Half of LGBTQ adults in the U.S. report avoiding public places because of safety concerns. In schools, 76% of students hear homophobic remarks and 58% hear transphobic remarks, while 48% say they feel unsafe at least some of the time. The same pattern shows up at work and in classrooms, including 53% of LGBTQ adults who would feel uncomfortable if LGBTQ-inclusive signs or symbols appeared at their job.
Key Takeaways
- 53% of LGBTQ adults say they would feel uncomfortable if their employer displayed LGBTQ-inclusive signs or symbols in the workplace
- 37% of LGBTQ youth in the U.S. reported being discriminated against at school
- 28% of LGBTQ youth reported that they were verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
- 1.8 times the odds of depression among people who experienced discrimination compared with those who did not (meta-analysis)
- 2.1 times the odds of anxiety among people who experienced discrimination compared with those who did not (meta-analysis)
- 1.5 times higher odds of suicidal ideation among those who experienced discrimination (systematic review)
- 2023: Equality Act reintroduced in U.S. Congress to expand federal protections for LGBTQ people against discrimination
- 2023: 1,500+ regional hate crime reports involving sexual orientation bias (FBI UCR Hate Crime Data)
- 2016: UK Crown Prosecution Service recorded 5,000+ hate crime cases including sexual orientation bias (CPS)
- 72% of LGBTQ youth said they felt more comfortable at school when LGBTQ-inclusive policies or resources were present (GLSEN 2022)
- 38% of LGBTQ students reported having access to LGBTQ-related content in curriculum (GLSEN 2022)
- 31% of LGBTQ students reported having access to an anti-bullying policy that included sexual orientation and gender identity (GLSEN 2022)
Many LGBTQ youth face frequent harassment and unsafe schools, while discrimination strongly harms mental health.
Related reading
01 · Category
Experiences & Prevalence14 stats
01
53% of LGBTQ adults say they would feel uncomfortable if their employer displayed LGBTQ-inclusive signs or symbols in the workplacehttps://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/09/lgbt-discrimination
02
37% of LGBTQ youth in the U.S. reported being discriminated against at schoolhttps://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/trafficking-and-lgbtq-youth-2017
03
28% of LGBTQ youth reported that they were verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identityhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
04
20% of LGBTQ youth reported physical harassment at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identityhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
05
76% of LGBTQ students reported hearing homophobic remarks at schoolhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
06
58% of LGBTQ students reported hearing transphobic remarks at schoolhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
07
48% of LGBTQ students reported feeling unsafe at school at least some of the time because of their sexual orientation or gender identityhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
08
12% of LGBTQ students reported missing at least one day of school in the past month due to safety concerns related to their sexual orientation or gender identityhttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
09
6% of LGBTQ students reported having their education disrupted by discrimination or harassmenthttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
10
23% of LGBTQ students reported that teachers did not intervene when homophobic remarks were madehttps://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
11
52% of transgender students reported being verbally harassed at school because of their gender expressionhttps://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
12
18% of transgender students reported being physically harassed at school because of their gender expressionhttps://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
13
46% of transgender students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expressionhttps://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
14
1.3x higher odds of discrimination among LGBTQ people compared with non-LGBTQ people in the U.S. (systematic review on discrimination)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2770370
Interpretation
Experiences & Prevalence Interpretation
Across school and workplace experiences, LGBTQ youth face widespread harassment and insecurity, with 76% hearing homophobic remarks, 58% hearing transphobic remarks, 48% feeling unsafe at least some of the time, and 12% missing school in the past month due to safety concerns.
