Homophobia and Discrimination on

<strong>Homophobia</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Discrimination</strong> on Grounds of Sexual Orientation <strong>and</strong> Gender Identity in the EU Member States
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In the British study, mentioned earlier, involving 151 psychology <strong>and</strong> engineering
students in Britain used to establish predictors of opposition to transgender people’s
rights, a high level of transphobia was evident in all subjects of the study. 402
As part of the e-survey among LGBT NGOs, National Equality Bodies <strong>and</strong> public
authorities, these stakeholders were asked about the acceptance of transgender people
in their country. The survey shows that 73 per cent of the respondents believe that there
is 'no' or 'limited' acceptance of transgender persons.
Good practice: In Italy the LGBT service of the Turin town hall 403 , the local LGBT
association “Groupa Luna” <strong>and</strong> three art schools staged together a competition, between
each of the three schools, for a set of posters against discrimination on the grounds of
homosexuality <strong>and</strong> transsexuality. The posters were displayed in the town’s streets <strong>and</strong>
on local public transport. The winning poster depicting a black <strong>and</strong> white flock of sheep
with a single pink-coloured one which represents the “minority within minorities” (i.e.
transsexualism) was widely distributed. Similar initiatives have started in other towns in
Italy. 404
Good practice: In the United Kingdom, the Scottish Executive will provide €75.000 per
year for four years (2007-2011) to fund a full-time national Scottish Transgender Alliance
project to provide policy development assistance <strong>and</strong> good practice guidance to Scottish
public services, employers <strong>and</strong> government bodies, <strong>and</strong> to develop transgender
community activist capacity; <strong>and</strong>, iii) promote transgender inclusion in Scottish society. 405
Treatment of transgender people by their families
‘Coming out’ to their families is perceived to be problematic by virtually all transgender
people. While data is largely unavailable on the magnitude of the problem, the
‘Engendered Penalties’ study found that 45 per cent of the respondents experienced a
breakdown in their relationship with their families, 37 per cent reported feeling excluded
from family events <strong>and</strong> 36 per cent have family members who do not speak to them
because of their transgender identities. 406
In the Scottish survey on transgender experiences, 46 per cent of the respondents
reported transphobic abuse in domestic relationships – mostly in the form of verbal
abuse. However, threatening behaviour (17 per cent), physical abuse (11 per cent) <strong>and</strong>
402 E-mail exchange with P. Hegarty, June 12, 2008
403 See http://www.comune.torino.it/politichedigenere (12.02.2009)
404 Italy, country report
405 Scottish Transgender Alliance (2008) Transgender Experiences in Scotl<strong>and</strong> - Research Summary,
Edinburgh: Equality Network, p. 3
406 Whittle, S, Turner, L, Al-Alami M (2007) Engendered Penalties: Transgender <strong>and</strong> Transsexual People’s
Experiences of Inequality <strong>and</strong> <strong>Discrimination</strong>, Wetherby: The Equalities Review, p. 68