Press Release: IGLYO & ILGA-Europe Policy Brief on LGBTQI Youth in the EU

LGBTQI Young People in the EU

A joint analysis of FRA’s 2nd LGBTI survey by IGLYO and ILGA-Europe

IGLYO and ILGA-Europe just launched their Policy Brief focusing on the experiences of LGBTI youth in Europe, based on the most relevant data from the Second EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) LGBTI Survey. Results show that LGBTQI young people experience higher rates of hate-motivated violence.

A significant number of EU citizens continue to experience discrimination, inequalities and violence based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics (SOGIGESC). These problems undermine fundamental EU values and show how some Member States have failed to effectively protect the rights of all citizens.

In 2019, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) conducted the second round of the LGBTI Survey, which shows how LGBTI people experience their human and fundamental rights in daily life across Europe. For the first time, the survey included the experiences of LGBTI people under 18, and determined that young people (aged 15-24) experience some of the highest levels of discrimination across all age groups included in this research, as well as higher rates of hate-motivated violence. The survey results notably show that this violence includes attacks and harassment, happens either in schools or is perpetrated by school peers, and has especially alarming rates for trans and intersex children and young people.

In the new ‘Intersections: The LGBTI Survey II – Youth Analysis‘ briefing, the second of ILGA-Europe’s ‘Intersections’ series, we at IGLYO have collaborated with ILGA-Europe to elaborate on existing analysis of the FRA LGBTI Survey II, and summarise the most relevant data about the experiences of LGBTI youth in Europe. To understand the challenges faced by young people, we created sub-populations of respondents aged 15-24, 15-17 and 18-24, and compared them with all respondents to the survey.

You can download the full Policy Brief here.

For more information, please get in touch with IGLYO’s Policy & Research Manager Ru Ávila Rodríguez at ruben@iglyo.com.

Recommendations

Based on this analysis, ILGA-Europe and IGLYO recommend that States and institutions:

Collect data about LGBTI youth and their experiences and do targeted analyses on these groups;
Prohibit discrimination against LGBTI people, including children and young people, in all areas of life – including in education, healthcare, housing, and social protection. Closely monitoring cases of violence and discrimination against youth and children specifically will allow for implementation of policies and accompanying measures that ensure all non-discrimination legislation will also improve the lives of young people and children;
Implement comprehensive responses to SOGIESC-based violence and discrimination in schools based on international standards to address and prevent this type of violence.

Key Data from our joint Policy Brief with ILGA-Europe

Below is a summary of key data on LGBTQI youth to be found in our joint Policy Brief with ILGA-Europe, where we analyse the data from the FRA LGBTI Survey II:

Openness – Young LGBTI people, and particularly LGBTI people between the ages of 15 and 17, are less open about their SOGIESC than their older counterparts. Only 4.64% of respondents aged 15-17 are very open about being LGBTI.
Housing – 12% of young people have experienced housing difficulties. This number is higher for trans respondents, and trans respondents from ethnic minorities and/or migrant backgrounds.
Health – 16% of young respondents felt discriminated against by healthcare or social services personnel. This share is much higher for intersex youth (48%), trans boys (48%), trans girls (40%) and non-binary youth (32%).
Harassment – Out of all age groups participating in the FRA #survey, #LGBTQI young people experienced higher rates of hate-motivated violence. Almost a third of young respondents indicate that they have ever been physically or sexually attacked. Youth, and particularly youth from an ethnic minority (including with a migrant background), were much more likely to be exposed to an attack than other age groups. Many young respondents said that the attacker was someone from school.
School – ¼ of young LGBTI people feel discriminated against by school or university personnel, and 43% of young people experienced bullying at school. This number is higher for trans and intersex youth, reaching up to 58% in the case of intersex youth aged 18-24. When asked if they experienced defense or protection from anyone at school, only 23% of youth aged 15-17, and 14% of youth aged 18-24, said that they always received support. In addition, 15% of youth aged 15-17, and 12% of youth aged 18-24, had considered leaving or changing their school or university.

Key data on LGBTQI youth from FRA’s website on youth

Below is a summary of key data on LGBTQI youth from the FRA LGBTI Survey II to be found on FRA’s website on youth:

Harassment – Young LGBTI people experience more harassment than their older peers.
Schooling – 10% of 15–17-year-olds say that LGBTI issues are addressed at school negatively. Some 51% say that someone from school harassed them because they were LGBTI. But almost as many (48%) say someone supported them and their rights as LGBTI people at school.
Discrimination – 53% of young LGBTI people felt discriminated against in at least one area of life one year before the survey. By contrast, 41% of adult respondents (aged 18+) felt so. The share is even higher for young trans (69%) and intersex (62%) respondents.
Daily life – Young LGBTI people feel more discriminated against in cafés, restaurants, bars or nightclubs than older LGBTI people. 28% of those aged 18 to 24 said they experienced this, compared to 12% of those aged 55+.
Openness – Young LGBTI people are less open about their sexual orientation and gender identity than older ones. Only 12% of those aged 18 to 24, and 5% of those aged 15 to 17, are very open. By comparison, 36% of those aged 55+ are very open.
Hate – Young LGBTI people (18 – 24 years old) experience the most hate-motivated physical or sexual attacks. 14% of young LGBTI people experienced such an attack compared to 7% of 55+ year olds.

About IGLYO

IGLYO — The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation is the world’s largest LGBTQI youth and student network, counting more than 100 Member Organisations in over 40 countries across the Council of Europe Region. IGLYO’s mission is to strengthen the rights of LGBTQI youth, fight for equality and inclusion, and empower LGBTQI youth voices. IGLYO achieves this through international events, capacity building, thematic research, advocacy campaigns, and more. You can learn more about IGLYO on iglyo.com.

For press enquiries, please contact our Communications Officer Jeremy Gobin (he/him) at jeremy@iglyo.com.

About ILGA-Europe

ILGA-Europe is an independent, international non-governmental umbrella organisation uniting over 600 organisations from 54 countries across Europe and Central Asia. ILGA works for a world in which each and every LGBTI person is free, equal and safe, through resourcing and connecting communities, driving political change, and amplifying voices. You can learn more about ILGA-Europe on ilga-europe.org.