‘Abject terror’: survey shows 84% of trans people feel Britain is unsafe

A survey of trans people in the UK has shown how public spaces have become hostile environments.

An alarming 84% said Britain is “fairly unsafe” or “very unsafe” for trans people in a YouGov poll (PDF) commissioned by Good Law Project.

This widespread sense of insecurity is rooted in the very real threat of significant, targeted harm that trans people can be exposed to simply by existing in public. Almost two-thirds (65%) of trans adults reported verbal abuse in public spaces, while nearly one in four (24%) said they have suffered physical violence.

The survey also asked respondents about toilet access, which has become a toxic culture war battleground with a devastating impact on many trans people’s lives. Forty-nine per cent of respondents said they found it difficult to access appropriate toilets when out in public.

Conducted this summer, the poll follows April’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex under the Equality Act. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) rushed out interim guidance following the ruling, which would force companies and public bodies to exclude trans people from gendered spaces.

Facing a legal challenge from Good Law Project, which argues that the regulator’s approach would be incompatible with trans people’s human rights, the commission withdrew its guidance last week. But organisations across the country have already followed this guidance to put policies in place that exclude trans people.

This week, nearly 50 Labour backbenchers wrote to ministers about the implications of the guidance on UK businesses, citing the “moral, legal, and practical quagmire of identifying the gender identity of an individual based solely on their looks” and the safety considerations for staff if customers challenged someone’s right to use a gendered space.

For Jess O’Thomson, Good Law Project’s trans lead, the survey reveals the stark reality of life in the UK.

“In recent months, many trans people have been living in abject terror,” O’Thomson said. “They are afraid of being harassed, outed, and discriminated against. It is appalling that nearly half of trans people report they are now finding basic toilet access difficult, despite the EHRC’s claims that they are protecting people. The fact that only 14% of trans people feel safe in this country represents a devastating humanitarian crisis.”

The poll of 457 trans, non-binary and intersex adults in the UK adds to a growing body of evidence that the country is no longer safe for the community, which is estimated to make up less than 1% of the UK population.

The UK has received international criticism for its rollback of trans rights, which includes Wes Streeting’s permanent ban on puberty blockers and April’s Supreme Court ruling.

Earlier this month, Europe’s human rights chief, Michael O’Flaherty, warned the UK against measures that would exclude trans people from many areas of life.

Ten years after topping ILGA-Europe’s ranking for LGBTQ+ rights, the UK has plummeted to 22nd place out of the 49 countries listed. And the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has issued a red flag alert on UK trans and intersex rights.

As a backdrop to the safety crisis, the survey also found that trans people’s trust in UK institutions has collapsed: just 25% trust the police, and only 31% trust judges and the legal system. Meanwhile, as Good Law Project reported earlier this week, 91% of the trans people surveyed said they distrusted the Labour Party with trans rights.

• All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from an online survey conducted by YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 457 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23 July and 11 August 2025. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all trans adults, including non-binary, intersex, other, aged 18+.