Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ community have asked the government to do more to protect people in the community.
Their call to action comes after figures from the Home Office highlighted that hate crimes in some areas across England and Wales had hit a new record high in 2022. The new statistics, published on Thursday, October 6, detailed at least 155,841 recorded hate crimes between March 2021 and March this year.
The Home Office defines a hate crime as “any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic”. These characteristics include race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, or gender-diverse identity.
READ MORE: National Coming Out Day: 'I didn't fully embrace myself until moving to Liverpool'
According to the report, hate crimes rose by about 26% from the previous year, making it the most significant increase in reported hate crimes since 2016/17. Transgender hate crimes, though the least in overall quantity, saw the biggest percentage increase, rising by 56%.
GYRO, Liverpool’s young person's advisory service for LGBTQ+ youth, told the ECHO it was “really alarmed at the numbers” released. A spokesman for the group said: “It is time to stop focussing on whether the increase is in relation to higher reporting and acknowledge that people from minority backgrounds, be it due to the colour of their skin or if they are trans or indeed both, are increasingly more at risk of hate incidents and victims of violence.
"We call on local and national governments to do better to protect their people both online and in our communities. We also call on the people of Liverpool to draw on their experiences of justice to make sure we do the right thing here and show leadership and solidarity.”
Echoing a similar sentiment was LCR Pride Foundation with the charity’s CEO and co-founder, Andi Herring, adding that the statistics made for a “shocking reading” and the figures “must be taken seriously.”
LCR Pride Foundation added: “Although we know there will be a number of reasons for these increases, including increased confidence in reporting by victims and bystanders as well as changes in how these crimes are recorded, the fact that these crimes are still happening in the first place is what we should be most concerned about. A 56% increase in anti-Trans incidents and a 41% increase in sexual-orientation-related hate crimes is completely unacceptable and requires urgent action. As part of this, we need to have a better understanding of the data relating to these reports so we can deal with the facts about these increases and support victims, create effective prevention strategies and tackle the issues at their root.”
Last week the ECHO reported that a Sefton councillor said she was subjected to a tidal wave of online abuse after expressing her support for the transgender community. Councillor Laura Lunn-Bates said she was called a 'silly t**t', 'a simpering idiot' and a 'd*** pandering moron' by Twitter trolls after she publicly expressed her disappointment that a fringe event by Labour Women's Declaration had been allowed to go ahead at the Labour party conference. After being subjected to threatening messages, the 27-year-old was forced to remove her personal details from the Sefton Council website due to fears for her own safety.
In the same week, the ECHO also shared how a transgender charity had to take action after receiving an “intolerable” amount of abuse. Mermaids, a charity that supports gender variant and transgender youth up and down the country including Liverpool, closed their helplines and webchat services for two days and decided to reduce their opening hours as well as a result of the abuse. The charity also introduced a set of temporary measures to help their volunteers cope with the hate including providing them with more regular breaks and allowing them time to access the charity’s counselling services if need be.
Similar to national reports, Liverpool’s transphobic-related hate crimes have also increased with more incidents being reported to police in the first eight months of 2022 than in any other year since 2019. Ten violent assaults and 39 non-violent offences have been reported so far, totalling 49 - almost double the 25 reports police received in 2019. However, the number of people being charged in relation to hate crime incidents remained low. Out of the 1642 homophobic hate crimes reported in the past three years (both violent and non-violent) only 79 resulted in a charge (4.8%). Whereas of the 162 transphobic hate crimes reported, only three resulted in charges (1.8%).
When reporting on Liverpool's figures, Cheryl Rhodes, Merseyside Police’s detective superintendent, told the ECHO that “Merseyside Police takes a strong stance against hate crime of any kind, and those who commit hate crime have no place in our communities".
She added: “We have seen the number of homophobic hate crimes reported to us increase and believe this shows that we understand the issues faced as more victims have the confidence to come forward and report it to us, as they know that they will be fully supported throughout the investigation."
Receive our weekly LGBTQIA+ newsletter by signing up here.
READ NEXT
Iker Casillas account tweet was 'ill-timed' say Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ football teams
Trans charity closes helpline after receiving 'intolerable abuse'
The Vivienne's 'dream come true' to be first drag queen to compete on Dancing on Ice
City's drag queen who people want to see what they're wearing next
Man 'filled with pride' to see how far Liverpool has come since 80s
