As Taliban threats grow, LGBTQ+ Afghans struggle for work and food

Nearly one in four LGBT+ sex crime victims were attacked by people trying to ‘convert or punish’ them, a study has found.Some 23.5% said they were assaulted in a bid to force them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.That rose to about a third if the victim was asexual, non-binary or transgender, LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop found.The 18 to 24 age group reported the highest level of attacks, the poll of 1,020 people aged 16 and over reported.The findings mirror claims made to the charity’s front-line staff of family members or others raping victims or arranging for third parties to do it, in attempts to ‘correct their sexuality’.Chilling CCTV shows solicitor injecting his blood into food at Sainsbury'sSolicitor injected food at Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose with his own bloodStudent, 21, 'dropped off dead at hospital after taking Uber home on night out'The government has vowed to introduce a legislative ban on the ‘abhorrent practice’ of conversion therapy, with a consultation closing on February 4.But Galop boss Leni Morris said the new research demonstrates the need for a ban on so-called conversion therapy ‘without delay’.‘This is happening to LGBT+ people of all cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds right now in the UK,’ she added.Jayne Ozanne, an ex-government aide who survived 20 years of conversion therapy, called the findings ‘shocking’.She urged No.10 to ban the therapy with ‘no exceptions, no loopholes’, saying: ‘It is an act of evil’.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.For more stories like this, check our news page.Not convinced? Find out more »