Homophobic hate crimes in London have increased by more than 122 per cent in less than a decade
This equals to around 55 hate crimes each week
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Homophobic hate crimes in London have increased by more than 122 per cent in less than a decade – equalling to almost 55 crimes per week.
According to new statistics from City Hall – obtained by the Evening Standard – around 2,835 homophobic incidents were reported to the Metropolitan Police in the past 12 months, compared to 2,307 in 2018.
Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey – who is set to challenge Sadiq Khan this May – called for a new offence of LGBTQ aggravated hate crime.
He said: “Too many Londoners feel unsafe on our streets.
“As someone who has experienced racial hate both on the streets and online, I stand in total solidarity with the LGBTQ community, many of whom suffer horrible and unacceptable abuse.
“Not a single Londoner should feel unsafe for being themselves – that message must reach out to London and it must come from City Hall.”
Last year, Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend, Chris, were brutally attacked on a London bus after they refused to kiss each other.
Another attack involved two women who hurled homophobic abuse towards a couple after they kissed near a bus stop.
One of the women is heard shouting that the couple should kiss ‘behind close doors’ before angrily demanding they stop as she doesn’t want her son to see it.
A Muslim woman was sentenced after she was filmed hurling homophobic abuse during Waltham Forest Pride.
Jamila Choudhury, from Walthamstow, was recorded shouting ‘shame of you’ at people as they marched through the London borough back in July.
In the video, she was heard shouting: “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
“Shame on you, shame on all of you. Shame on you, you despicable people. Shame on you, you shameless people.”