Recorded hate crimes against trans people in the United Kingdom rose by more than 50% in a year. LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop warns that the hateful & transphobic rhetoric that is being spread by politicians is translating into violence against the trans community. They also highlight how the media contributes to the problem by amplifying transphobic voices and broadcasting bigotry without it being challenged. The warning comes as a response to Home Office figures showing that crimes that were rooted in transphobia rose by 56% in a year.
In a statement, the Home Office related this to transgender issues having been “heavily discussed on social media” in the last year, which they argue may have caused the increase in hate crimes.
Chief executive at Galop, Leni Morris said, “transphobic narratives in the media, and at a senior political level, have been allowed to grow unregulated, unchecked and unchallenged.”
Authorities in England and Wales recorded 4,355 hate crimes that were rooted in transphobia between March of 2021, and March of 2022. A significant increase from the 2,799 transphobic hate crimes that were reported in the same regions in the 12 months prior.
The overall number of hate crimes recorded by UK authorities in the same period rose by 26% to 155,841, a new record high. 70% of the hate crimes reported were racially motivated.