Intersex people in Europe face alarming rise in violence and discrimination, EU report finds

Intersex people across Europe are facing a surge in violence, harassment, and discrimination, with levels of exclusion described as “alarming” by the EU’s leading rights watchdog.

The findings come from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), which this week published Being Intersex in the EU, a report based on survey responses from 1,920 intersex people in 30 countries. All respondents identified as intersex, an umbrella term covering people with innate variations in sex characteristics, including those who also identify as trans, non-binary, or gender diverse.

The report shows a sharp escalation in physical and sexual violence since 2019. One in six (15%) respondents said they were assaulted in the year before the survey, while one in three (34%) reported attacks over the past five years – up from 22% in 2019 and three times higher than the average rate for all LGBTQ+ people.

Hate-motivated harassment has also skyrocketed. Nearly three in four (74%) said they faced harassment in the year before the survey, compared with just 42% in 2019. By contrast, the overall rate for LGBTIQ respondents was 55%.

Despite broader progress in LGBTQ+ rights, intersex people remain an outlier when it comes to discrimination. Two in three (61%) said they experienced discrimination in the previous year, unchanged from 2019. Most commonly, this occurred in the workplace (38%). Intersex people were the only LGBTQ+ group not to see improvements in this area.

Bullying is widespread, with three in four (76%) respondents reporting ridicule, teasing, insults, or threats at school – up significantly from 54% in 2019.

The report also highlighted deeply troubling medical practices. More than half (57%) of respondents said they had undergone surgery or other treatment to alter their sex characteristics without their informed consent. In addition, nearly two in five (39%) had been subjected to “conversion” practices, compared with one in four (25%) across the wider LGBTQ+ population.

The effects of violence and discrimination are taking a heavy toll on intersex people’s wellbeing. More than half (53%) said they had contemplated suicide in the year before the survey, compared with 37% of LGBTQ+ respondents overall.

Economic and housing insecurity are also more severe. One in twenty (6%) intersex people reported having to sleep rough at least once – six times higher than the rate for other LGBTQ+ groups (1%) and vastly above the EU population average (0.2%).

The FRA report urges EU institutions and member states to take urgent steps, including:

• Adding sex characteristics to the protected grounds in anti-discrimination laws, with explicit recognition of intersectional discrimination.
• Tackling intersex bullying in schools and introducing age-appropriate sexuality education.
• Recognising hate crime and hate speech against intersex people in EU law and applying the Digital Services Act to combat online disinformation.
• Ending non-consensual medical interventions and training healthcare professionals on intersex-specific needs.
• Banning conversion practices across Europe.

FRA Director Sirpa Rautio said governments must act quickly: “Intersex people in the EU experience alarming levels of exclusion, discrimination and violence. Their struggle requires an urgent response. They must be provided with targeted support that addresses their specific needs to ensure they can enjoy their fundamental rights and live in dignity.”

Download the full report here.