Hate crimes against transgender people double as race attacks show drop

HATE crime incidents against transgender people in Scotland have doubled in the last five years while attacks linked to a victim’s race have fallen over the same period.

New statistics from the Scottish Government have revealed that between 2014-15 and 2019-20, hate crimes against the transgender community increased from 48 to 96 and there was a 30 per cent rise in crimes where sexual orientation was the aggravating factor – with 1,314 incidents recorded last year compared to 1,010 in 2014-15.

The figures show that racially aggravated hate crimes fell by 20% over the same period – dropping from 4,967 to 3,969.

Race-related incidents accounted for more than three-fifths (62%) of the 6,448 recorded hate crimes in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, 20% of incidents were linked to sexual orientation – with the report stating the “vast majority” of these involved the perpetrator showing “prejudice towards the gay and lesbian community”.

A further 8% of hate crimes were linked to religion while 4% were related to disability. Transgender identity was seen as the aggravating factor for 1% of hate crimes and in 5% there were multiple aggravators.

Just over half of hate crimes recorded last year were incidences of “threatening and abusive behaviour”, with this making up 51% of such attacks, however 12 were classed under “common assault”.

The report looked in-depth at reported hate crimes in the past two years, showing that in 2018-19 around a third of crimes involved a victim who experienced the incident at work.

There were also 1,080 recorded hate crimes in 2018-19 where the victim was a police officer.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, of Police Scotland, said:

“Targeting anyone because of a disability, their race, religion, sexuality or transgender identity – or a perception of these characteristics – is despicable.”

He added that hate crime was an “under-reported offence”, which could see victims “targeted on numerous occasions before they report to our officers”.

The police officer said: “We encourage anyone who has been a victim – or who has witnessed a hate crime – to come forward and report it. We take every report seriously and will carry out a robust investigation on every occasion.”

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the report “provides more detail of how hate crime affects our communities and is a timely reminder that crime motivated by hate is an all too common occurrence, with real-life impacts on victims and those around them”.

He added: “The fact that visible minority ethnic groups, which represent 4% of the population, experience two-thirds of all racerelated hate crimes, shows we have much more to do to overcome prejudice, while the findings also highlight the need for more to be done to ensure workplaces are an environment free from hatred and from fear.”