“There is a direct line between words and violence acts against our community, and always has been”
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY UNSPLASH
For decades, LGBT+ anti-abuse charity, Galop, has been working to support the LGBTQIA community. They provide vital services that offer support to victims and survivors of abuse and violence. They have three helplines which cover, LGBT+ Domestic Abuse, Conversion Therapy and LGBT+ Hate Crime.
Yesterday (6 October) Galop published a statement on the release of the 2021-2022 Official Statistics for Hate Crime. The figures from the report showed that over the last year there has been a 41% increase in hate crime against lesbian, gay and bisexual people, with transphobic hate crimes rising by 56%.
“Some will try to say this increase is just showing that the LGBT+ community’s trust in the police is improving – that this is not an increase in incidents, but in people coming forward. We strongly do not believe that to be the case,” Galop’s statement reads. “Demand for our hate crime support services, including the National LGBT+ Hate Crime Helpline, has grown by 19% in just the last six months.”
Galop went on to address the role the media has played writing: “Transphobic narratives in the media, and at a senior political level, have been allowed to grow unregulated, unchecked, and unchallenged. That translates into violence against our community – particularly for trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people. Let us be clear – there is a direct line between words and violence acts against our community, and always has been.”
Last year, a survey from TransActualUK showed that: “93% of participants reported that transphobia within the media had an impact on their experience of transphobia from strangers in the street, 85% said it impacted how their family treats them.” 2021, sadly, also marked the “deadliest year” for the global trans community since records began with 375 recorded trans deaths. This showed a 7% increase from 2020.
With transphobia and homophobia steadily on the rise, we must stand together.
Galop ends their statement with a call to action: “We need reform and protections now – for all of us, and for all other minoritised communities facing hate, violence and abuse in the UK today.”
If you’ve experienced anti-LGBTQIA abuse or harrassment, you can contact Galop’s LGBT+ Hate Crime Helpline on 0207 704 2040 or email HateCrime@galop.org.uk.
Find out more about Galop on galop.org.uk.
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