These London boroughs are the worst for homophobic and transphobic hate crimes
Melania Geymonat (right) and her partner Chris Hannigan were beaten on a London bus for refusing to kiss and perform sex acts. (Facebook)
As hate crimes continue to rise in London, data from the Home Office and the Met Police reveals the most dangerous boroughs in the capital to be a minority.
Homophobic and transphobic hate crimes have more than doubled in England and Wales in the last four years. In London, reports of overall hate crimes have increased by a shocking 31 per cent since 2015.
All forms of hate crime are on the rise, but the biggest increase seen in all the published data was for transphobic hate crime, which has increased by 23.8 per cent in London from 227 cases last year to 298 this year. In England and Wales as a whole, it rose by 37 per cent.
Hate crimes based on sexuality reached 2,920 cases this year, up from 2,427 last year. Disability hate crime increased from 423 to 471 in the last year, while racist and religious hate crimes went up by 1,971 cases from 17,450 and 19,421.
Figures for England and Wales as a whole show hate crimes against trans people rose faster than for any other protected group
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced in October that he is investing an additional £500,000 to tackle the growing threat of hate crime in the capital. But it’s clear from the data that some boroughs are more problematic than others.
Westminster and Lambeth worst in London for LGBT+ hate crimes.
Westminster emerged as the worst borough in London for transphobic, homophobic, racist and religious hate crimes. In the past year victims reported 45 transphobic crimes, 296 homophobic crimes, and 1,694 racist or religious crimes.
The borough’s central location and the fact that it is the seventh most densely populated in the city is likely to be a contributing factor in this.
For both transphobic and homophobic hate crimes, Lambeth was the second worst, with 20 and 224 hate crimes reported here respectively.
Camden is among the worst hit for all kinds of hate crimes. This is the same borough where a same-sex couple on a London bus were targeted in a ‘violent homophobic attack’ that shocked the world.
The five worst boroughs for each hate crime are listed below.
Homophobic
5. Hackney – 159
4. Camden – 167
3. Southwark – 203
2. Lambeth – 224
1. Westminster – 296
Transphobic
5. Hammersmith and Fulham – 16
4. Ealing – 16
3. Camden – 18
2. Lambeth – 20
1. Westminster – 45
Racist and religious
5. Lambeth – 793
4. Tower Hamlets – 842
3. Barnet – 851
2. Camden – 906
1. Westminster – 1,694
Disability
5. Southwark – 20
4. Haringey – 21
3. Islington – 25
2. Lambeth – 27
1. Camden – 30
