Thank you, Llywydd. And thank you to my fellow Members, Leanne Wood and Mick Antoniw, for allowing this debate to take place today.

I was inspired to look into the issue of hate crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community across Wales as a result of events in a town in my constituency. The charity GISDA has been supporting vulnerable young people in Arfon over decades, and I remember working with Brian Thirsk and the first group of volunteers, back in the 1980s, when it became apparent that some of the young people in the area needed support. The charity is now an important and well-known part of our communities, and recently it was identified that there was a need to establish a safe meeting place for some young LGBT people in the area. A youth club was created and there was an opportunity for young people from that community to socialise and share experiences, and to do so through the medium of Welsh.

But, unfortunately, some members of the group and the youth club have suffered homophobic prejudice. Indeed, there was an attack on one young person whilst waiting for a bus having attended the club. This was an appalling homophobic attack. Other members of the club suffered verbal attacks too. Now, as a result of that, some of the young people felt that they could no longer attend the club, but agencies were brought together and there were discussions as to what steps needed to be taken to allow the club to continue to meet for the future.