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Gay news: Only 15% of victims report incidents to the police
Homophobia is under-reported
One-third of gays and lesbians in Scotland have been physically attacked
More than a third of LGBT people in Scotland say they have been physically attacked, but only 15% of victims report incidents to the police, according to a new survey
The Stonewall Scotland research of 300 LGBT people also revealed that 66% had been verbally attacked and 53% did not feel safe in their neighbourhoods.
The full findings will be published in the coming weeks but the preliminary results were released yesterday to coincide with a campaign backed by Edinburgh city council and the Community Safety Partnership using the slogan 'Some People are Gay. Get over it'.
Stonewall Scotland director Carl Watt said: "There are too many homophobic and transphobic hate crime attacks across Scotland. These incidents range from extreme verbal assaults all the way through to violent attacks.
"By running this campaign, the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership is sending a strong message that these crimes will not be tolerated."
The survey cited incidents of people being punched, threatened with knives and having bottles thrown at them, along with verbal attacks including name-calling, jeering and homophobic insults.
Of the low rate of contact with the police, Watt said: "There are many reasons why the LGBT community do not report crimes to the police.
"People told us that they were unsure about how the police would react, that they were worried about being forced to come out and, even more worryingly, many people have become used to experiencing this form of abuse day in, day out.
"We hope this campaign will encourage LGBT victims of hate crimes to come forward, and that those people who think this form of crime is acceptable will think twice."