02 · Category
Impact & Health Outcomes18 stats
01
1.8 times the odds of depression among people who experienced discrimination compared with those who did not (meta-analysis)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6987932/
02
2.1 times the odds of anxiety among people who experienced discrimination compared with those who did not (meta-analysis)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6987932/
03
1.5 times higher odds of suicidal ideation among those who experienced discrimination (systematic review)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29551636/
04
39% of LGBTQ adults reported that discrimination has negatively affected their mental health (U.S.)https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/discrimination-mental-health
05
52% of LGBTQ students reported that they were bullied at school (U.S. 2022 GLSEN survey)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
06
26% of LGBTQ students reported missing classes due to safety concerns related to anti-LGBTQ harassment (U.S.)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
07
15% of LGBTQ students reported having been physically assaulted at school (U.S.)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
08
1.6 times higher risk of psychological distress among transgender people who experienced discrimination (meta-analysis)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6065889/
09
15% of LGBTQ youth reported missing school due to harassment (GLSEN 2022 survey)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
10
68% of LGBTQ youth reported that homophobic remarks happened at least a few times a month (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
11
54% of LGBTQ youth reported that they heard transphobic remarks at least a few times a month (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
12
57% of LGBTQ youth reported that teachers never or rarely intervened to stop harassment (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
13
15% of LGBTQ youth reported that they were physically attacked because of their LGBTQ identity (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
14
30% of LGBTQ youth reported that their school was hostile to them (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
15
25% of LGBTQ youth reported that they had been disciplined for gender nonconformity (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
16
18% of LGBTQ youth reported feeling depressed due to harassment at school (survey metric)https://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
17
13% of LGBTQ youth reported using substances to cope with harassment (survey metric)https://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
18
9% of LGBTQ youth reported that harassment led them to consider quitting school (survey metric)https://www.glsen.org/research/2023-national-school-climate-survey
Interpretation
Impact & Health Outcomes Interpretation
Across these studies and surveys, discrimination is consistently linked to worse mental health, with odds of depression rising 1.8 times and anxiety 2.1 times, while at the same time U.S. LGBTQ students report 52% being bullied and 26% missing classes due to safety concerns.
More related reading
03 · Category
Legal Framework & Enforcement5 stats
01
2023: Equality Act reintroduced in U.S. Congress to expand federal protections for LGBTQ people against discriminationhttps://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5
02
2023: 1,500+ regional hate crime reports involving sexual orientation bias (FBI UCR Hate Crime Data)https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime
03
2016: UK Crown Prosecution Service recorded 5,000+ hate crime cases including sexual orientation bias (CPS)https://www.cps.gov.uk/hate-crime
04
2018: The European Court of Justice ruled that dismissal due to sexual orientation violates EU anti-discrimination lawhttps://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=183931
05
2017: European Court of Justice ruled that dismissal due to gender reassignment violates EU anti-discrimination lawhttps://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=186094
Interpretation
Legal Framework & Enforcement Interpretation
Across 2016 to 2023, enforcement and legal recognition against LGBTQ discrimination appear to be accelerating, highlighted by 1,500+ U.S. regional hate crime reports in 2023 alongside major court rulings in 2017 and 2018 and over 5,000 UK hate crime cases recorded in 2016.
04 · Category
Industry Trends10 stats
01
72% of LGBTQ youth said they felt more comfortable at school when LGBTQ-inclusive policies or resources were present (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
02
38% of LGBTQ students reported having access to LGBTQ-related content in curriculum (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
03
31% of LGBTQ students reported having access to an anti-bullying policy that included sexual orientation and gender identity (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
04
16% of LGBTQ students reported that their school had a Gay-Straight Alliance/GSAs (GLSEN 2022)https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2022-GLSEN%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey%20Full%20Report.pdf
05
54% of companies have at least one employee resource group (industry trend metric; used to contextualize LGBT inclusion programs)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236441/employee-resource-groups-help-workplace-inclusion.aspx
06
34% of Fortune 500 companies included explicit LGBTQ protections in their employment benefits or policies (survey of company policies)https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/corporate-equality-index
07
1,200+ organizations submitted data to the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) (HRC CEI participation)https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/corporate-equality-index
08
2024: 1 in 4 (25%) of employers reported offering domestic partner benefits (survey)https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/domestic-partner-benefits.aspx
09
2023: 36% of employers offered gender identity-inclusive healthcare coverage (survey metric)https://www.aon.com/getmedia/9f7f6c74-4c8c-4b7f-bbbd-8b7c4b6efb5e/gender-inclusion-2023.pdf
10
2023: 52% of LGBTQ adults in the U.S. say they often or sometimes avoid public places due to safety concerns (survey metric)https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/03/lgbtq-discrimination
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across schools and workplaces, the gap is clear: while 72% of LGBTQ youth feel more comfortable when LGBTQ-inclusive policies or resources exist, only 16% report having a Gay-Straight Alliance and just 31% have an anti-bullying policy covering sexual orientation and gender identity, showing that support is far less available than its impact suggests.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Lgbt Discrimination Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lgbt-discrimination-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Lgbt Discrimination Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lgbt-discrimination-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Lgbt Discrimination Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lgbt-discrimination-statistics.
Sources & references
19 datasets cited across this report
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)