Outright International’s discussion paper, Asexual People’s Human Rights—developed with British activist Yasmin Benoit and ten global advocates—compiles crucial survey findings and clinical statistics that paint a stark picture of the discrimination, violence, and medical pathologization facing asexual ("ace") people worldwide.
Asexual people remain underrepresented in demographic research, but the available evidence reveals recurring experiences of discrimination, violence, and medical pathologization. Outright International’s October 2026 discussion paper, Asexual People’s Human Rights, brings together survey findings, legal developments, and community accounts to make those experiences more visible. Developed in collaboration with British activist Yasmin Benoit, it also draws on input from ten asexual advocates around the world. The figures discussed below come from research compiled in that paper.
The findings require careful interpretation. The paper draws on studies from different years, countries, and sample populations; it does not present a single new global survey. Much of the available evidence comes from the Global North, and findings from online community surveys or particular institutions should not be treated as worldwide prevalence estimates.
Visibility and Public Perception
Few censuses allow people to identify explicitly as asexual. In the 2021 England and Wales census, 28,000 people identified as asexual—around 0.05% of the population, according to the paper. In a separate 2023 Ipsos survey across 30 countries, 1% of 22,514 respondents identified as asexual. These different methods and populations mean the figures should not be treated as directly comparable measures of how many ace people exist.
The paper also compiles evidence of prejudice and harassment:
In a 2024 survey of 400 people in England, 23% believed asexuality was a mental health issue, while 11% said asexual people did not exist.
In the 2024 Ace Community Survey, 32% of 1,667 respondents reported verbal harassment, while 19% reported bullying in person or online. This online survey was dominated by respondents from North America and Western Europe.
Conversion Efforts
The 2022 Ace Community Survey found that 10.9% of 8,958 asexual respondents reported having been offered, advised to undergo, or subjected to conversion practices. The separately reported categories were 7.8% offered, 3.1% advised, and 0.5% subjected to such practices. These categories should not be added together as though they represent separate groups.
In the UK’s 2018 National LGBT Survey:
7.9% of asexual respondents reported having been offered conversion practices.
2.3% reported having undergone them.
5% reported unwanted pressure to undergo medical or psychological examination—the highest proportion among the sexual-orientation groups compared.
Asexual respondents had the highest offered rate and a joint-highest undergone rate among the sexual-orientation groups compared in the report. Distinguishing these measures avoids implying that ace respondents uniquely had the highest rate of completed conversion practices.
Misdiagnosis and Pressure to Be “Fixed”
In a 2018 U.S. study, more than one-third of 136 asexual adults reported having been misdiagnosed with a medical condition. This was respondents’ reported experience, rather than a clinical audit independently confirming each diagnosis.
A 2020 online survey of a-spec people in Spain found that:
232 of 549 respondents, or 42.3%, reported “attempts or suggestions to test, cure, or fix” their asexual identity.
61 of those 549 respondents, or 11.1%, reported receiving “healing advice from professionals.”
In a separate question, 338 of 615 respondents, or 55%, feared being pathologized or told to seek treatment if they came out.
The differing denominators matter: these percentages describe responses to different questions, not necessarily the same complete group of participants.
Healthcare Discrimination and Avoidance
Among approximately 2,050 asexual respondents to the UK’s 2018 National LGBT Survey, 18% reported negative effects on their healthcare after disclosing their orientation—the highest proportion among the sexual-orientation groups compared. Separately, 8.5% reported avoiding health services because they feared discrimination. The findings identify related barriers, but do not establish that the respondents reporting negative treatment were the same people who avoided care.
Mexican court proceedings offer another illustration of the risks of failing to distinguish asexuality from a disorder. In 2019, the National Health System referred at least 317 people to psychiatric care to address a lack of sexual attraction. Those records were not disaggregated by sexual orientation, so the figure cannot be described as 317 asexual patients.
In 2023, a Mexican federal court ordered the system to stop prescribing psychotherapeutic intervention to treat asexuality and to train health personnel. The ruling concerned pathologizing asexuality itself—not preventing ace people from accessing mental healthcare for other needs.
Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence
The paper’s findings challenge the assumption that experiencing little or no sexual attraction protects someone from sexual abuse. However, each study uses its own measures, sample, and timeframe.
In a 2024 survey of 475 asexual respondents in Vietnam:
40.2% reported abuse from perpetrators who expressed a desire or exerted pressure to perform a “corrective” act.
54% reported being “propositioned, seduced, or coerced” into unwanted sexual acts.
31% reported unwanted physical contact with a sexual undertone.
These categories should retain their wording. The 54% figure does not mean that every respondent in that group experienced completed coercive sexual activity, and the 40.2% figure does not establish that every respondent experienced a completed “corrective” act.
An Australian report published in 2017, based on more than 30,000 university-student responses, found that 15% of asexual respondents reported sexual assault, compared with 6% of heterosexual respondents and 8% of gay or lesbian respondents.
In a separate U.S. nationwide study, 66 of 435 asexual respondents—approximately 15%—reported intimate partner violence in 2021. These are distinct findings about different forms of violence, not interchangeable measures.
Workplace Stigma and Requests for Protection
A 2023 UK survey of 3,695 young adults aged 18 to 25 found that 23% of asexual respondents reported workplace bullying. Asexual respondents and gay men had the highest reported rate among the sexual-minority groups compared. The figure of 3,695 refers to the survey’s overall sample, not the number of asexual participants.
In a Canadian government-led survey involving 25,636 2SLGBTQI+ people, 26% of asexual respondents reported being uncomfortable disclosing their orientation at work—the highest proportion among the sexual-minority groups compared. Again, the overall sample size should not be mistaken for the asexual subgroup’s size.
Some asexual people also seek emergency support because of threats and persecution. Of 10,750 people who requested help from Rainbow Railroad in 2024, 244—approximately 2%—identified as asexual. This records requests for help; it does not establish that all 244 people were relocated or that asexuality was the sole reason for each request.
What the Numbers Establish—and What They Do Not
Taken together, these findings document concerns across healthcare, workplaces, intimate relationships, and community life. They do not provide a single global estimate of the proportion of asexual people experiencing discrimination or violence. The paper’s contribution is to assemble evidence that is often overlooked while identifying the need for more geographically diverse, inclusive research.
