Shocking figures show homophobic abuse has drastically risen

Reports of horrific homophobic abuse have dramatically increased this year.

65 cases of homophobic abuse have been reported to Merseyside police so far this year.

The figure covers cases that have occurred between January and October of this year, with the total number already greater than the amount reported in the whole of 2013.

Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, national policing lead for LGBT, said: “Targeting someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is totally unacceptable.

“This abuse affects people’s right to feel safe, secure and confident about themselves.

“Police forces across the UK are committed to reducing hate crime and improving services to victims.”

She added: “We know that homophobic hate crime disproportionately affects young people, who are amongst the most likely to suffer, but also to perpetrate hate crime.

“The police service has been working hard to ensure the community feels confident to come forward and report hate incidents. All such reports will be handled with professionalism and understanding.”

Last year The Tab told the story of a student who was subject to rounds of horrific homophobic abuse while studying in Liverpool, a case that resulted in the University taking disciplinary action against one student and the police interviewing others.

The University had to deal with a severe case of abuse last year

Matthew Smyth, Co-Chair of Liverpool LGBT+, told The Tab: “Any increase to crime figures always looks shocking.

“Unfortunately for the the LGBT community this is still not a true reflection on the level of LGBT-phobic hate crime in Liverpool and the UK.

“The police are an historically homophobic institution (such as during the Stonewall riots), and were once the perpetrators of LGBT-phobic hate crime, and unfortunately for many still are.

“As such, many LGBT people – LGBT women in particular – are highly unlikely to go to the police but we should praise the work of Jane Kennedy the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner for her work with Stop Hate and promoting third party reporting centres.

“It’s through work like this that we will see the realisation of the true levels of LGBT-phobic crime in Liverpool and the UK.”