %) (Table A18).

121

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table A17: Employment, by EU Member State (%)

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

70

17

13

53

20

27

57

26

17

50

30

20

51

36

13

55

21

24

33

26

41

65

18

18

39

27

33

47

26

27

32

39

29

50

20

30

43

33

24

50

27

23

166

160

105

25

166 1,318

143

23

262

203

463

425

105

125

IE

36

32

32

IT

48

24

27

LT

45

29

26

LU

71

14

14

LV

66

17

17

MT

NL

33

33

33

55

11

33

PL

48

33

19

PT

46

34

20

RO

55

28

17

SE

45

29

26

SI

64

18

18

SK

55

34

UK

51

21

11

28

139

587

38

36

46

18

244

257

84

129

370

29

111

802

In paid work

Student

Other 
non‑ working

No. of 
respondents

In paid work

Student

Other 
non‑ working

No. of 
respondents

Question:   H6. Which of the following best describes your status?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table A18: Household income (%)

Under lowest quartile

Between lowest quartile and median

Between median and highest quartile

Above highest quartile

EU trans average

36

25

20

19

Question:   H17. Could you please indicate what your household’s net combined monthly income is – that is, after deductions for tax, social 

insurance, etc.? [According to country of residence, a list of country‑specific income bands was presented.]

Note:  

Base:  

The national income quartiles used in the table are derived from the European Social Survey household income results.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Looking only at those aged 25 and above, trans men are 
more likely than other subgroups to report a household 
income in the bottom quartile (45 %) and less likely 
to report incomes in the top income quartile (10 %) 
(Figure A5).

In most countries covered by the survey, the distribution 
of the trans sample does not align with the expected dis‑
tribution based on ESS income quartiles, in contrast with 
the overall LGBT results. Some EU Member States have 
a higher than average percentage of trans respond‑
ents in the lowest income quartile, such as Austria, Bel‑
gium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 

the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. In countries such 
as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal 
and Romania the survey attracted large numbers of 
respondents from higher income levels (Table A19).

Place of residence

The survey respondents were asked to characterise 
their place of residence in terms of categories, which 
ranged from living in a city to living on a farm or else‑
where in the countryside – based on the respondents 
perception and understanding of the different catego‑
ries. The majority of respondents say they live in an 

122

Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

21 

17 

Figure A5: Household income, by identity group aged 25 and above (%)

EU trans average

33 

26 

21 

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

Transgender

39 

45 

34 

29 

33 

24 

20 

26 

19 

10 

20 

25 

21 

25 

18 

27 

29 

21 

17 

Gender variant

26 

25 

21 

28 

Queer/other

30 

25 

22 

23 

Under lowest
quartile

Between lowest
quartile and median

Between median
and highest
quartile

Above highest
quartile

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   H17. Could you please indicate what your household’s net combined monthly income is – that is, after deductions for tax, 

social insurance, etc.? [According to country of residence, a list of country‑specific income bands was presented.].

Note:  

Base:  

The national income quartiles used in the table are derived from the European Social Survey household income results.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey aged 25 and above.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Table A19: Income distribution of the trans sample, by EU Member State (%)

Country

1st quartile

2nd quartile

3rd quartile

4th quartile

AT

BE

BG

CY

CZ

DE

DK

EE

EL

ES

FI

FR

HR

HU

IE

IT

LT

LU

LV

37

37

9

10

32

50

41

12

49

39

55

32

24

45

35

36

29

17

17

28

23

15

30

22

24

29

29

25

21

22

28

26

27

24

30

29

17

28

15

24

16

20

22

15

19

41

14

22

14

20

29

13

26

21

19

17

21

19

16

60

40

24

11

11

18

12

19

9

20

21

14

15

13

24

50

34

123

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Table A19: (continued)

MT

NL

PL

PT

RO

SE

SI

SK

UK

17

39

31

32

18

43

29

15

29

17

29

21

12

19

25

32

35

26

17

23

23

18

25

18

29

24

27

50

9

25

38

38

14

11

25

19

Question:   H17. Could you please indicate what your household’s net combined monthly income is – that is, after deductions for tax, social 

insurance, etc.? [According to country of residence, a list of country‑specific income bands was presented.]

