A quarter of Lithuanians would support their transgender child, survey finds

VILNIUS – Twenty-five percent of Lithuanians would support their child if they came out as transgender, a survey commissioned by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson showed on Friday. 

This is up from 20 percent in a similar survey conducted in 2018, the office said in a press release.

The number of people who would seek information in this case increased to 32 percent, from 22 percent six years ago.

The survey also shows an increase in Lithuanians' implicit understanding of what a transgender person is.

Sixty percent of respondents said this year they understood the term, up from 48 percent in 2018. The groups that were the most likely to say so were 18- to 35-year-olds, the most educated respondents, and those living in major cities and towns. 

The office notes, however, that people often still hold stereotypical views about transgender individuals. When asked to describe a transgender person, the highest percentage of respondents said it was someone who has undergone surgical reassignment of their biological sex.

Lithuanians primarily learn about transgender individuals from online sources (53 percent) and media reports (47 percent), compared to 18 percent and 44 percent, respectively, in 2018.

In terms of attitudes towards transgender people in different social contexts, the trends remain similar to those in 2018.

Most respondents would react positively or neutrally to a transgender person in their workplace (68 percent) and neighborhood (67 percent). However, fewer would feel comfortable or neutral about a transgender person holding a top post in Lithuania or working in the school of their children, both at 51 percent.

Twenty-three percent of those polled would not agree to rent an apartment or a house to a transgender person.  

The proportion of people who believe the state should better protect the rights of transgender individuals has more than doubled, from 12 percent in 2018 to 26 percent in 2024.

In this year's representative survey, Spinter Tyrimai polled 1,010 people aged over 18 between February 18 and 25. The 2018 survey was conducted by Vilmorus.