EL*C, together with Ilga Europe, produced lesbian analysis of the data contained in the LGBTI Survey II conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union.

 

Such focus was needed because to build a more complete understanding of the experiences of and marginalisation faced by lesbians. More data needs to collected on lesbians experiences but existing data needs to be analysed taking into full account the lived reality of the lesbian community. The experiences of lesbians cannot be fully separated from the broader societal phenomena related to sexism and misogyny; similarly gender equality issues cannot be considered without also taking into consideration marginalisation linked with sexual orientations and gender identities that defy cis-heteronormative societal expectations and gender roles. For these reasons, an analysis more focused on intersectional discriminations and aware of broader gender inequalities was needed.

The report research uses the data collected by FRA to create a new sample group which includes everyone who selected “Lesbian” as their sexual orientation, regardless of their sex characteristics or gender identity. As such, the word “lesbian” throughout this report is used inclusively to refer to every respondent who self-identified as a lesbian, while the FRA LGBTI Survey II Report, “A Long Way to Go For LGBTI Equality” only refers to cisgender, endosex lesbians.

The report disaggregates also the data, allowing more detailed information on lesbians depending on their disabilities status, ethnic minority or migration status, age, gender identity, and sex characteristics, and permitting to draw comparisons of the lived experiences of lesbians among these groups.

Finally, the report goes one step further and provides an analysis of the data that takes into consideration broader gender inequalities and exposure to gender-based violence and discrimination experienced by women and people perceived as such in society. A gendered lens on the FRA LGBTI Survey II data reveals significant coherence with gender equality assessment and confirming the need for an intersectional feminist approach in research and data collection.