Living Hidden: The Struggle of Trans Women in Syria

• Transgender women in Syria face severe, ongoing violence, systemic legal discrimination, and extreme social isolation following the fall of the Assad regime.
• The Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) reported a 60 percent increase in requests for emergency assistance during 2025.
• Many are forced into sex work for survival and face high risks of physical assault, imprisonment, and death while attempting to flee the country.

Legal and Social Oppression

• Legal frameworks established in 1949, such as Article 520, continue to criminalize gender expression, maintaining a hostile environment for the LGBTQ+ community.
• Official identity documents often label individuals with "Gender Identity Dysphoria," which facilitates systemic discrimination.
• Public visibility is dangerous, forcing many to live in near-total isolation to avoid harassment from family, neighbors, and local authorities.

Violence and Forced Treatment

• Transgender women report routine violence from various armed groups, including government forces and local militias, ranging from public beatings to forced head-shaving and arbitrary detention.
• Many individuals are subjected to forced "conversion therapy" by psychologists, which includes reported instances of torture using electrical cables.
• Educational and public environments remain hostile, with many survivors facing stabbing attacks or total social ostracization after being outed.

Support and Escape

• GEM has implemented training programs and grants for remote work equipment to help trans people achieve economic independence away from the high-risk public labor market.
• Despite domestic support efforts, the primary aspiration for many is to flee the country; hundreds have reached out to organizations like Helem in Lebanon for help.
• Migration efforts are precarious and life-threatening, as they often rely on smugglers, leading to documented cases of individuals disappearing while attempting to reach safety.