Despite hateful campaigns and attacks on LGBTI rights, more and more people across the EU agree that LGBTI people deserve equal rights and a life free from discrimination, according to a new report. 

Published last month, the latest Eurobarometer report, charting public opinion in the European Union, shows acceptance of LGBTI people is clearly on the rise across all EU countries. The claim of some governments that they represent the will of the majority of their people when discriminating against LGBTI people, does not hold against the findings.

The report also clearly shows that acceptance is significantly higher amongst people who know someone from the LGBTI community personally, counteracting the characterisation of LGBTI people as an abstract threat by some leaders. Being friends with LGBTI people has a large impact on responses to the survey questions.

The results, however, reflect clearly that ongoing attacks on LGBTI rights have had an impact. The report has found that more than half of the general public say there is widespread discrimination in their country on the basis of gender identity (being transgender, 57%) or sexual orientation (54%). Discrimination against intersex people is in the high numbers too, at 47%. Published last month, the report finds that the highest levels of perceived discrimination are on the basis of being Roma (65%), of skin colour (61%,), and of ethnic origin (60%). 

The Eurobarometer survey is carried out every four years, with the last report published in 2019. Public perception of discrimination against trans people has grown by nine percentage points (pp’s) since then, while against intersex people, it is up by eight pp’s. Sexual orientation is up just one pp, however the fact remains that over half of respondents think discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is widespread.

However, at the same time, a rising number of 69% of EU citizens say that lesbian, gay and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people, and 64% say that trans people should have the same rights as everyone else. 

When it comes to legal gender recognition, 62% believe that trans people should be able to change their civil documents to match their gender identity. Further, 47% believe that official documents should offer a third option (X or O) for those who do not identify as female or male. Notably, for both of these questions, the percent of respondents agreeing increased (3 pp’s and 1 pp, respectively), but the number disagreeing also increased (2 pp’s and 4 pp’s, respectively). This may indicate that there is increased awareness of the issue in the EU, as in both cases, the number of respondents saying that they did not know decreased by 5 pp’s.

Increasing support also for same-sex marriage

72% of respondents say that same sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe; up three pp’s since 2019. In Hungary and Poland, which have seen much anti-LGBTI rhetoric since the last Eurobarometer report, 42% and 50% of respondents agree with same sex marriage, respectively, showing the resilience of the public’s perspective even in the face of intense political anti-LGBTI pressure. The notable exceptions here are Bulgaria and Romania. Just 17% of Bulgarians agree with same sex marriage and 25% of Romanians.

Support for inclusive education

Most respondents think school lessons and material should include information about sexual orientation (71%) and the existence of multiple gender identities (68%). In 2019, 71% also said that sexual orientation should be included in curricula; so despite the heavy public attacks on inclusive education, support is stable.

In Hungary, the numbers of people agreeing with the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identities (SOGI) in education have even gone up. There’s an increase of two pp’s in those who agree with inclusion of sexual orientation and a striking eight pp’s in those who agree with education on multiple gender identities.

Levels of comfort

The Eurobarometer survey asks respondents about their levels of comfort with LGBTI people in their lives, including with relationships their adult children are in, as colleagues, and in the highest elected positions.

The numbers in this regard are high. 59% of European citizens, for instance, would be totally comfortable if one of their children was in a love relationship with someone of the same sex, while 48% would be comfortable if their offspring were in love relationships with trans or intersex persons (the Eurobarometer survey puts both trans and intersex together in this series of questions). Lesbian, gay and/or bisexual government leaders would be “totally comfortable” for 68% of respondents (up 4 pp from 2019), while 58% would be happy to have a trans or intersex person in the highest elected position.

A clear message

The overall findings of this Eurobarometer survey are that despite a surge over the past few years in anti-LGBTI hate speech and violence, and negative media reporting particularly in relation to trans people, most Europeans are far more accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people than it would appear on the surface, and that governments who are introducing legislation that discriminates against LGBTI people are not in accordance with the will of the citizens of their countries. As a measure of attitudes in the EU, it shows that governments should be introducing more protections, while making sure that legislation already in place is fully implemented.

Despite a rise in anti-LGBTI hate speech and violence across Europe, in our recent Annual Review, we have conversely seen a rise in acceptance of LGBTI people in many countries, including places where politicians and public representatives are known for their anti-LGBTI views. In this blog, we bring you the figures that show positive development on public opinion since 2020.

Despite a growing prevalence of anti-LGBTI hate speech from public representatives, and a subsequent rise in the severity of attacks against people perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex, public opinion is actually shifting for the better in Europe. With very few figures showing regression, the following data reveals that official hate speech against LGBTI people does usually not reflect or stream from public attitudes.

We’ve compared the evolution of public opinion between 2020 to 2023 through our Annual Reviews. The ILGA-Europe  Annual Review is one of the most complete reports on the main social and legal events and developments impacting the lives of LGBTI people in 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia. Here we bring you a snapshot of the key figures so that they don’t get lost in a sea of information, but you can find more detail and context in our reports, as well as the original sources of the data in the links.

Keep reading to find out the research and figures that illustrate positive developments in public attitudes to LGBTI people in your country.

BULGARIA

2021: 40% of voters would support a party with a positive attitude towards LGBTI people.

2020: 32% of Bulgarians accept LGBT people, showing regression compared to previous years.

CZECHIA

2021: 65 % of the population supports marriage equality.

