Why Me?

Research into the experiences of those who have experienced hate crime in order to understand the kind of support services that they actually need.

Report by
Scottish Alliance of Regional Equality Councils

March 2017

The Scottish LGBTI Hate Crime Report is Scotland’s most comprehensive study of hate crime against LGBTI people. Based on a detailed survey of 1,445 people in Scotland, the report reveals some very important statistics. The annual report was produced by the Equality Network with the help of Scottish Trans Alliance. 

The new research explores the proportion of LGBTI people who have experienced or witnessed hate incidents or crimes relating to sexual orientation, transgender status, and intersex status in Scotland, and the nature of those incidents and crimes. The research was carried out through an online survey which was open to all people, as anyone can be a target of or witness to a crime motivated by prejudice against LGBTI people (for example, a heterosexual person may be targeted because they are perceived to be gay).

However, because LGBTI people are more likely to experience such hate crime, the survey, and therefore the findings of this report, focus primarily on the experiences of LGBTI people. The report also explores what proportion of LGBTI hate incidents are reported to the police, why people do not report, and people’s experiences of the criminal justice system after they report. It also examines LGBTI people’s views on the current legislation.

Key findings of the research include:

Prevalence of hate crime

• 65% of lesbian respondents had been a target of a hate crime at
some point in their lives.

• 66% of gay male respondents had been a target of a hate crime.

• 53% of bisexual respondents had been a target of a hate crime.

• 80% of trans respondents had been a target of a hate crime.

• 77% of the relatively small number of intersex respondents had
been a target of a hate crime.

• 90% of respondents who had been a target of hate crime
experienced it two or more times, and nearly a third (30%)
experienced hate crime more than ten times.

For more information go contact Hannah Pearson, Policy Coordinator at the Equality Network hannah@equality-network.org or visit http://www.equality-network.org/

this is a test to determine

This report presents findings from the 2017 Sectarianism on Social Media survey on the use of sectarian language on social media. Social media is a space where sectarianism is often seen but not necessarily monitored or reported. This research fills this gap and is the first survey to explore in detail people’s perceptions on sectarianism online and especially on social media. The research was carried out by YouthLink Scotland in partnership with ScotCen Social Research.

test 2