Today marks a landmark step for improving access to criminal justice for LGBT+ and disabled victims of hate crime.

Galop welcomes the Government’s action to amend the Crime and Policing Bill to equalise hate crime law, which will later be formalised through a vote. Galop and others have spent many years advocating for this change, which ensures equal protection for all victims and survivors of hate crime.  

Under current legislation, hate crimes against LGBT+ people have a 6-month statutory time limit for cases to be reported, investigated, and presented to the Crown Prosecution Service. Our advocates regularly support LGBT+ victims who couldn’t access the justice they deserved because this restrictive time limit forced their cases to close before investigations could be completed.

We often hear from victims, like Joanne, who are denied access to criminal justice because they did not have enough time to safely report their experiences of hate crime to the police.

For over 8 months, Joanne endured sustained transphobic abuse from her neighbour, including verbal abuse and repeated property damage. Living alone, Joanne felt extremely vulnerable and feared retaliation if she reported the crimes to the police. Instead, she kept detailed logs and evidence while she found a safer place to live. After moving home, Joanne felt able to report the abuse to the police but when doing so, the police told her that no action could be taken as the 6-month statutory time limit had passed.

Extending the statutory time limit for anti-LGBT+ hate crime will give victims and survivors like Joanne more time to report. It will also give the police more time to thoroughly investigate and build cases against perpetrators – improving access to criminal justice for LGBT+ victims and survivors of hate crime.

Galop’s services are seeing consistent rises in LGBT+ victims and survivors seeking support for hate crime, yet our national hate crime helpline is currently unfunded. We know the deep and lasting impact that anti-LGBT+ hate has on our community, and we're pleased that this change in law will finally reflect the severity and impact of these crimes.

Anti-LGBT+ hate crimes should never have been treated differently under the law. This change sends a clear message that anti-LGBT+ hate is just as serious and deserving of justice as crimes motivated by religious or racial hate.

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If you’d like to support Galop’s LGBT+ hate crime helpline and abuse and violence work, you can donate at galop.org.uk/donate

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