Crimes motivated by hatred of transgender people that were reported to police rose to a record high last year despite a five per cent fall in the overall number of hate crimes, official figures revealed on Thursday.
Home Office statistics show that 4,732 hate offences targeting transgender people were reported to forces in the 12 months to the end of March.
The total — which amounts to an average of 13 transgender hate crimes a day — was up 11 per cent on the previous year’s tally.
The Home Office said that one potential cause of the rise might be greater police awareness of the problem and better recording of offences.
But it said an alternative explanation was that “transgender issues have been heavily discussed by politicians, the media and on social media over the last year” and that this “may have led to an increase in these offences”.
The rise in recorded offences involving transgender hate was nearly matched by a nine per cent increase in crimes motivated by hatred of a person’s religion.
That took the annual total to 9,387 offences with Muslims accounting for the largest number of victims, followed by Jewish people.
Offences motivated by race hatred accounted for the largest overall number of hate crimes, with 101,906 over the year. The tally represented seven out of 10 of all hate crimes but was down by six per cent on the previous year.
Thursday’s Home Office publication says the fall was “driven by a decrease in racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress offences”.
It adds that the decline might have been result of new College of Policing guidance on non-crime hate incidents, leading police to alter how they decide what constitutes a race-hate offence involving fear or distress.
Victims of race hate crimes are split almost equally between white, black and Asian people, though the document points out that the white category includes people from overseas subjected to xenophobic crimes.
Selma Taha, from Southall Black Sisters, said she and two friends had been on the Northern line from Camden Town to King’s Cross on Friday night when one of her friends was nearly hit by the alleged attacker’s suitcase.
When they asked her to move the suitcase, Ms Taha claims the woman used racist language including calling them “slaves” and made monkey noises. The situation developed into a physical confrontation, Ms Taha said, telling the BBC: “She went for my hair. She bit me through my clothes. I could feel burning and was screaming, ‘She’s biting me’. I thought she would come away with flesh in her mouth.”
She later attended hospital where she was given a tetanus shot and antibiotics.
A woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and a racially-aggravated public order offence, and was released on bail while enquiries continue.
Ms Taha said she had submitted a complaint to the Met’s directorate of professional standards saying an off-duty police officer on the train did not intervene quickly enough.
