Transphobia can have varied and far reaching effects on the lives of trans people.
At its core transphobia is a rejection of trans identities or the belief that trans people should not be visible and able to participate in public life. Transphobia can include everything from misgendering or deadnaming to hate crimes including verbal abuse and physical violence. There are also more covert but equally nefarious forms of transphobia which seek to turn trans identities into a debate, with anti-trans hate groups posed as legitimate and trans people misrepresented as being confused or dangerous.
Trans people can face transphobia in many situations including in the media, healthcare settings, at work, on the street and from family and friends. This has a profound effect on the mental health and safety of trans people, impedes routine daily interactions and creates inequalities in healthcare outcomes, income and housing security. This can also compound with other forms of discrimination for multiply marginalised trans people.
One of the most prevalent sources of transphobia in the UK is the media. The pervasive presence of transphobic media content can have wide-reaching consequences. Our Trans Lives 2025 Report found that nearly every respondent (99%) reported that transphobia in the media had impacted their mental health or gender dysphoria, including 45% who reported this as having a major impact. It also impacts how trans people are treated more widely with respondents believing that transphobia in the media impacted how strangers (96%), family members (91%), colleagues (85%), and/ or friends (74%) treated them.
One of the most worrying settings where trans people face transphobia is in healthcare settings. 43% of respondents reported having experienced transphobia in a healthcare setting. This leads to avoidance and low levels of confidence in healthcare professionals. 64% of respondents reported that they avoided going to the GP even when unwell and 35% said they avoid going to A&E. The pervasive nature of transphobia has made it common in healthcare settings leading to patient avoidance and compounding health inequality.
The issue of transphobia in the UK is particularly relevant now, with the UK dropping in the ILGA rankings and the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling and the subsequent EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations. Trans people in the UK have experienced a significant deterioration in their quality of life since then. Collecting data helps us understand the situation for trans people in the UK and work to improve it- that’s why we are running the Trans Lives Survey 2026.