Fighting hate and improving public life for LGBT+ people

Conference notes that:

I. While hate crime in general fell across the UK from 2022 to 2023, there was an 11% increase in anti-transgender hate crime, which has been attributed by the Government in a November 2023 report to “Transgender issues [being] heavily discussed by politicians, the media and on social media”.

II. Government data suggests that hate crime in general is higher in London than the rest of the country, but varies widely by London borough. Researchers at the University of Sussex attributed this, in a 2018 report, to inconsistencies with police recording and a lack of structured support for hate crime victims. According to domestic anti-hate campaigners and international observers, hate crime remains under-reported in London and across the UK.

III. Anti-hate campaigners and international observers, including ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), the Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), and the United Nations, have noted a degrading environment for LGBT+ people in the UK, particularly in the realm of public debate and public attacks.

IV. Senior political figures, including government ministers, have regularly met with anti-LGBT+ lobbyists, which may have informed their multiple U-turns on the proposed “conversion therapy” ban, according to analysts at Open Democracy.

V. According to data collected by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), LGBT+ people in Britain experience a heightened risk of homelessness.

VI. The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) has recommended that reporting by the police includes intersectional characteristics of hate crime, such as hate crimes targeted at people with multiple protected characteristics. However, the Metropolitan Police has not yet followed this recommendation.

Conference calls for the Mayor of London to:

1. Improve Met Police reporting by mandating that they include data on crimes against people with multiple protected characteristics, as recommended by the CPS.

2. Mandate that all crimes potentially motivated by the real or perceived sex or gender of the victim are recorded as such by the Met Police, and considered as potential hate crimes.

3. Work with human rights organisations in London, to fund and support an official and independent hate crime reporting system via web and mobile applications, to improve reporting rates, and to allow London residents to quickly and anonymously record hate incidents.

4. Encourage local government to improve community engagement with the aim of reducing hate crime in civic spaces, providing earmarked funding for schemes evidenced as furthering this aim, such as: raising awareness in schools about people targeted with hate in their local area; encouraging businesses serving the public such as pubs, restaurants, and hotels to adopt public safety schemes such as “Ask for Clive”; and a scheme encouraging the participation of marginalised people in sport.

5. Support local government with targeted funding for infrastructure projects that provide private and secure spaces in publicly owned facilities for people likely to be targeted by hate crime in London, such as new and improved prayer rooms, inclusive bathrooms and changing rooms, facilities for ritual washing, improved facilities for the homeless, and any other such initiative which is likely to result in improved safety and experiences for marginalised peoples.