Westminster and Vauxhall, two of London’s main LGBT areas have been revealed as having the most homophobic hate crimes reported.
Westminster has been revealed as having the most homophobic hate crimes reported followed by Vauxhall, both locations are known to home the majority of London’s LGBTI spaces. Crimes in Westminster have soared 23% while in Lambeth, which homes Vauxhall’s gay scene, anti-gay crimes have risen 25%.
When Hackney, which homes another important LGBTI centre (Shoreditch) is included in the number of crimes reported up to July 2015 rises to 406 – over 1 crime per day.
Overall, homophobic crime has risen, year on year, 29.3% in the capital. However, this may be a result of more reports of crimes. Of course, these figures do not reflect the true scale of the problem – as many crimes against LGBTI’s go unreported. Research from University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies reveals that 88 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people had experienced some form of hate incident and that over 35,000 of these crimes go unreported across the UK.
Shockingly some boroughs have seen increases of up to 217% (Bromley) and 185% in Croydon. Almost every borough has seen an increase of anti-gay crimes.
A total of 1667 homophobic hate crimes were reported in the 12 months to July 2015, up from 1289 in the 12 months to July 2014. The figure rounds down to almost 5 homophobic hate crimes a day in the UK’s capital.
Crime in London had risen overall by 3.5%.