Note:  

The national quartiles used in the table are defined by empirical household income distribution in the general population in the 
particular country, reference data: European Social Survey, 2010.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

urban area: a city (52 %), a town (21 %) or the suburbs 
or outskirts of a city (11 %). Urban residents dominate 
each individual trans group (Table A20).

To analyse results according to urbanisation level, all 
respondents who live outside cities or towns were put 
together in a single category (‘rural’), while city or suburbs 
dwellers as well as town residents were put under ‘urban’. 
In general, trans respondents are more likely to live in 
urban environments (86 %) than elsewhere (14 %). Trans 
men and trans women are somewhat more likely to live 

in smaller settlements, whereas queer/other respondents 
report high percentages (60 %) of city dwellers.

Relationship status

The majority of respondents in all trans groups indicate 
that at the time of the survey they did not have a part‑
ner or other relationship (48 %). The trans subgroups 
most likely not to have a current partner or a relation‑
ship are trans women (53 %) and trans men (50 %). 
Gender variant respondents are the most likely to have 

Table A20: Place of residence, by identity group (%)

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

52

11

23

12

2

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

41

14

27

16

3

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

45

13

26

11

4

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

56

10

23

10

2

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

52

15

22

9

2

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

49

14

22

13

2

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

53

12

22

11

2

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

60

8

21

10

1

City

The suburbs or outskirts of a city

A town

A country village

A farm or home in the countryside

Question:   H7. Where do you currently live? (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

124

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

a partner (61 %, total of gender variant respondents 
living together with a partner and involved in a rela‑
tionship without living together) (Figure A6).

The partner of the trans respondents is in six out of 
10  cases  a  woman.  In  the  group  of  gender  variant 
respondents in particular (80 % of whom were assigned 

a male sex at birth), the partner is more likely to be 
a woman (Figure A7).

Female cross dressers are more likely than male cross 
dressers  to  have  a  same‑sex  partner  (61 %  versus 
50 %). Trans women have a female partner more often 
than trans men have a male partner (68 % versus 31 %).

Figure A6: Relationship status, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

Male cross dressers

29 

30 

26 

24 

27 

24 

17 

24 

32 

25 

Transgender

32 

21 

48 

53 

50 

44 

48 

47 

Gender variant

40 

21 

39 

Queer/other

25 

28 

47 

Living together with
a partner/spouse

Involved in
a relationship without
living together

Have no relationship/
do not have
a partner

Question: 

H11. What describes your current situation in the country where you live? (Response categories as listed in the figure).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 100

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure A7: Sex of partner, by identity group (%)

EU trans average

60 

Trans women

Trans men

Female cross dressers

68 

69 

61 

Male cross dressers

50 

40 

32 

31 

39 

50 

Woman

Man

Transgender

Gender variant

71 

84 

29 

16 

Queer/other

43 

57 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   H12. Is your current partner a woman or a man?

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

125

Being Trans in the EU — Comparative analysis of EU LGBT survey data

Civil status

The vast majority of trans respondents indicate that 
their civil status is single (75 %). One in seven respond‑
ents  is  married  or  living  in  a  registered  partner‑
ship (15 %) (Table A21).

Gender variant (28 %) respondents are the most likely 
to be married or in a registered partnership, and female 
cross dressers the least likely (8 %). Trans women are 
the most likely to indicate that they are divorced or 
separated (17 %).

