Transphobia

When it comes to hate crimes against people who identify as LGBTQ+, people who are Transgender are the most targeted out of the whole community. 

In the year ending March 2023, 4,732 hate crimes against transgender people were recorded – a rise of 11% on the previous year. And sadly, this number just seems to keep rising. 

And these statistics which were released by the home office show that Transgender based hate crimes were less likely to result in a charge or court summons than hate crimes based on a person’s race, religion or sexual orientation. 

To better understand what these figures mean, we first have to have a better understanding of what constitutes a transphobic hate crime.

WHAT IS TRANSPHOBIA? 

The core value underlying all transphobia is a rejection of trans identity and a refusal to acknowledge that it could possibly be real or valid. 

Transphobia has no single, simple manifestation. It is complex and can include a range of behaviours and arguments. The consequence of transphobia is that trans people struggle to live openly and comfortably in society. An ultimate outcome may be the erasure of trans people as a viable class of people. 

There is no one specific offence in the law against transphobia. Instead, transphobia is dealt with by lots of different laws. If a transphobic incident or hate crime has taken place we can help. 

Any form of physical, verbal and written abuse or threat is a hate crime. Anything from physical or sexual assault, name-calling, put-downs and threats. However, there are sometimes less obvious instances – for example, if you are asked unnecessary and intrusive questions about your gender identity, if someone uses ‘humour’ to belittle you, or if you are addressed by someone deliberately using an incorrect pronoun or someone’s deadname. Any abuse received over the internet related to your gender or sexuality can still be logged as a hate crime 

Similarly, someone ‘outing’ you or disclosing information about your gender identity without your knowledge or permission can be viewed as transphobic. Any persistent and unwanted attention regarding your gender identity from others is harassment and you should not have to tolerate it. 

WHAT DO THE STATISTICS? 

The sad reality of LGBTQ+ people in the UK today is that they have more reasons to be worried and scared now than they have in years gone by. 

With so much information or misinformation being shared around it means there is a lot more misunderstanding about the lives of Transgender people, and this has led to a lot of hateful rhetoric being shared around in our media cycles. 

When it comes to Transphobic attacks there is a higher percentage that these attacks will result in physical harassment or violence. 

The Government’s own National LGBT Survey showed fewer than one in ten LGBTQ+ people report hate crimes or incidents. This includes only 37% of those who experience physical harassment or violence. 

As a result, this means that the vast majority of LGBTQ+ people who experience hatred and violence in the UK do not report this. 

This low reporting demonstrates that trust in the police among LGBTQ+ people had fallen faster than for any other group.