Four in 10 (40%) LGBTQ+ people experienced a hate crime in the past 12 months because of their sexual orientation, a joint survey from GAY TIMES and Channel 4 News found.
One in five (20%) respondents fell victim to one as a result of their gender identity.
Of those who said they experienced a hate crime, only 5% reported their ordeal to the police.
Verbal abuse was the most common type, experienced by 43% of those who took the survey.
In the last year alone, 18% also faced online abuse.
Sarah Strong, Chief Executive of Trans Pride in Brighton and founder of the city’s Trans Pride Centre, told Channel 4 News: “It’s like Chinese water torture, a little drip every time.
“But over the course of weeks and months, these comments, these hateful, anti-trans things that you see online or in person, they eat away at you.”
Almost two in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced a hate crime in the last 12 months because of their sexual orientation, an exclusive survey by Channel 4 News and @gaytimes has found.
Dan and Rob were the victims of a homophobic attack outside a club in 2021. pic.twitter.com/ucNgm0mezl
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 1, 2022
There has been widespread outrage in the UK after the government’s U-turns on a comprehensive ‘conversion therapy’ ban, which has now resulted in a watered down version of what was originally promised.
Trans people are not currently expected to be offered any protections by the legislation, with the government stating “different considerations” are needed for this.
However, the GAY TIMES and Channel 4 News survey found that banning the practice for all LGBTQ+ people was ‘very important’ to 93% of respondents and was the top-rated issue overall.
“It’s clear from this survey that an overwhelming majority of LGB people fully support the trans+ community and stand in solidarity with them,” said Lewis Corner, Editorial Director of GAY TIMES.
“A noisy minority are attempting to fuel a divisive anti-trans agenda, but during this landmark 50th year of Pride in the UK we will continue to combat transphobia in all its forms to fight for a future where all LGBTQ+ people are respected and equal.”
Banning so-called "conversion therapy" for all LGBTQ+ people was one of the most important issues to the community overall, with 93% rating it 'very important' to them, according to the survey.
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 1, 2022
There were a total of 2,237 GAY TIMES readers surveyed as part of the research, with the majority being aged 13 to 24 years.
The results will be broadcast on Channel 4 News in full on 1 and 2 July to mark 50 years since the UK’s first Pride march.
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