Insults, spitting, discrimination and even physical violence… Hate against LGBT+ people remains ” anchored in French society, is alarmed in its annual report published on Tuesday by the association SOS Homophobia, which calls on the government to “ act much more resolutely “.
The report opens with a tribute to Lucas, this 13-year-old boy “ who ended his life in January 2023, after being the victim of LGBTIphobe hatred and school bullying “. A way of remembering that homophobia always kills. And so fortunately the consequences are not always so serious, ” despite the evolution of laws and mentalities, today LGBT people still cannot live freely, as they are “, notes that draws up Joël Deumier, co-president of SOS Homophobia.
A physical attack every two days
Thanks to its listening line and its digital spaces, in 2022, the association collected some 1,500 reports relating to situations of homophobic or transphobic hatred, i.e. a level more or less stable compared to the previous year (5%). Evolution, on the other hand, is worrying “concerning physical attacks, up 28% between 2021 and 2022, or one every two days, underlines the co-president of the association with AFP. They represent 15% of the cases reported in 2022.
In 2022, 1506 testimonies of #LGBTIphobias were received through our listening devices. As violence in the public space resumes with renewed vigor, the #transphobia has been increasing for two years, particularly in trade and administration#ReportLGBTIphobias2023
— SOS homophobia (@SOShomophobia) May 16, 2023
” The LGBTIphobic acts listed in this report are plural, and very often cumulated within the same case, explain the synthesis. Pure and simple rejection of LGBTI people is present in 68% of cases. This rejection can be accompanied by insults (40%), or even threats (15%). People face repeated attacks by their attackers in 22% of cases. Almost one in four cases is therefore related to harassment, which takes place mainly in the neighborhood, family and work. It is the fact of a single man in one out of four cases. »
Violence, which can take the form of tense ambushes via dating apps “, sometimes falls on the victims “ for futile and often non-existent reasons sum up the authors of the report. They cite numerous cases, such as that of a couple of men who were stabbed in the metro, of two women who discovered about twenty spit on their car, of a young man who was beaten up by five assailants or even of another harassed by his neighbor who threw at him: “ you are of a race that does not deserve to live “.
Transphobia
Many testimonies report discrimination, for example concerning real estate agencies, “ who refuse to rent or sell to couples or families »LGBT+. A gay couple was unable to rent a room in a Parisian hotel on the grounds that “ it is not possible, two men in a room with a large bed “. Similarly, a non-binary person was denied entry to a public library and a transgender octogenarian was denied entry to a hearing aid shop.
Online hatred remains the privileged place of violence affecting LGBT+ people, with 17% of the cases recorded. They are on the increase in public places and the report draws attention to the cases of violence in schools which are not decreasing.
The report warns this year particularly about violence targeting trans people, whose testimonies have doubled compared to last year. “ We are witnessing a wave of transphobiapoints out the association in its editorial, carried by many anti-trans movements, and even in the spheres of the State “. After a 13% increase in 2021, transphobic acts have increased by another 26% in 2022, a form of rejection “ trivialized » and maintained by schools which « often refuse any administrative modification of the gender of transgender students, denounces the report.
National campaign
To stop these acts of hatred, the government must launch a “ national awareness campaign “, claims SOS Homophobia, for which it would also be necessary” strengthen the means of investigation and better train the police, who still too often refuse to take victims’ complaints into account.
(And with AFP)