Exclusive: 4 in 10 LGBTQ+ people experienced a hate crime in past 12 months
Four in 10 (40%) LGBTQ+ people experienced a hate crime in the past 12 months because of their sexual orientation, a joint survey from GAY TIMES and Channel 4 News found.
One in five (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.
