The Reporting Trend and Victimisation of Lesbian, Gay men, Bisexuals and Transgender.

“I do not feel that the police take homophobic hate crimes seriously (even though I work for them). Police forces now go through a paper exercise to prove they take hate crime seriously without asking members of the gay community or even gay members of staff for feedback. People who try to report homophobic crimes are generally treated as a joke” (Philip, 28, Wales; Dick.,2008 p.2).

Hate crime is a relatively new topic for Criminologist and the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Although literature exists to address the problem, there still remain a gap in research, policy and practices (Iganski 2008; Chakroboti 2010).

Hate crimes towards, members of lesbian, gay men, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are unacceptable in a civilised society and criminologist and the CJS must continue their attempt to tackle the problem. Homophobic and Transphobic crimes are serious issue in the United Kingdom and this was highlighted in several high profile cases including the homophobic murder of five gay men in 1993 (Muir 2007).

In a review conducted by the Independent Lesbian, Gay men, Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Group, it was found the police investigation was blighted by police prejudices, lack of knowledge about sexuality and institutionalised homophobia.

One of the most influential studies conducted in the UK by Mason and Palmer (1996) saw a national survey distributed, to understand the prevalence of hate crimes amongst the 4,216 lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) respondents. Thirty-four per cent of males and 25% of female reported an experience of violence at least once in their life. Furthermore, 9% had been raped and 32% harassed. The results indicate the severity of crimes perpetrated against the LGB community. The report also revealed that young people were most vulnerable because 48% of 18 year olds reported experiencing homophobic violence oppose to 32% of the overall sample.

An analysis of homophobic violence and harassment were conducted in Northern Ireland. According to Jarman and Tennant (2003) homophobic violence is also a serious issue in Northern Ireland. The survey of 186 gay men and lesbian found 71% of participants had been verbally abused and 55% had been attacked violently. Homophobic violence is not only prevalent in England but it seems to be a national and international phenomenon.

The official statistic in the USA suggest hate crime incidents are relatively low. However, Herek et al (1997) conducted a study using questionnaire data of 147 respondents in California to ascertain the extent of gay men and lesbian victimisation. The results revealed 41% of lesbian and gay men had suffered victimisation because of their sexual orientation.

In a subsequent study by Herek et al (1999) in Sacramento, in which data was collated on hate crime victimisation of 2,259 LGB and heterosexual respondents which was compared. The findings indicated that 19% of lesbian and 28% of gay men were more likely to be victims at least once their life time because of their sexuality. Thirteen per cent also stated they were sexually and physically assaulted; as a consequence, their fear of crime was higher than heterosexuals. The Sacramento study also found lesbian were less likely to be victimised than gay men. However, 3% of lesbians reported being sexually assaulted and 7% physically assaulted.

The incidents are serious and Herek et al (1999) advocated the recognition of hate crime in more public policies in the USA to reflect the severity of the problem. Studies from the UK and other countries indicate hate crime is a serious issue for the LGBT populace. However, may incidents go unreported and this correlates with the victim’s perception of the police services, ability to adequately deal with incidents. They may believe the police service treats homophobic and transphobic crimes different.

The reporting trend of the LGB community are relatively low compared to the level of victimisation reported. Hunt and Dick (2008) surveyed 1,658 respondents across Britain to ascertain whether sexuality affected how the LGB community were treated by public agency such as the police service. They reported one in five LGB respondents expected to be treated more unfairly than heterosexual, when reporting a crime to the police. In addition, more than half stated, if they were suspected of a crime they expected to be subjected to a much harsher treatment (Hunt and Dick, 2008).

Dick (2008) surveyed 1,700 LGB victims in the UK to understand hate crime in relation to the Criminal Justice System (CJS). The findings suggested only a quarter of respondent reported homophobic incidents to the police, and seven out of ten victims did not disclose they were victims of a crime to anyone. Furthermore, the study found one out of five victims expected to be discriminated against by the police services when reporting an incident.

As a result, a substantial amount of transphobic and homophobic crimes goes unreported despite improvements in monitoring and recording of hate crimes (Reiner,2000). The report identified the limited amount of updated research and evidence available to highlight the key factor, there still remain a soaring dark figure of crime against the LGBT community (Dick, 2008).

The accountability of policing in Northern Ireland were investigated (Radford et al, 2006). The method employed was an interview, a focus group and participant observation of 233 LGB victims. The result showed 60% of the respondent reported an incident to the police, however 40% thought the police officers were offensive and disrespectful. The behaviour of the officers could explain why LGB crimes are underreported.

The Victimisation and Reporting trend of the Transgender Group.

Studies from the UK and other countries indicate hate crime is a significant issue for the transgender community. Lombardi et al (2001) analysis of Trans experience of violence and discrimination found half of the 402 sample in Los Angeles reported being harassed at some point in their life. The report clearly indicates that the trans community in the USA experience high level of victimisation.

Kenagy (2005) conducted an assessment of 182 transgender respondents in Philadelphia to identify any barriers Tran’s people may encounter when accessing public services. The report found Tran’s people endured high levels of violence and aggressive behaviour towards them, half the respondents reported being victimised at home and sexually assaulted. The study highlights not only are Tran’s community victimised in the public sphere the are also vulnerable to attacks in the private sphere.

Morton Surveyed 71 Trans people in Scotland to determine the extent of harassment of the trans populaces. The study found 62% of the Trans respondent had experienced harassment in a public place. These incidents include threatening behaviour which was reported by 40% of the overall respondents. Furthermore, 17% stated they were physically assaulted and 4% sexually assaulted. However, majority of these crimes go unreported. 

These data are significant but official statistic does not appear to reflect this. The Home Office 2010/11 recorded 315, (1%) of overall hate crime against transgender compared to 4,252 (10%) that were against LGB in England and Wales.

The police service appears to treat transphobic crimes differently and this may explain the low reporting levels. According to Keogh et al (2006) police officers are less knowledgeable and confident in dealing with the Tran’s population; oppose to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community.

Victims were reluctant to report crimes to the police service because they fear they would be discriminated against. This premise was supported by Lombardi et al (2001) who conducted a study of 402 Tran’s victim in the USA. Similarly, Morton (2008) analysis of 71 Tran’s respondents found 62% were victimised but only 15.5% reported it to the police. This suggests the fear of being discriminated against by law enforcement agencies influences reporting level. It should be noted five out of eleven victims who reported the incidents to a police officer thought they were treated legitimately.

In contrast 18.5% of respondent who had contacted the police felt they were treated with bias in a mix method study of 873 Tran’s respondent (Whitte et al, 2007). Previous research indicates the police services have not gain any legitimacy in dealing with the LGBT community. Keogh and colleagues (2006) recommended more research to be conducted to understand the relationship between the police, the Tran’s community and the Criminal Justice System.

Author : Keithia Grant

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