Saturday 13th – 20th October marks Hate Crime Awareness Week 2018. Even though many of us would like to think LGBTQ+ people in Britain are safer than ever, hate crime against LGBTQ+ communities is still a big problem, and there’s a worrying upward trend.
According to a 2017 poll by Stonewall, 2 in 5 trans people and 1 in 6 cisgender LGB people had experienced a hate crime in the last 12 months. For LGB people, that’s a rise of 78% from 2013, when the figure was 1 in 10. What’s more, 4 in 5 LGBT people who experienced a hate crime or incident didn’t report it to the police.
The needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ people of faith, in particular, have been long overlooked, yet this is an intersection of identity that is often targeted
LGBTQ+ folks who also belong to other groups that are marginalised — particularly people of colour, people of faith and people with disabilities — are even likelier to be subjected to hate-based abuse, and can face additional challenges when it comes to seeking support and justice.
The needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ people of faith, in particular, have been long overlooked, yet this is an intersection of identity that is often targeted.
we’ll be holding a focus group and launching an online survey for LGBTQ+ people of Faith, as an opportunity for you to have your voice heard about your experiences and the changes you’d like to see
That’s why, over the coming months, our Health and Inclusion Project (HIP) will be speaking to Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ people of faith about your experiences of hate crime and feeling safe, accepted and included in your community — whether that’s your LGBTQ+ community, your faith community, or in ‘mainstream’ society at large.
As part of this work, we’ll be holding a focus group and launching an online survey for LGBTQ+ people of Faith, as an opportunity for you to have your voice heard about your experiences and the changes you’d like to see. We’ll be feeding this information back to Brighton & Hove City Council to influence future service provision, and begin to take steps towards making Brighton & Hove a safer place for people of all genders, sexual orientations and faiths.
The focus group will be held at an accessible venue, time and date tbc. LGBTQ+ people of any faith, religion, people or spirituality are warmly invited to attend.
To express interest, receive updates or to find out more, please email [email protected] with the title ‘LGBTQ Faith Focus Group’
If you have been subjected to hate crime, for any reason, Stop Hate UK are a national charity that support people who have experienced hate crime and help them to report if they want to.
- They have a general helpline 0800 138 1652
- and also one specifically for LGBT Hate crime 0808 801 0661
- As well as a BSL (British Sign Language) Video relay service for reporting hate crime that can be used online at https://www.stophateuk.org/
If you would like to talk to someone about your experience, you can also call the Switchboard Helpline for support and information – click here for details of opening times