Three in four gay people still don’t report hate crime to police

Major new polling released today by Stonewall shows that lesbian, gay and bisexual people remain at serious risk of suffering violent abuse and intimidation in Britain.

Homophobic Hate Crime: The Gay British Crime Survey 2013 looks in detail at the experiences and extent of homophobic hate crimes and incidents in Britain. The polling of 2,500 people, conducted by YouGov for Stonewall, shows that hate crime remains a serious issue across the country. One in six (17 per cent) lesbian, gay and bisexual people have experienced a hate crime or incident in the last three years.

One in ten (10 per cent) of those who experienced a homophobic hate crime were physically assaulted with almost one in five (18 per cent) victims threatened with violence or the use of force. Worryingly, more than eight in ten (85 per cent) gay people who suffered a hate crime or incident reported harassment, insults or intimidation.

Stonewall Deputy Chief Executive Ruth Hunt said: ‘Despite radical steps to make police forces more accountable to the public these figures show deeply disturbing levels of violence and intimidation still faced every day by lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain. The fact that two thirds of gay people who experienced a hate crime or incident didn’t report it to anyone shows the scale of the challenge facing our criminal justice system.’

Alex Marshall, Chief Executive of the College of Policing, said: ‘The results of this Stonewall survey provide a significant opportunity to review and improve how the police respond to homophobic hate crime. There’s still more to do and we are committed to working with forces, police and crime commissioners and wider stakeholders to ensure we play our part in delivering a better service for victims of homophobic hate crime.’

The research was launched at a seminar at New Scotland Yard this morning addressed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. Stonewall has also launched a practical guide for police forces on how to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Protecting lesbian, gay and bisexual people: A practical guide for police forces, sent to all police forces, Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, sets out simple and practical steps that police forces can take to enable them to better serve lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Both The Gay British Crime Survey 2013 and Protecting lesbian, gay and bisexual people: A practical guide for police forces are available at www.stonewall.org.uk/hatecrime