Table A21: Civil status, by identity group (%)

e
g
a
r
e
v
a
s
n
a
r
t
U
E

75

15

7

2

1

n
e
m
o
w
s
n
a
r
T

60

18

17

4

1

n
e
m
s
n
a
r
T

83

12

4

1

0

s
s
o
r
c
e
a
m
e
F

l

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d

86

8

3

2

1

s
r
e
s
s
e
r
d
s
s
o
r
c
e
a
M

l

70

20

8

2

r
e
d
n
e
g
s
n
a
r
T

70

19

7

3

1

t
n
a
i
r
a
v
r
e
d
n
e
G

62

28

8

2

1

r
e
h
t
o
/
r
e
e
u
Q

84

10

4

2

0

Single

Married/in a registered 
partnership

Divorced

Separated

Widowed

Question:   H10. In terms of civil status in the country where you live, are you … (Response categories as listed in the table).

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

Figure A8: Proportion of respondents who have at least one child under the age of 18 living in the household, 

by identity group (%)

EU trans average

16

Trans women

13

Trans men

17

Female cross dressers

21

Male cross dressers

Transgender

17

16

Gender variant

22

Queer/other

14

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Question:   H9. Do you have any children (under the age of 18) live in your household? Yes.

Base:  

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

126

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Living with children

Overall, only 16 % of respondents live with at least 
one  child  under  the  age  of  18  in  their  household 
(N=1,073). Female cross dressers (21 %) and gender 
variant respondents (22 %) are the most likely to have 
at least one child under the age of 18 in their house‑
hold (Figure A8).

The proportion of survey participants living in a house‑
hold with at least one child under 18 ranges from 25 % 
in Hungary to 12 % in Spain (Figure A9).

Annex 2: Trans respondents sample

Figure A9: Proportion of respondents who have at 

least one child under the age of 18 living 
in the household, by EU Member 
State (%)

EU trans
average
MT*

16 

HR*

LV*

IE*

HU

SK*

CZ

PL

FI*

LT*

SI*

SE*

BE*

BG*

CY*

DK*

LU*

FR

IT

RO

PT*

DE

UK

AT*

ES

EE*

EL*

NL*

33 

28 

27 

26 

25 

24 

23 

23 

21 

21 

21 

21 

20 

20 

18 

17 

17 

15 

15 

15 

14 

13 

13 

12 

12 

11 

11 

9 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Question:   H9. Do you have any children (under the age 
of 18) live in your household? Yes.

Note:  

Base:  

* Cases with fewer than 30 responses.

Trans respondents in the EU LGBT survey.

Source:  

FRA, EU LGBT survey, 2012

127

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a

HELPING TO MAKE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS A REALITY FOR EVERYONE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Trans persons, or those whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex assigned them at 
birth,  face  frequent  discrimination,  harassment  and  violence  across  the  European  Union  (EU)  today.  This  reality 
triggers  fears  that  persuade  many  to  hide  or  disguise  their  true  selves.  This  report  examines  issues  of  equal 
treatment and discrimination on two grounds, namely sexual orientation and gender identity. It analyses data on 
the experiences of 6,579 trans respondents from the EU Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) survey, the 
largest body of empirical evidence of its kind to date. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 
has published two related survey reports: EU LGBT survey – European Union lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender 
survey – Results at a glance (2013) and the EU LGBT survey – European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
survey. Main results (2014). In this current analysis, FRA found that, with few exceptions, trans respondents indicate 
the highest levels of discrimination, harassment and violence amongst LGBT subgroups.

Equal and full social participation of all without discrimination is a precondition for inclusive and cohesive societies. 
In this regard, the survey results depict a disturbing reality. They show that the equality of trans persons is, as yet, 
a hard-to-reach goal. Still, this report comes at a time when a growing number of EU Member States are taking 
steps to promote and protect the fundamental rights of trans persons. The evidence collected and analysed from 
this survey should serve politicians and policy makers as they strive to craft legislation, policies and strategies that 
better safeguard those rights. 

FRA - EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Schwarzenbergplatz 11 – 1040 Vienna – Austria
Tel. +43 158030-0 – Fax +43 158030-699
fra.europa.eu – info@fra.europa.eu
facebook.com/fundamentalrights
linkedin.com/company/eu-fundamental-rights-agency
twitter.com/EURightsAgency

doi:10.2811/92683
ISBN 978-92-9239-644-2