2020: 60% of the public supports marriage equality, confirming 2019 results.

ESTONIA

2021: 53% of residents in Estonia consider same-sex attraction acceptable, rising by 12% compared with 2019. 64% thought that same-sex partners should have the opportunity to officially register their partnership according to the Registered Partnership Act and 47% supported marriage equality.

2020: 46% of Estonians support marriage equality. While 27% would vote against it, 21% would not even go vote.

FRANCE

2022: Two-thirds of citizens believe the government should do more for LGBT equality, that children should be taught about SOGI issues, and that LGBT children who are rejected at home should have state support.

GERMANY

2022: 81% agree with marriage equality. 75% would have little or no problem with their child being LGB, but this rate is much lower, in the case of having a trans child, 66%.

GEORGIA

2022: Social acceptance of LGBTIQ people is slowly increasing.

HUNGARY

2022: Most Hungarians do not consider ‘homosexual propaganda’ an important issue.

2021: 59% of Hungarians thought same-sex couples should have the same right to adoption as others, and 60% thought same-sex couples were just as suitable to be parents as heterosexual couples. Another survey found that public support for LGBT people had never been stronger in Hungary.

2020: After MEP József Szájer’s resignation, Medián found that 79% of respondents thought “homosexual” politicians should not be discriminated against.

IRELAND

2022: High rates of acceptance towards LGBTQI people, with cisgender gay men being the most (89%) and non-binary people being the least (65%) accepted.

LATVIA

2022: 49% had a neutral stance towards ‘homosexual’ people, 25% were accepting, and 23% condemned ‘homosexuality’. A third of the respondents said they did not know an LGBT person.

2020: 38% of Latvians had negative attitudes towards LGB people, 48% were neutral, and only 9% were supportive. Nonetheless, 63% supported the adoption of legislation to protect families without marriage in place.

LITHUANIA

2021: One third of Lithuanians support legal gender recognition for same-sex couples.

MOLDOVA

2022: 55% of Chisinau residents have a positive or neutral attitude towards LGBTQ+ people, compared to 33% just three years earlier. The rate of those being strongly against LGBTQ+ people also significantly decreased.

2020: GENDERDOC-M conducted a survey with 815 people in Chisinau about their attitudes towards LGBTI people, finding that half either supported or had a neutral stance towards LGBT people. This is a much more positive picture of the capital, than what the government has been claiming previously, saying that 98% of Moldovans were against LGBT people.

MONTENEGRO

2022: Public acceptance of LGBT people is improving, but due to radicalisation, progress is extremely slow.

2021: 70% of the population believes that being LGBT is a disease, but over two-thirds would report anti- LGBTI violence to the police.

NETHERLANDS

2022: For the first time in many years, there was stagnation instead of an increase in the number of Dutch people who have a positive opinion of LGB people. One in six people think there is “something wrong” with people who do not identify as either a man or a woman.

2021: The government presented the first ever research on intersex people’s societal acceptance, finding that 67% of the population does not know what exactly intersex is, and that knowledge about intersex increases acceptance. Another survey found growing public awareness about non-binary people.

NORWAY

2022: Public attitudes towards LGBT people continued to improve, but less so for trans and bisexual people. For instance, 51% support trans people (2013: 36%), 66% support lesbians (2008: 47%), and 85% support cohabiting same-gender couples (2008: 70).

RUSSIA

2022: A study showed that between 2015 and 2022, the rate of those who know LGBT people in their environment doubled from 8 to 15%.

2020: Public attitudes towards LGBT people have softened, with more people being undecided, and fewer being in favour or isolating or “eliminating” LGBT people.

POLAND

2022: Two-thirds of the population support marriage equality or civil partnership. 60% believe Poland should abolish so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’ in order to meet EU requirements to receive funding.

2021: 56% of Poles would support at least civil partnership for same-sex couples.

SERBIA

2021: Despite only 0.01% of Serbians knowing they have a trans friend or family member, 60% thought that trans people should be protected from discrimination and 64% thought that trans people should have access to gender-affirming surgeries.

SWEDEN

2022: Three out of four support trans minors in getting the care they need.

2021: Swedes have a relatively high degree of knowledge about trans people and an overwhelmingly positive in their attitude towards them, but perceive anti-trans prejudice as common.

SWITZERLAND

2021: 53% of the Swiss population are (rather) in favour of introducing non-binary gender markers on official documents.

TURKEY

2020: Acceptance of LGBTI people was at a record high, with almost 50% of the population supporting LGBTI equality – 9% higher than in 2019.

UKRAINE

2022: Public attitudes towards LGBT people had increased significantly over the past few years, including in terms of family recognition (see here), equal rights in general (see here), and the prohibition of discrimination and hate speech targeting LGBT people (see here). One study found that the number of people with a positive attitude towards LGBT people had quadrupled since 2016.

UNITED KINGDOM

2022: A study highlighted that the hostile political discourse against trans people is not in sync with public attitudes in the country. Most agreed with a ‘live and let live’ approach, wanted schools to be safe and inclusive and talk about trans issues, and agreed that trans women were women and trans men were men. Respondents were more divided on bathroom access and sports.

2020: 72% of respondents to the Northern Ireland Life & Times Survey reported that they were not prejudiced at all against trans individuals, and over half of respondents supported and were comfortable with trans people accessing gendered toilets, domestic/sexual violence refugees, and LGR, based on their identity.