4 In 10 LGBTQ+ People Experienced A Hate Crime In The Past 12 Months

A joint survey from Gay Times and Channel 4 News has found 4 in 10 (40%) LGBTQ+ people experienced a hate crime in the past 12 months because of their sexual orientation

1 in 5 (20%) respondents fell victim to one as a result of their gender identity.

Of those who said they experienced a hate crime, only 5% reported their ordeal to the police.

Verbal abuse was the most common type, experienced by 43% of those who took the survey.

In the last year alone, 18% also faced online abuse.

Sarah Strong, Chief Executive of Trans Pride in Brighton and founder of the city’s Trans Pride Centre, told Channel 4 News: “It’s like Chinese water torture, a little drip every time.

“But over the course of weeks and months, these comments, these hateful, anti-trans things that you see online or in person, they eat away at you.”

There has been widespread outrage in the UK after the government’s U-turns on a comprehensive conversion therapy ban, which has now resulted in a watered down version of what was originally promised.

Trans people are not currently expected to be offered any protections by the legislation, with the government stating “different considerations” are needed for this.

However, the survey found that banning the practice for all LGBTQ+ people was “very important” to 93% of respondents and was the top-rated issue overall.

“It’s clear from this survey that an overwhelming majority of LGB people fully support the trans+ community and stand in solidarity with them,” said Lewis Corner, Editorial Director of Gay Times.

“A noisy minority are attempting to fuel a divisive anti-trans agenda, but during this landmark 50th year of Pride in the UK we will continue to combat transphobia in all its forms to fight for a future where all LGBTQ+ people are respected and equal.”

There were a total of 2,237 Gay Times readers surveyed as part of the research, with the majority being aged 13 to 24 years.

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