Nearly 90% of LGBTQ respondents say they feel safe in the South Florida city where they live — yet almost half believe safety for queer people has declined over the past five years.
That contrast emerged in a new Out South Florida survey of 271 respondents conducted earlier this year.
According to the survey, 46% of respondents said they feel less safe than they did five years ago, while 44% said conditions have stayed about the same. About 10% said they feel safer today.
A smaller share reported feeling unsafe locally. About 10% said they feel somewhat not safe, while less than one percent said they do not feel safe at all.
The results show some shifts compared to OutSFL’s 2024 LGBTQ safety survey, which included 335 respondents. In that survey, 62% said they felt less safe than they did five years earlier, compared with 46% in the new survey.
The number of respondents who said they would move, if given the opportunity, also declined. In the latest survey, 34% said they would move, while 66% said they would stay where they currently live. In the 2024 survey, 43% said they would move.
Participants were invited to share comments explaining their views. Several respondents who said they feel less safe pointed to the current political climate.
“I do fear for our community, both physical threats and challenges by republicans erasing our legal rights,” one respondent wrote.
Another respondent said, “The nucleus of hate is the Republicans and their laws.”
A third respondent linked their concerns to national politics, writing, “[President] Trump has fostered a country where hate is legitimized. His kind of hate shows up everywhere and makes me feel unsafe just walking around knowing he encourages his followers to act out violently.”
Not all respondents shared that view.
One person who said they feel safe wrote, “I love living here. I moved from NJ with my husband and have never experienced the freedom I do here. This is my favorite place I’ve ever been.”
The survey was conducted earlier this year and distributed through OutSFL’s digital platforms.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited by OutSFL staff.
