“This report does not make for light reading as it uncovers the shocking and inhumane ways in which transgender people are targeted, harassed, and abused on digital platforms.

The online posts we uncovered, some of which have been shared thousands of times, range in severity from transphobic attitudes through to genocide and violence; you can see these classified on Ditch the Label’s Pyramid of Transphobia. Using the largest dataset of its kind, it is easy to see how, left unchallenged, digital hate speech can and does evolve into acts of physical violence committed towards trans people.

As a cisgender ally to the trans community, I have seen how dangerous online communities can be as echo chambers for self-radicalization. My hope is that this report will bring the problem to the forefront of public conversation, and encourage an urgent review of hate speech guidelines on social platforms and in law.