Abstract
In light of recent waves of transphobia and increasing amounts of anti-trans legislation, it is highly important for research to accurately include and explore transgender people’s experiences. This study investigates the differences between trans and LGB experiences with discrimination, violence, and support in school. I also explore how these experiences vary across European countries, how they are affected by a person’s disability and ethnic minority identity, and how they vary between trans women, trans men, and nonbinary people. This study used data from the 2020 EU LGBTI II Survey, with data on the experiences and views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people (N = 138,212), to conduct a multilevel analysis across 30 European countries, and used scores from the 2022 Rainbow Europe Country Ranking as the country-level predictor. The findings showed that trans people reported experiencing more discrimination, more violence, and felt slightly less supported in school than LGB people. These differences were consistent throughout European countries, meaning that these inequalities persist even in countries with high levels of queer rights. The difference between trans and LGB experiences with discrimination and violence was larger among participants with ethnic minority backgrounds and disabilities than among other participants. Trans women and nonbinary people reported more violence and less support in school than trans men, but for discrimination, trans men scored equal to trans women and higher than nonbinary people. In conclusion, this study provides convincing empirical evidence of the consistent and disproportionately negative experiences of trans people. As such, researchers and policymakers across Europe are urged to continue to address this, and I provide initial guidelines for how the findings can be used to promote equity and justice for trans and LGB people.