European gays still discriminated against ALMOST two-thirds of Europe's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are still afraid to show their sexuality in public and most feel discriminated against, an EU report says, on the International Day Against Homophobia. "Fear, isolation and discrimination are everyday phenomena for the LGBT community in Europe," wrote the director of the European Union's Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Morten Kjaerum. The online survey, described as the largest of its kind, questioned around 93,000 people in the European Union's 27 member states plus Croatia, which is to join the bloc in July. Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of the respondents said that they had been physically or verbally assaulted over the last five years. Transgenders suffered particularly, with 28 per cent saying they had been attacked or threatened more than three times in the last 12 months because of their sexuality, the report said. Some respondents said that even in countries traditionally considered to be tolerant, attitudes were worsening. "My situations of harassment/discrimination/violence are mainly random acts of verbal aggression," a 27-year-old gay Belgian wrote. The situation is worse now than it was, for example, four years ago. In The Netherlands, the first country in the world to legalise gay marriage in 2001, almost 20 per cent of those taking part said they felt discriminated against when going to sport clubs or hospitals, looking for an apartment, going out at night, or dealing with banks. The average figure across Europe was 32 per cent, with the highest figures reported in Lithuania (42 per cent); Croatia (41 per cent); Bulgaria (40 per cent); and Romania (39 per cent). Many said they were afraid to go to the police, including in France where the beating of a gay couple in April hit the headlines after pictures of the bloodied face of one of the victims spread across social media. " (I am) reluctant to report anything that might indicate that I am gay, as I know (the police) just dismiss everything," a 42-year-old Frenchman said. Two-thirds of respondents and three-quarters of gay men said they were afraid to show their sexuality in public. The FRA report noted that discrimination often begins at school, where two-thirds of respondents hid their sexual orientation. The United Nations has launched its own education campaign, with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reassuring the world's LGBT community: "You are not alone."