Yesterday, on the occasion of the celebration of LGTBI Pride Day, the group wanted to claim their rights and, at the same time, denounce the multiple acts of hatred and discrimination that, unfortunately, are still the subject of today. In Catalonia, for example, during the first semester of this 2023, a total of 133 people have reported to the Mossos d’Esquadra that they have suffered some kind of LGBTI-phobic attack or discrimination, a fact that is more than double the number registered the same period in 2022 (54) and an increase of 146%. There is more data. According to figures from a survey published in May by the LGTBI State Federation, more than 280,000 LGTBI people (almost one in ten) have suffered physical or sexual aggression in the last five years.
In addition to an increase from 54 to 133 victims who have reported LGTBIphobia in Catalonia, there has also been an increase in complaints about this fact during this period, according to the data that the Catalan police made public yesterday: 70 this first quarter for 47 in the first quarter of 2022, which represents an increase of 70%. This increase, according to the Mossos, does not respond, at least in large part, to the existence of a greater hatred towards this group, but to two factors that have converged over time. On the one hand, the collaborative work between the police, LGBTI organizations and the Administration (prosecutors specializing in hate crimes, among others); and on the other, the growing hate speech coming from the extreme right.
“The work we’ve been carrying out for more than ten years with the entities and the dissemination of a message that emphasizes reporting so that assaults do not go unpunished has caused the number to increase,” explains Joan Miquel to La Vanguardia Martínez, corporal and head of the hate crimes and discrimination office of the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Martínez explains that the organizations have contributed to the people of the collective knowing their rights better, an aspect that has “empowered” them. At the same time, he says, “the fear of going to the police station to report has also been overcome”.
However, there is another factor, in his judgment, that has influenced the increase in complaints, and it is none other than “the increase in hate speech through social networks, some media and even some far-right political parties”.
According to police statistics, the most common crimes during this period were assaults, threats and coercion, and in most cases, the victim and perpetrator did not know each other. As a general rule, approximately 80% of cases of LGTBIphobia result in verbal and psychological violence, while the remaining 20% ??correspond to physical violence. Most attacks are perpetrated by men.
