- FELGTBI+ denounces that one in five bisexual people has been assaulted in the last year, and that approximately 1 in 3 has suffered harassment and/or discrimination, according to the report State of Hate 2026.
- The study, prepared by the Federation in collaboration with a team from the Institute of Public Policies and Goods (IPP, CSIC), documents institutional, health, family, and community violence specifically against bi+ people.
- On the occasion of Bisexual Visibility Day, the Federation demands an end to the medical pathologization of bisexuality and its formal recognition in political asylum protocols and hate crime.
The State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans, Bisexuals, Intersex, and more (FELGTBI+) denounces that one in five bisexual people has been assaulted in the last year. This is evident from the report State of Hate 2026, prepared by the Federation in collaboration with members of a research team from the Institute of Public Policies and Goods (IPP, CSIC), which also reveals that approximately 1 in 3 bisexual people has suffered harassment and/or discrimination in the last 12 months.
What is biphobia according to FELGTBI+?
The co-coordinator of the Bisexual Policies Group of the Federation, Noelia Salido, explains that “biphobia manifests in everyday violence that permeates all spheres of life. It is a specific, differentiated, and deeply rooted form of violence that marginalizes us, pathologizes us, makes us sick, isolates us, and kills us”. She recounts that bi+ people face daily hypersexualization and victim-blaming: “The sexist prejudice that labels us as promiscuous legitimizes sexual assaults. Bi+ victims are judged, questioned, and even held responsible for the assaults suffered, as if our identity were an implicit invitation to abuse”.
Salido adds that “the false belief that bisexuality is incompatible with monogamy or with the ability to maintain couple agreements sows permanent suspicion,” a narrative that, as she explains, “makes especially women and non-binary people with a feminine gender alignment victims of dynamics of control, jealousy, isolation, and gender violence.”
What institutional violence does the Federation denounce?
The also co-coordinator of the Bisexual Policies Group, Alex Robles, points out that bi+ people suffer legal invisibility and denial of asylum: “Legislation and institutions often ignore the specificity of our realities. Every aggression or discrimination is erroneously simplified under the generic umbrella of homophobia, thus erasing the unique nature of biphobia”. At the international level, Robles denounces that bi+ people seeking asylum or international protection “are systematically denied refuge under the perverse argument that their orientation allows them to choose to live as heterosexuals to evade persecution”.
Robles adds that the health system “continues to discriminate and pathologize bi+ people”: “They treat us as traumatized individuals or with mental illnesses”. As an example, he recalls that it was recently discovered that the Community of Madrid maintained on its official website for more than 20 years a health guide that linked bisexuality with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
What bisexual erasure does FELGTBI+ denounce?
Robles also recounts a constant invalidation of bi+ people when it comes to forming families: “It is assumed without basis that bisexuality incapacitates for parenting, stripping us of social recognition to accompany our children in safe and affectionate environments. Moreover, our orientation is always presumed based on our partners, which adds to the erasure of our identity.”
The coordinator also describes how this erasure is exacerbated when the bisexual person is also trans, non-binary, intersex, or asexual: “Hiding these intersections fragments identity. Being a non-binary and bi+ person, for example, means facing a double stigma.”
Noelia Salido adds that “the spaces that should be places of refuge and mutual support become hostile environments for bi+ people”: “The spaces of the collective assimilate bisexual women under the label of lesbian, with a false argument of inclusivity that dissolves the specificity of the plurisexual experience. And biphobia and plumophobia intensify against bi men who endure the prejudice that judges them as ‘gays in denial or in acceptance phase’.” Salido concludes that “all these violences, prejudices, and myths are a direct product of a system of macho and patriarchal oppression that affects bi+ men, women, and non-binary people.”
What does FELGTBI+ demand for Bisexual Visibility Day?
On this date, the State LGTBI+ Federation demands:
- The immediate cessation of any form of pathologization of bisexuality in health, medical, or psychiatric guidelines, and the elimination of any normative or official vestige linking plurisexualities to mental disorders.
- The formal inclusion of biphobia and bi+ orientations as protected normative categories against hate crimes and in political asylum protocols.
- A thorough review of LGTBI+ spaces to ensure they are truly safe environments.
- A media and cultural representation that does not reduce bisexual diversity to negative stereotypes, clichés, or stigmas that contribute to reproducing violence.
Frequently asked questions
How many bisexual people have been assaulted according to the report State of Hate 2026?
One in five bisexual people has been assaulted in the last year, and approximately 1 in 3 has suffered harassment and/or discrimination in the last 12 months.
Who prepares the report State of Hate 2026?
The State LGTBI+ Federation (FELGTBI+), in collaboration with members of a research team from the Institute of Public Policies and Goods (IPP, CSIC).
What problem does FELGTBI+ denounce regarding access to asylum for bisexual people?
That they are systematically denied refuge under the argument that their orientation would allow them to choose to live as heterosexuals to avoid persecution.
What case of health pathologization does the Federation mention?
That the Community of Madrid maintained for more than 20 years an official health guide that linked bisexuality with Borderline Personality Disorder.
What does the Federation demand for Bisexual Visibility Day?
An end to the pathologization of bisexuality, its recognition in asylum and hate crime protocols, truly safe LGTBI+ spaces, and a media representation free of stereotypes.
