Study: One in eight gay people and 75% of trans people the target of hate crime each year in UK

A report released about anti-LGBT hate crimes in London has found that despite the number of crimes reported to police being on the decline, the LGBT community is still experiencing high levels of abuse, with 75% of trans people and one in eight gay people the victim of a hate crime each year in the UK.

The report by Galop, the leading LGBT anti-violence charity, also found that the LGBT community has low levels of confidence in police, and poor satisfaction among those who do report crimes.

Despite there being a 20% drop in hate crimes reported to police in one year, there was an equal drop in the confidence in police.

Results from homophobic crimes were handled in an “excellent” way, compared to the results of transphobia investigations, which were “very poor”.

Nick Antjoule, the reports author said: “This highlights the violence and abuse against Londoners which remains unchallenged. The police do a great job in difficult circumstances but I think this should be a wake up call for us all. Now we have marriage equality, it’s easy to think equality has been achieved. But the harder battles against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia are still to be won.

“Making sense of crime figures can be really tricky but we hope this will empower people to hold their local police and council to account.”

The report ranks different areas of London according to police and court responses to hate crimes.

It found that 98 homophobic and transphobic crimes were recorded each week by UK police, of which a quarter of homophobic crimes happen in London, as well as a fifth of all transphobic crimes.

Compared to other types of hate crime, such as racism, the proportion of homophobic crimes are on the rise. 9% of all UK hate crimes in 2009 were homophobic, rising to 10% in 2010 and 11% in 2011.

The study also found that more than half of homophobic and transphobic crimes are not report to the police. 1 in 8 LGBT people are the target of a hate crime each year.

LGBT people are more likely to experience crime generally with 1 in 3 LGB people, compared to 1 in 4 straight people experiencing crime. 1 in 14 LGB people experience violence each year compared to 1 in 33 straight people.

The full Galop report can be viewed here. Galop provides support, advice and advocacy to LGBT people who experience hate crime, domestic abuse, sexual violence or who have questions about the criminal justice system. It has been operating for over 30 years.

They are encouraging LGBT people who have concerns about safety or abuse to call their confidential helpline on 0207 704 2040.