The National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported on Mar. 9 that 85.4% of respondents to its Web Diversities Survey said they had experienced discrimination, while 74.2% reported suffering psychological or verbal violence at some point in their lives.
The findings highlight the challenges faced by people belonging to sexual and gender minorities in Chile. The survey aimed to gather information about the sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of these populations, providing data that can help inform public policy.
A total of 17,048 people across the country voluntarily participated in the survey, which was conducted between July and October 2025. Of those surveyed, 95.2% identified as part of a sexual minority and 29.7% as part of a gender minority. Among those identifying with sexual diversity, the largest groups were gay (32.6%), bisexual (25.5%), lesbian (17.3%), pansexual (16%), asexual (5.1%), and others including demisexual, omnisexual, or queer identities (3.5%). For gender diversity respondents, 44.5% identified as non-binary, followed by transmasculine individuals at 30.1%, transfeminine at 13%, and other identities such as agender or gender fluid at 12.1%. In total, there were 3,571 trans participants—70.4% of all gender-diverse respondents.
Discrimination was most commonly attributed to factors such as sexual orientation (58.3%), manner of dress or expression (57.8%), physical traits (45.4%), and sex or gender (32%). The survey found that discrimination occurred in various settings: within families (60.2%), educational environments (50.7%), healthcare settings (36%), workplaces (34.7%), and legal processes or access to justice (9.4%).
Regarding violence, most respondents who experienced psychological abuse cited verbal aggression such as ridicule or offensive behavior from schoolmates or family members; specifically, school peers were mentioned by 62.1% and family members by 31.7%. Physical and sexual violence was also reported: among those who consented to answer these questions, unwanted touching affected 40.5%, threats or persecution affected 19%, forced sexual relations affected 14.1%, and physical assaults affected nearly one in eight.
Mental health concerns were prevalent: half of those who answered mental health questions reported mild symptoms of anxiety or depression over the previous two weeks; severe symptoms were reported by nearly one in six respondents.
The INE emphasized that while the survey’s non-probabilistic design means results cannot be generalized to the entire population, it provides valuable new data for understanding the realities faced by LGBTIQA+ people in Chile.
