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Hate Crime Awareness Week: LGBT Hate Crime

National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2016 started on Saturday 8 October and will run until this Saturday 15 October. During the week organisations across the country will get involved and raise awareness about hate crime. This year is likely to see a surge in activity because since the EU Referendum result in June, reported hate crime has increased by 57 per cent.

On the launch of our new LGBQ and T family law units, we focus our attention on the homophobic, biphobic or transphobic hate crimes or incidents that are motivated by the offender’s hostility and prejudice towards the lesbian, gay, bi or trans community. It is important to remember that you do not have to be LGB or T to be a victim of a LGBT-motivated hate crime and a hate crime can be someone shouting something abusive in the street and in some instances may involve a personal attack on an individual.

If you, or someone you know has experienced a hate crime or incident it is important that you report it, by either calling 999 (if it is an emergency) or at other times you can contact your local police force by dialing 101. Reporting an incident is often an intimidating prospect, and you can report crime anonymously through the police website True Vision or obtain holistic support from Stop Hate UK.

However difficult reporting a Hate Crime may be to you, it is an important one both to ensure that justice can be sought on your behalf, and also to raise awareness on a general scale of the abuse the LGBT communities still suffer from today. By reporting a crime or incident, you could be protecting someone else from harm. If you wish to discuss an incident with our team, without obligation, please contact the office on 0191 275 2626.

If you have reported an incident, but do not feel that it was dealt with appropriately this is something Ben Hoare Bell can assist with also. The police and other state bodies have a duty to protect individuals and provide security. We put our faith in them to keep us safe and to treat us fairly and you can call our crime team, without obligation, to discuss any potential claim. You can see more on our website here.

Show your support by following @stophateUK and @northerpride on Twitter and using the hashtags #NHCAW and #Westandtogether

Keep safe

Lui


Blog by Lui Asquith, Family Solicitor specialising in LGBTQ rights

 

 

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