Officer blog: Transphobia in the media & the rise in hate crimes
#TransAwarenessWeek
Verbal transphobia in the media has a massive impact on physical transphobia. In particular, pinning trans women as predators is something transphobes have done for a long time, using their platforms to legitimise their stance. When credible news sources release articles like this, it fuels transphobic rhetoric and increases the risk of hate crimes and violent attacks against trans people.
There were 598 reports of transphobic hate in 2014-15 and 2588 in 2020-21, a rise of 332%. Among them were Liverpool’s Merseyside Police, which has been battling a wave of homophobic attacks in the city this year. Back in 2014-2015, hate crime reports numbered were 64; in 2020-21 this figure soared to 834.
This rise in hate crimes has been accompanied by a sharp uptick in the demand for the services of Victim Support, an independent charity which provides specialist, confidential help for victims of crime in England and Wales. Victim Support says overall requests for help have jumped by almost 11% in the past 12 months, with calls relating to transphobic attacks surging by a shocking 45%. Leni Morris, the chief executive of Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity stated, “What we do know for sure, from the UK government’s own figures, is that 90% of hate crimes against LGBT+ people go unreported, so these figures only represent a tiny part of the overall amount of abuse and violence faced by the LGBT+ community in the UK today.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign “more trans people have been killed [in the USA] so far in 2021 than were killed in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019”. It’s suspected that this number is bigger as many trans deaths go unrecorded and most go unreported in the media, making it harder to raise awareness of the 'fatal epidemic of violence against the trans community.'
It is the reasons discussed in this short blog that demonstrate just how important Trans Day of Remembrance is, for it allows us to stand in solidarity and offer respect to those we have lost due to anti-transgender hatred and violence. Educating ourselves and showing solidarity is just one of the many things we can do.
Remember, JMSU is a registered Hate Crime Reporting Service and we also have an independent advice service.
Email reporthate@ljmu.ac.uk will then arrange an appointment with you. We will listen to your experience, provide advice and information on what your options are and fully support you through the process.
Other local support services
Pride Counseling pridecounseling.com
Anthony Walker Foundation email: support@anthonywalkerfoundation.com
Citizens Advice Liverpool 0151 522 1400
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/us-trans-transgender-deaths-2021
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57853385.amp
