Information

On this page you can find definitions, statistics, information about transgender and gender diverse people.

All the information on this page is sourced from reputable sources and websites to the best of our ability and are updated regularly with new information. You can find the resources at the bottom.

Definitions

There are many many different gender identities and sexualities. We recognize that there are going to be identities that are not listed on here. The point of this list is to define the most commonly found or confusing definitions to help people who may be just starting out on their understanding journey. To read a more comprehensive and extensive list please visit the link in the references section.

Transgender:

A person who's gender identity does not match their assigned gender at birth.

Trans is the Latin suffix for on the other side of. For example TRANS - Atlantic (across the Atlantic)

Cisgender:

A person who's gender identity does match their assigned gender at birth.

"Cis" is the Latin suffix for on the same side of.

Gender:

A persons own sense of being man or female. Gender is a social construct made up of societal gender norms, anatomy, expectations, beliefs and is personal to the person and their understanding of themselves.

Sexuality

A persons sexual attraction (or lack of) to other people, with a persons romantic attraction creates a persons sexual identity. See below for more examples of sexuality.

Transgender Man:

Commonly referred too as FTM (female to male). A person who's gender identity at birth was female but now is living as a male

Transgender Woman:

Commonly referred too as MTF (male to female). A person who's gender identity at birth was male and is now living as a female.

Non-binary:

A term for people who's gender identity does not sit comfortably within "male" or "female.'' This is generally understood to be an umbrella term for many gender diverse terms. There is a varied experience of people who identify as non- binary, some people reject gender in its entirety, while others will embrace parts of both or one gender.

Intersex:

A person who has biologically attributes of both or neither gender as expected by society. They may identify as cisgender, transgender, non binary or other.

Agender:

A person who lacks a gender definition, often described as gender free, genderless or gender neutral

Bigender:

A gender identity where a persons gender encompasses two genders.

Homosexual:

A person who is attracted to people of the same gender.

Heterosexual:

A person who is attracted to people of the opposite gender.

Bisexual:

A person who is attracted to both people of the opposite and same gender.

Pansexual:

A person who's attraction is not based solely on their gender identity, usually described as attraction based on the person and their personality rather than gender and anatomy.

Asexual:

Commonly referred too as "ace" describing someone who lacks or has varying sexual attraction towards other people. This is an umbrella term encompassing demisexual or greysexual. Some people who are asexual may still experience romantic attraction, or even sexual attraction to varying degrees.

Statistics

Statistics around Transgender people are notoriously difficult to quantify. For many reasons. Some transgender people are unable to self report their gender identity due to not living in safe environments, not being "out" or feeling unable to self identify. There is also an inherent lack of trust within the transgender community and official channels around fear of reciprocating violence. As well as the rise of gender diverse individuals who identify outside of the strict gender binary where most official data gathering does not include a comprehensive list of gender identities. For example, most official forms will include: male and female, and then varying degrees of including transgender man or transgender woman. However not including non-binary, agender, bigender etc. Therefore forcing people to mis-gender themselves and not gathering accurate statistics.

We believe the statistics provided are as accurate as we can gather, but understand there may be people who's experiences are not documented in these.

Transgender people make up approximately 1% of the UK population. There have been well documented and acknowledged existence of transgender people in many cultures around the world for as long as we know.

Click here to visit an interactive map of gender diverse cultures

Hate crimes

Transgender people are the most likely to be targeted for hate crimes and government policy restrictions in the LGBT+ group.

Hate crimes based in gender, specifically transgender based hate crimes, are the most likely to involve physical violence or threats of physical violence.

2 in 5 Transgender people or 3 in 10 non binary people experience gender based hate crimes in the past 12 months.

In 2021 the home office UK reported 2630 hate crimes against transgender people. This was a 16% increase from the year before. 2023-2024 the rate of transgender based hate crimes rose by 11% and in the last 12 months it rose by 9%. Aside from race, all other hate crime categories have decreased

88% of transgender people do not report their hate crimes.

48% of those who do report a dissatisfaction with the police response.

LGBT+ and Mental Health

According to Stonewall half of all LGBTQ+ people experienced depression and 3 in 5 people will experience anxiety.

Transgender people are at 5x the risk of long term mental health conditions.

In the age group of18-24, 1 in 8 people will attempt or think about completing suicide. That number rises to 50% in transgender people.

There is a 1 in 6 risk of depression among transgender men. in contrast to 1 in 10 risk for cisgender men.

1 in 8 LGBTQ+ people expressed unequal treatment in health care settings. 2 in 5 trans and gender diverse people state that healthcare professionals lack fundamental knowledge of trans people and their needs.

25% of transgender people will admit to being homeless at some point in their lives.

12% of LGBT people have experienced an eating disorder. This number doubles to 24% in non-binary people and 25% for transgender people.

Drug and alcohol abuse

Its estimated that 20 to 30% of transgender people will struggle with addiction at some point in their lives. Rates of depression, bipolar disorder and PTSD being raised in Transgender people can contribute to the risk of addiction to drugs and alcohol. Gender Dysphoria in itself is not the leading risk of addiction, however lack of social support and healthcare/ acceptance around a persons gender dysphoria does increase the risk.

LGBT+ people gathering together has historically been centered around being othered by society leading to gay clubs and secret gay bars being a focal point for meeting community. When combined with a general historic lack of LGBT+ drug and alcohol support systems, and healthcare systems who have let down transgender people consistently, it leads to a case of not knowing where to go/who to turn too and an increased risk of addiction.

Homelessness and unemployment are also risks for developing a drug or alcohol addiction, which are both issues faced by the transgender community.

Sex work has also been a long time career choice for transgender people. For many reasons, including transphobia making it difficult for transgender people to hold long time employment and housing difficulties lead to people partaking in sex work. While many successfully pursue a healthy and consistent career in sex work, those who are forced into it as a means of survival often have worse mental health outcomes and are likely to partake in substance misuse.

According to the Stonewall 2023 LGBT in Britain Health Report:

10% of LGBT respondents in the study state they experienced some kind of addiction in the last 12 months

1 in 6 LGBT people state they drink alcohol on a daily basis

1 in 8 state they take drugs at least once a month