HATE is on the rise in Spain with 54 per cent of LGBTQ+ people reporting abuse in the past year.
The transgender community has been hit particularly hard with one in two reporting that they had been physically assaulted.
Over the past two years the prevalence of harassment has risen from 20 per cent to per cent, discrimination from 23% to 29%, and assaults from 7% to 22%.
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The study, conducted by the Federation of LGBTQ+ People (FELGTB+), also highlighted that the number of hate crimes motivated by homophobia and transphobia has increased.
In 2024, 17 per cent of hate crimes were directed at LGBTQ+ people due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, a figure that more than doubled to 35 per cent in 2026.
The FELGTB+ also reports that while 20 per cent of LGBTQ+ people reported harassment in 2024, this jumped to 36 per cent in 2026.
Assaults on the LGBTQ+ community have also increased with 7 per cent reporting assault in 2024, compared with 22 per cent this year.
With around 12 per cent of Spain’s population identifying as LGBTQ+, equivalent to roughly six million people, the figures highlight the significant number of Spaniards frequently suffering abuse and discrimination.
These troubling figures come as hate crimes are on the rise in Spain.
Between 2020 and 2024, when the last official data from the Ministry of the Interior was published, hate crimes have increased by 30 per cent.
The victim’s sexuality or gender identity is the second most common motivation for an attack, behind racism and xenophobia.
Following the publication of the report the FELGTB+ has called on the government to do more to protect the community and approve a national pact against hate speech.
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