A new study by London TravelWatch in collaboration with Galop, the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity, found one in five LGBTQ+ people surveyed had been subjected to hate crime on public transport in London in the past 12 months. 66% of those surveyed had faced at least one form of victimisation. This is saddening news and reflects how far we still have to go as a society, until everyone feels safe in our public spaces. Over 68% of those surveyed reported that anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in society made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe when travelling on public transport.
An intersectional aspect was also illustrated by this research. Those holding multiple protected characteristics and identities often experienced the compounded impact of anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice with other factors including racism, ableism, ageism, and misogyny.
An especially distressing detail is that two-thirds of those experiencing abuse or harm reported that they were offered no help or intervention from fellow passengers. A core message from the report was the need for more bystander intervention. Bystanders are witnesses of an incident who do not get involved. Giving people better tools, messaging, and guidance is highlighted in the report as a key tool to support witnesses to become active bystanders. Training is a useful way to give these tools to people and we strongly recommend organisations offer such opportunities (for example, see our Speak Up Speak Out course, here). Allyship from the non-LGBTQ+ community is essential to this.
This has resulted in 82% of respondents reporting that they change their appearance or behaviour to avoid abuse or harassment. For trans respondents, this figure was even higher at 91%, and 92% for cis-lesbian/bisexual+* women. ‘Some LGBTQ+ respondents described how the issues they have faced – including men’s use of sexual harassment or sexual abuse directed at them – or their hypervigilance relate to being a woman or having a “femme” gender expression.’ Here an intersection with pervasive misogyny is illustrated, as some respondents highlighted that they felt parts of the abuse they faced, specifically sexual abuse and harassment, related to them being a woman or having a more “femme” gender expression. Everyone should feel safe to be themselves in public spaces, regardless of their identity or gender expression.
The study found that most respondents experiencing this victimisation did not report their experience to formal support services such as the police. 50% of this group said this decision was because they did not feel that police would take them seriously.
The recommendations of the report include conducting staff training regularly, designed with LGBTQ+ people and organisations, and working with those with lived experience throughout all work that is done on this issue.
As an organisation that puts lived experience at its core, the Diversity Trust echo these calls and thank London TravelWatch and Galop for conducting such important research. These results illustrate the critical need for such research to continually be carried out across the entirety of the UK. Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected in our society. To hear more on the lived experience of individuals facing discrimination and hate crime in public settings, listen to our recent podcast episode on hate crime, here.
Reports like this offer us a collective moment of reflection. Despite how far we’ve come, we still have a long way to go as a society. We encourage everyone, individuals and organisations, to think about what commitments they will make to move us towards the future we want. Whether it’s increasing support for LGBTQ+ staff, family, and friends, or taking on allyship and bystander training in your organisation, we all have a role to play in this.
*Includes: cis lesbian women, cis bi women, cis queer women, cis asexual women, and cis pansexual women. Full explanations of terminology used can be found on page 35 of the report.
Sources:
https://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Out-in-London-report.pdf
- (Paragraph 1, page 5; Paragraph 2, page 5; Paragraph 3,page 7 and 24 ; Paragraph 4, page 6 and 19; paragraph 5, page 7; Paragraph 7, page 8)
Reported elsewhere including: