HOMOPHOBIA and transphobia were behind almost a quarter of hate crimes reported in Sussex over the last year, figures have revealed.

Home Office data shows that police in Sussex recorded 632 hate crimes in the year to March based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

It comes as hate crimes linked to transphobia doubled across England and Wales in the last five years.

Brighton-based charity Allsorts supports young people who identify as LGBTQ+, challenging exclusion and discrimination in their lives.

One support worker for the charity, Ryan, said he has seen the challenges young people who have attended sessions change over time.

He said: “I’ve been with Allsorts for nine years and certainly in the last five years I’d say that there is a leaning towards young people experiencing transphobia, hate incidents, and particularly having challenges around gender identity, whether that’s access to services, finding a community, or just having a safe place to talk to.”

Trans people, in particular, often can feel isolated, be subjected to abuse and discrimination and face personal challenges as they learn to understand their gender identity.

With support from Comic Relief, Allsorts is able to run one-to-one and group support for trans youth across Sussex, as well as providing training for schools, workplaces and families, so they can better support young people.

Allsorts switched to online group sessions as the pandemic hit, with the charity realising that it enabled some young people to attend regularly who would be unable to travel to Brighton to meet in-person.

The charity hopes to explore the potential of continuing online sessions to increase accessibility for the young people they work with across the county.

Support workers, like Ryan, encourage young people who attend to connect with others, with the charity can help facilitate group activities and discussions on different themes and topics.

Ryan said: “What we want them to do is create friendships and communities here, safely and confidently, and build up their resilience so that they can take those connections into their wider communities.”

For Ryan, the importance of services like Allsorts cannot be understated.

“Projects like Allsorts are so important because we’re bridging a gap between services that don’t feel accessible to LGBT+ young people, for lots of different reasons.

“We are the respite away from an education setting that isn’t very accepting, a home that’s tricky, or a friendship that don’t quite get it yet.

“We can be the place for them to shed all that stuff at the door - where they can be everything they aren’t able to be everywhere else and feel safe doing it.”

Homophobia and transphobia made up just over 23 per cent of the 2,696 hate crimes recorded in the region over the last year, close to one in four.

Of the total hate crimes, 552 were linked to homophobia or biphobia - 21 more than the year before.

While 80 hate crimes recorded by Sussex Police were linked to transphobia.

LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall warned that the true scale of hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity could be much higher, as many incidents go unreported.

Director of communications and external affairs Robbie de Santos said the figures should act as a wake-up call.

“From ensuring that LGBTQ+ hate crimes are properly recorded and prosecuted within the criminal justice system, to training police forces to understand LGBTQ+ hate crime and support victims and survivors, it’s vital that we all do more to tackle violence and hate directed at LGBTQ+ people,” he said.

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