The release of a comprehensive national study of LGBTQ+ lives presents a worrying snapshot for trans people in the United Kingdom. Drawing on responses from approximately 3,500 adults, the research compares experiences across six domains: equality, belonging, safety, health, work and forward-looking confidence. While some broader LGBTQ+ trends point to modest improvements in public acceptance, the data show that trans respondents report significantly worse outcomes on almost every indicator measured.
The report finds that only around one quarter of trans respondents feel acceptance has improved over the last decade, in contrast with roughly half of the wider LGBTQ+ sample who believe acceptance has increased. Most strikingly, 80% of trans people said they are pessimistic about the future of LGBTQ+ equality in the UK. Other headline figures include high rates of victimisation, poor mental-health outcomes and barriers to healthcare—each documented in the survey responses.
Scope of the survey and headline figures
The study is a major cross-UK survey collecting responses from nearly 3,500 LGBTQ+ adults and summarising differences within the community. It reports that while 48% of LGBTQ+ respondents thought social acceptance had improved over the past decade, only about 26% of trans people agreed. Conversely, a clear majority of trans respondents believed acceptance had declined. The figures for criminal or potentially criminal victimisation are also alarming: roughly 45% of trans people reported harassment, intimidation or assault in the previous year, and 64% experienced indirect transphobic abuse online in the prior month.
Safety, mental health and healthcare access for trans people
The survey highlights serious disparities in wellbeing. Over seven in ten trans respondents—about 71%—said they had considered suicide at some point, and nearly a third—32%—reported a suicide attempt. By comparison, the wider LGBTQ+ sample reported lower but still concerning figures: 54% had considered suicide and 22% had attempted it. The research also flags problems with medical support: approximately 39% of trans respondents felt healthcare professionals lacked sufficient understanding of trans health needs. Those responses indicate both immediate clinical gaps and a broader climate that undermines trust in care.
Workplace concealment and discriminatory conduct
Workplaces emerged as a persistent site of tension. Close to half of trans respondents—about 46%—said they had hidden or disguised their gender identity at work in the previous year because of fear of discrimination. Within the broader LGBTQ+ sample, almost a third reported concealing their sexual orientation for similar reasons. One in five LGBTQ+ respondents reported negative comments or conduct at work tied to their identity, and trans people more often faced intrusive questions or were passed over for roles: for example, a higher share of trans respondents believed they had been denied promotions or job opportunities because of their identity.
Single-sex spaces, public trust and calls for action
The report records frequent challenges in everyday public settings. Around 41% of trans men and 32% of trans women said they had been questioned about their sex assigned at birth while using single-sex spaces. At an institutional level, trust is low: fewer than one in five LGBTQ+ people believe politicians take their rights seriously, and under a quarter trust the police, courts and government to protect them. These figures underline a deep erosion of confidence in bodies charged with safeguarding rights and safety.
Leaders who contributed forewords and commentary for the report urged urgent, coordinated responses. The study recommends that government, employers and public institutions restore trust through concrete policy work, targeted training and by rebuilding safe, inclusive environments in schools, workplaces and healthcare settings. Advocates argue that a new national strategy—developed with community groups, businesses and civil society—would help address the specific harms documented in the survey and reduce the patterns of exclusion that continue to affect trans people disproportionately.
The survey provides robust evidence that trans people in the UK face a concentration of harms: higher rates of abuse, worse mental-health outcomes, difficulty accessing appropriate healthcare and a strong tendency to conceal identity in the workplace. Those findings point to the urgency of policy, institutional and cultural responses tailored to the realities documented in the data.
