What the figures refer to

The anonymous online survey collected 100,577 responses from people aged 15 and over in 2023, across the EU and Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. In the comparable groups used to examine changes since 2019, openness rose from 46% to 52%, while reported hate-motivated harassment in the preceding year rose from 37% to 55%. Those comparisons use a narrower set of respondent groups and countries than the full 2023 survey. FRA cautions that this voluntary online sample is not representative of every LGBTIQ person. [1]

Visibility does not guarantee protection

The two findings describe different parts of life. Being more open about identity does not mean encountering less hostility. Nor do the figures demonstrate that openness caused harassment. For services and public authorities, this distinction matters: a campaign encouraging visibility needs to be accompanied by ways to report abuse and obtain support. FRA called for better recognition and investigation of hate crime, properly resourced equality bodies and safer schools. These are routes through which formal rights can become usable protections. [1]

A shared civil-society demand

On 15 July 2024, a joint statement published by ILGA-Europe called for equality to remain central to the next EU policy cycle. Signatories included the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network, the European Disability Forum and the European Network Against Racism. They sought funding for equality organisations, stronger institutional responsibility and the involvement of people most affected in developing and implementing policy. Their appeal connected LGBTIQ equality with other forms of discrimination, recognising that one person can face several barriers at once.

The next strategy and its test

The European Commission presented the LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026–2030 on 8 October 2025. It set out protection, empowerment and wider social engagement, including support for civil society, national action plans and a forum for dialogue with organisations. Those were policy commitments, not evidence that harassment had fallen. Read together, the survey and the civil-society appeal provide a way to assess such commitments: the availability of support, the response to discrimination and meaningful participation deserve attention alongside announcements of new initiatives. [2]