5. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Tackling LGBT Hate Crime

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:12 pm on 23 October 2019.

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Photo of Jane Hutt Jane Hutt Labour 4:12, 23 October 2019

Yes. Well, I'm grateful to Helen Mary Jones for raising that point. Of course, there is an interaction, and I think the fact that hate crime—. This has been brought up today. Intersectionality has been particularly problematic as well. For example, there could be a disabled person who has also experienced hate crime and violence as well, and all of the protected characteristics need to be applicable in terms of recognising hate crime perpetrated on the basis of several protected characteristics.

But we must recognise that last week we did see a rise, a disappointing rise, in hate crime. The statistics published by the Home Office, as Siân Gwenllian said, show a 17 per cent increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales compared to 2017-18, and, of the 3,932 recorded hate crimes across the four Welsh police force areas, 19 per cent were sexual orientation hate crimes and 3 per cent transgender hate crimes, and although hate crimes related to LGBT+ individuals represent roughly 22 per cent of these crimes, this appears to be increasing. We have done a significant amount of work to increase awareness of hate crime and to urge victims to come forward and report, so the increase is likely to be partly due to an improvement in reporting, but these statistics remind us how we need to reflect on what more can be done—and that has to be the outcome of this debate—to ensure no-one is targeted because of their identity. So, the police forces across Wales also have worked hard to ensure they're correctly identifying hateful motivations for crime, and this may be driving some of the apparent increases in recorded hate crime, but we need to remember, as Nick Ramsay said, that behind each statistic is an individual with a story of hostility or trauma. Working with the four Welsh police forces and the hate crime criminal justice board, we have robust systems in place to investigate hate crimes, support victims and ensure perpetrators face justice. But we also have to review the effectiveness of those systems.