Members of a sexual minority group at a review meeting of the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The 2025-2026 Baseline Survey on Gender Minorities in Karnataka recommended 1% reservation of jobs in the private sector for gender minorities in the state.
“It is important that not only the government but also private companies provide employment opportunities to gender minorities,” said a report submitted to the Karnataka government on January 24, 2026.
The Government of Karnataka currently provides 1% horizontal reservation for transgender persons in all government services.
The first-of-its-kind exercise in India, conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, recorded 10,365 gender minorities in the state.
Violence and humiliation
One of the recommendations in the report includes the establishment of a committee for the welfare of gender minorities.
The survey found that some form of violence and discrimination against gender minorities occurs in around 40% of schools and colleges. According to the report, 25% of adults and 46% of children from the community have applied for financial assistance for education.
Approximately 40% of family members do not accept. It was also found that 90% of the community members faced incidents of violence, discrimination or humiliation in hospitals.
The report therefore recommends financial assistance, priority hostel admissions, coaching for competitive exams and scholarship programs for the education of individuals from gender minorities, distribution of Ayushman Bharat cards to all community members and schemes for gender affirmation surgery.
Housing, separate toilets, special campsites
The report states that 15% of the community members live with their parents, 17% in separate houses and a large number of them on the street, it suggests providing them with accommodation.
Other recommendations include separate toilets and waiting rooms in public places, rehabilitation initiatives, special camps for the distribution of ration cards, and awareness programs for the public, families and officials to prevent violence and discrimination faced by individuals from gender minorities.
Top districts
A 45-day survey of gender minorities in 31 districts identified 10,250 individuals over the age of 18 and 115 children. Most individuals were recorded in Vijayapura (1,428), Chikkaballapur (1,252), Bengaluru Urban (757), Kolar (638) and Belagavi (618).
According to the survey information, 3,497 members of the community belonged to Scheduled Castes and 1,369 to Scheduled Tribes.
The 2011 census recorded 34,283 gender minorities in the state. Ahead of the 2023 election, the Chief Electoral Officer estimated that 42,756 transgender individuals in the state were eligible to vote.
Published – 25 Jan 2026 11:12 IST
