Transphobic attacks up by 25% in London
Police say the figure is due to more transphobic crimes being reported.
There has been a 25% increase in hate crimes against transgender people, according to figures released by the Met Police.
In the year to October 2015, 135 transgender hate offences were recorded – compared with 108 last year.
The data comes from the force’s latest annual crime figures – which allow types of reports to be broken down by borough and by crime type.
The Met believes the rise is partly explained by more people reporting such crimes – urging any victims of transphobia to come forward.
Recent reports also show that homophobic crimes have surged by nearly a third in London in the past year.
The data showed that 1,667 homophobic offences took place in the 12 months to July 2015 – up from 1,289 in the 12 months to July 2014.
The shocking data may indeed be partly down to better recording of hate crimes – though it does signify a worrying trend.
Racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks all also saw a rise – though the number of homophobic incidents recorded was nearly double those of Islamophobic crimes, and three times the number of anti-Semitic crimes.
The reports come after a PinkNews YouGov poll found that compared to the rest of the UK, Londoners are over five times more likely to reject a gay or trans child.
13% of Londoners indicated they would not support their child if they were gay, while 20% indicated they would not support a trans child.
Labour’s London mayoral candidate, Sadiq Kahn, responded to the reports by pledging to take a “zero tolerance” approach to homophobic and transphobic crime.
The Labour candidate – who beat election favourite Tessa Jowell earlier this year – says that although he is happy more people are reporting hate crime, it is disheartening that so much “abuse” still exists in such a “liberal city”.
“The reality is that London is a very tolerant and fair city, one of the most liberal cities in the world,” he said.
Yesterday, labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among political leaders to have mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance – in honour of the 271 trans people who have been murdered this year.
Vigils took place across the UK and world today for TDoR, to raise awareness of the transphobic violence that has claimed the lives of hundreds.
