This briefing brings together research from Italy, Spain, Germany and Slovenia to reveal drivers, costs and practical solutions for LGBTI homelessness across Europe.
ILGA-Europe’s briefing combines research carried out in 2023–2024 by five partner organisations and shows that LGBTI homelessness is widespread, often hidden, and rooted in intersecting forms of discrimination, including family rejection, occupation- and race-based stigma, institutional neglect and minority stress.
The report documents country-level patterns (including barriers for Black LGBTI sex workers in Germany, the role of minority stress in Italy, lifetime earnings losses linked to early-career disruption in Slovenia, and couch-surfing and family rejection in Spain), quantifies the economic cost of inaction, and highlights proven responses such as identity-affirming shelters, housing-first models, trauma-informed care and peer support.
The briefing calls on governments, service providers and funders to integrate LGBTI needs into homelessness strategies, expand targeted, intersectional services, improve data collection and tackle the structural discrimination driving housing insecurity.
