Research on Homophobia - Filling in the Blanks

Filling in the Blanks                                       GALOP
LGBT Hate Crime in
London


Deborah Gold – Chief Executive
Peter Kelley - Researcher
  ·        Two year project – looking at what we can learn about incidents reported to the LGBT voluntary sector·        Part funded by MPS and MPA·        Statistics collected by GALOP, Stonewall Housing and London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard, and where possible compared with MPS data·        Mapping exercise of reporting options across the city.  Mapping exercise          Surveyed local police and authorities in every London borough, as well as voluntary sector organisations, youth groups and others.         Asked about the range of reporting (including third party reporting) options available.         Reviewed London-wide schemes and relevant literature Partnership phase          Worked with Stonewall Housing and LLGS, and developed their capacity to collect detailed data on LGBT hate incidents.         Compiled a large dataset of incidents (700), many of which never reported to the police.         Developed common monitoring and data sharing processes.   Statistics          Analysed dataset of over 700 cases          Where possible, compared dataset with data from the MPS.         Considered patterns in information about victims, incidents, perpetrators and outcomes. Mapping exercise          A significant amount of otherwise unreported homophobic and transphobic hate crime is informally ‘told to’, or formally reported to agencies and organisations across London         Most of this information is lost as it is not recorded         Even when recorded there is no system for sharing the information between organisations of with the police          This leads to an inhibited understanding of homophobia and transphobia         Some good practice in individual boroughs and VCOs, however dealing with challenges:        Lack of consistency or standardisation of third party reporting (3PR) – no minimum standards        No evidence base identifying what makes an effective hate crime initiative         No overall strategy on increasing reporting and providing 3RP options in London         Proliferation of initiatives based within a single borough – uneven and inconsistent approach. Many schemes ineffective:        Inherent problems in borough specific approach        Inconsistent involvement of MPS or LGBT Liaison Officers locally        Little sustainability for schemes – lack of long-term funding commitment          No effective evaluation of delivery and performance of 3PR services - questions about effectiveness of True Vision         Victims’ organisations expressed difficulties in contacting the police.        Unrealistic funding – not including training and relying on volunteers and under-resourced VCOs to deliver services         Emphasis in numbers not outcomes Partnership          Provided further evidence of the under-reporting of LGBT hate crime         Relatively small changes can improve data collection and dissemination         It takes considerable time, effort and resources to enable and sustain a project such as this one Statistical analysis          Different experiences for different sections of the LGBT communities – needing different approaches         Different types of incidents reported to LGBT organisations than the police        Gay and bisexual men most likely to report hate incidents        Higher proportion of men reported violence        Higher proportion of women report sexual assault        Higher proportion of men trans people reported verbal  and repeat harassment        Young and older people less likely to report an incident        BME victims appear more likely to be a victim in or near the home        Significant proportions of victims had a disability or health problem, particularly mental health issues        Victims equally likely to report incidents in or near home        Particular underreporting of incidents in schools and PSEs        Higher proportion of victims contact LGBT VCOs about domestic abuse or ongoing harassment, compared to MPS        Higher proportion of victims contact LGBT VCOs about domestic abuse or ongoing harassment, compared to MPS        Perpetrators most likely to be young men        Around half of callers didn’t report to the police because of lack of confidence in police, or because they feared the consequences        Many people made contact as dissatisfied with the police – for a range of reasons           Recommendations          A more strategic approach        Pan-London focus        Focus on ensuring positive outcomes        Minimum, standards guidelines for 3PR schemes         Evaluate what works        Including which models are proved, True Vision, and what type of advertising leads to increased reporting.         Increase effectiveness of 3PR schemes        More consistent role for the MPS        Minimum standards on responses        Single point of contact at MPS for inaccurate or out of date information         systems for central dissemination of statistics         Improved funding for:        Pan-London reporting        Training, support, collation and dissemination of informationPartnership         Central Government, London Government and London CJS partners:        Take account of non-police reports when reporting on homophobic/transphobic hate crime        Provide GALOP and others with funding to build and maintain ongoing database of non-police reports        Work with GALOP and others to standardise collection and reporting methods Statistics         Further work on how to target and reach different groups         Explicit agreement between 3PR services and MPS on expected response to a report of verbal abuse         Establish a system for hotspot mapping based on LGBT and MPS data         Target interventions at public transport hubs and PSEs, in partnership with            VCOs         Work with the LGBT sector to develop interventions to target perpetrators, focusing ion home, local neighbourhoods and schools         Ensure 3PR schemes are funded to provide comprehensive assistance, not just reporting         Research why satisfaction levels with MPS are low, and take remedial action What next?  Launch and dissemination          Full report due to be published imminently         Conference on 31st March at the Emirates Stadium (supported by the CPS) to launch.         Contact GALOP for more information.