LGBTQ+ organisations react to latest hate crime figures - they "don’t tell the full story"
– 2 min read
The latest Home Office statistics reveal a complex picture of hate crime trends across England and Wales, with an overall rise in recorded offences but a reported decline in incidents targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. However, leading advocacy groups warn that the figures may not reflect the true scale of abuse faced by the community.
According to data covering the year ending March 2025, police recorded 115,990 hate crime offences, a 2% increase from the previous year. While race and religion-related crimes saw notable rises - particularly anti-Muslim offences, which surged by nearly 19% - hate crimes based on sexual orientation fell by 2%, and transgender-related offences dropped by 11%.
Despite these declines, LGBTQ+ organisations caution against interpreting the figures as a sign of progress. Stonewall, the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ rights charity, expressed concern over the reliability of the data, noting that the statistics exclude figures from the Metropolitan Police due to changes in reporting systems. This omission is significant, given London’s large LGBTQ+ population.
Simon Blake, CEO of Stonewall, stated: “Unsurprisingly, the Home Office statistics released today show that overall hate crime continues to rise, which is damaging for our neighbourhoods, communities and society. Yet, these numbers don’t tell the full story for the LGBTQ+ community. Trust in the police has also fallen more widely, compounding what we already know - that LGBTQ+ people often don’t report hate crimes.”
Blake also referenced the April Supreme Court ruling, which many fear has emboldened anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, though its impact is not yet reflected in the current statistics.
Galop, another LGBTQ+ anti-abuse charity, echoed these concerns, stating that the apparent decrease in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime “does not reflect the reality” experienced by the community. Galop highlighted that 91% of respondents to the Government’s National LGBT+ Survey did not report their most serious incident of hate crime to the police.
The organisation also called for urgent legislative reform, urging the Government to equalise hate crime laws by making anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes aggravated offences - bringing them in line with race and religion-based hate crimes.
