Less than half of LGBTQ+ Brits feel safe where they live, survey finds

Three-quarters of trans young adults have been victims of verbal abuse in the last year, a Just Like Us survey found (Picture: Getty Images)

Less than half of LGBTQ+ people in the UK would say they feel safe where they live, a daunting new survey has found.

Whether it be out and about, clocking into work or at home, queer Brits are far less likely than their straight, cis counterparts to feel safe.

Just Like Us, an LGBTQ+ young people’s charity, found that 32% of LGBTQ+ young people feel safe in their local area compared to 43% of straight people.

Only six in 10 queer people aged between 18 and 25 feel safe when at home, which is less than the 75% of non-LGBTQ+ people who feel the same.

For the majority of the queer young people surveyed, work is no different. Less than half (49%) feel safe in contrast to 60% of straight people.

The data, shared exclusively with Metro.co.uk, shows how increasingly for LGBTQ+ Brits, each day is just another day in which intimidation and violence have spread.

Anti-LGBTQ+ hates have been on the rise for years (Picture: Getty Images)

Close to three-quarters (72%) of trans young adults have faced verbal abuse in the last year; more likely than any other part of the LGBTQ+ community.

They were followed by non-binary (70%) and asexual people (68%).

Of the 3,695 LGBTQ+ people surveyed by student market research consultancy Cibyl in January 2023, 61% of LGBTQ+ young people overall had been subjected to verbal abuse in the past year.

This bigotry is even spilling out to the rest of the general population, with half (47%) of young adults who aren’t even LGBTQ+ having faced anti-LGBTQ+ verbal abuse in the last year.

Around a quarter of LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ people have been the victim of physical abuse, the poll found.

The figure surged to 30% for lesbian women, however, to 31% for gay men and 32% for asexual people (despite just 0.06% of people in England and Wales saying they are asexual, according to the census).

Whether it be verbal or physical abuse, more LGBTQ+ people than straight, cis people said they had suffered abuse in the past year (Picture: Getty Images Europe)

Just Like Us said LGBTQ+ young people were ‘significantly more likely’ than their straight peers to say the physical abuse they suffered was sexual, with more than half saying so compared to 30%.

Lesbians were the most likely to have been sexually abused at 57% and asexual people were victims of domestic abuse (44%).

How trans people have disproportionally suffered verbal abuse in the past year point to one thing: ‘The often terrifyingly transphobic times we are living in here in the UK,’ said Amy Ashenden, the interim CEO of Just Like Us.

‘The levels of abuse faced by LGBT+ young adults are completely unacceptable.

‘It’s hard to believe that in 2023, LGBT+ young people are still being subjected to verbal abuse and violence and that anti-LGBT+ attacks are so prevalent that they are even being directed at non-LGBT+ young people.’

The findings come less than a week after both the UN and a top European LGBTQ+ rights group offered a stark warning about LGBTQ+ rights in the UK.

Both UN and European rights campaigners have said the government’s ‘crackdown’ on trans rights – and the press’ coverage of it – has ignited anti-LGBTQ+ hatred (Picture: Getty Images)

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, said the ‘abusive’ language used by politicians is curdling into anti-LGBTQ+ violence.

‘All of this is attributed – by a wide range of stakeholders – to the toxic nature of the public debate surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity,’ he said.

That same day, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe) published its annual Rainbow Map.

In a ranking of 49 countries, the UK has slipped from first place in 2014 to 17th this year.

ILGA-Europe said it’s hard to point fingers at just one reason for the decline, but the government’s approach to legislating a conversion therapy ban and the wider ‘crackdown on trans rights’ as among them.

They also point to some bracing data. Home Office figures show homophobic hate crimes increased by 41% and transphobic hate crimes by 56% in 2022, the highest increase since 2021.

As LGBTQ+ young people feel increasingly unsafe, policy-makers, Amy added, must ensure that inclusive education is taken ‘seriously’ so youngsters leave school feeling confident in who they are.

‘Otherwise,’ she added, ‘I fear that these figures will only increase.’

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