1,010 cases of transphobia were reported in 2021, an increase of 50% compared to 2020, according to the report on the state of queerphobia in Israel published on Wednesday by the Aguda – The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel. According to the report, submitted to Minister of Public Security Omer Barlev, the number of reported cases increased by 10% to 2,971, there was a 41% increase in the number of young LGBTIQA+ people leaving their homes, and the number of queerphobic cases in the healthcare system jumped fivefold.
The report divided the main arenas in which the reported incidents of queerphobia occurred, and found that 43% of incidents were domestic, compared with 28% in 2020.
34% of queerphobic incidents were directed at the trans community. 29% of them took place in the health system, 12% in the family, and 9% in educational institutions. The report states that despite the widespread hypothesis that the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, or Gush Dan, is a safe space for community members, more than 50% of transphobic incidents occurred in this area.
The report includes a quote from one of the reports, of L., a trans man from the center region of the country: ״I own a business. A customer called me and told me that he had seen articles about me on the internet and that I was completely crazy. He thought that I cheated him because I'm trans and thinks I’m just impersonating a man, he demanded that I give him all his money back and we cancel the deal.״
In another report, a man from the Shfela region was quoted as saying: ״About a month ago, I went to my doctor for a referral to perform an STD test. The doctor started asking me about my sexual orientation and started asking what I was doing in my relationship. After he finished asking the questions, he told me he and the medical world recommends not having sex between men.”
This article was translated from Hebrew by Benji Sharp.