LGBT Hate Crime Project: Number of people seeking help for hate crimes more than doubles

Number of people seeking help for hate crimes more than doubles

There’s been an increase in the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people reporting hate crimes across England and Wales in recent months, according to the National LGBT Hate Crime Partnership.

In the last three months, Galop, a specialist LGBT anti-violence charity, says the number of people seeking help has more than doubled. Other LGBT groups across the country have also reported a large increase in those reporting experiences of hate crimes.

The news comes as the Partnership launches the second phase of its campaign during the national Hate Crime Awareness Week (10-17 October). The campaign, funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, aims to raise awareness of the LGBT hate crime and encourage people to ‘Talk, Report and Get Support’.

The increase has been welcomed by charity leaders as a sign that people are increasingly willing to come forward.

The Partnership is a network of 35 organisations across the country that work to empower LGBT people to stand up against hate crime through education and training as well as establishing local partnerships. It is also carrying out over 400 anti-hate crime training sessions, forming 230 inter-agency cooperative relationships to tackle hate crime and creating over 30 information resources.

Nik Noone, Chief Executive of Galop, put the increase into context saying:

“We’ve seen the number of people getting in touch with our hate crime advocacy service more than double in recent months. Though one person facing hate crime is one too many, we see this rise in people getting in touch as a cause for optimism and are proud of our part in helping empower people to speak up about their experiences and access assistance.”

Paul Roberts, Chief Executive of the LGBT Consortium, confirms the trend:

“From what our members are telling us, it seems that this picture is being mirrored across other parts of the UK. The message is getting out that LGBT people don’t have to put up with being targeted. We know, however, that service provision is patchy across the UK and so not everyone can access the help they need, particularly in rural communities.”

“It’s important that these crimes are reported so that the police have a clear picture and can tackle the issue. There are a number of ways in which people can do that anonymously, if they don’t feel able to approach the police directly, for whatever reason.”

Evelyn Asante–Mensah, Equality and Human Rights Commissioner, said:

“We know that there are thousands of unreported hate crimes committed against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity every year. Whilst it is encouraging to hear more people are coming forward for help, all LGBT people experiencing hate crime should feel empowered to report it.”

Services offering assistance with anti-LGBT hate crime can be found at www.lgbthatecrime.org.uk

Call for Papers: EuroBiReCon Amsterdam July 2016

Bisexuality and (Inter)National Research Frontiers

First European Bisexual Research Conference (EuroBiReCon)EuroBiReCon is a conference for anyone with an interest in contributing to, or finding out about, current work on bisexuality. The conference aims to bring together academics, professionals, activists, and bisexual communities. It builds on BiReCons held in the UK every two years organised by BiUK (www.biuk.org) – see the BiUK website for information about past BiReCons. This year it will take place on Thursday 28 July 2016 at the University of Amsterdam, which will be followed by a three day community organised event (EuroBiCon).

We proudly announce that Prof. Surya Monro (University of Huddersfield) will be the keynote speaker at the EuroBiReCon. She has written multiple books on sexual diversity including Gender politics: Activism, citizenship and sexual diversity (2005) and Sexuality, Equality and Diversity (2012 with Diana Richardson). Her book Bisexuality: Identities, Politics, and Theories is due to be published in 2015.

We welcome papers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including social sciences, health sciences, arts and humanities, therapeutic practitioners, activists and others. We encourage contributions from postgraduate students, early career academics and more senior academics from Europe and beyond.

We invite papers and workshop sessions that include but are not limited to the following:

• Bisexuality, wellbeing and health (including mental health and sexual health).
• The implications of bisexual identities and labels.
• Bisexuality, space and communities.
• Bisexual people’s access to, and experiences of,health and other services.
• Inclusion and erasure of bisexual people in politics and activism.
• Representations of bisexuality in media, culture, and literature.
• Intersections with other aspects of experience such as physical disability, age, race/ethnicity, nationality, gender (both trans- and cis-gender), sexual practices, religion, education and social class.
• Bisexuality and relationship styles (e.g. monogamies, polyamory, swinging, open couples and non-monogamies).
• The role of technologies in bisexuality and forming bisexual spaces and communities
• Methods for researching bisexuality
• Public engagement in bisexuality research.

During the day there will be opportunities to:

• Find out about issues affecting bisexual people
• Hear from experts about cutting-edge research on bisexuality
• Discuss ways in which organisations can better work with, and for, bisexual people, drawing on good practice
• Take part in workshops on specific issues

If you would like to present at EuroBiReCon, please provide a 250 word abstract and a brief biography (max. 100 words), by 26^th February 2016 to Emiel Maliepaard (e.maliepaard1@gmail.com) and Dr Caroline Walters (carolinejwalters@gmail.com).

If you are interested in facilitating a workshop, roundtable, or panel discussion at BiReCon, which can include data gathering for current projects or research, then please email Emiel Maliepaard (e.maliepaard1@gmail.com) and Dr Caroline Walters (carolinejwalters@gmail.com) with a brief description of your proposed session by 22 January 2016.

Language: For logistical reasons, the conference’s common language will be English, and abstracts must be submitted in English. If you wish, you can send us your abstract in another language, provided that you also submit it in English. It is highly recommended that presentations during the conference are in English. However, we are exploring possibilities to use translators to provide space to people who would like to present in their mother tongue.

Funding: EuroBiCon and EuroBiReCon are community organisations so unfortunately there are no funds for presenters or travel expenses. However, EuroBiReCon will provide an excellent opportunity to network with others working in the field, to share good practice, and there will be spaces available to conduct research which fits within the ethos of the event.

Bisexual Asylum Seekers

Please do adapt this letter and send it on to your local MPs.

16 May 2015

Dear Mrs May,

Bisexual asylum seekers

As Trustees and members of Bi UK, a charity that supports research and activism regarding bisexuality, we were extremely concerned to hear of the case of Orashia Edwards.  It seems that this individual has been informed by immigration officials that he ought to pretend to be gay, and that he cannot apply for asylum as a bisexual. Orashia is at risk of persecution as a man who has same-sex relations, and it appears that this risk is not being taken seriously.

Since we became aware of this case, other bisexual asylum seekers have confirmed that they have been advised by Home Office officials as well as LGBT group advisers, to conceal the fact that they are bisexual and to pretend to be gay or lesbian, in order to have a chance of gaining asylum. At BiCon (the annual bisexual conference) in 2014, concern and outrage was expressed by 300 delegates at the AGM about the ways in which bisexual people are being discriminated against in the asylum process. Bisexual people who are fleeing persecution are not at any less risk than gays and lesbians.

We request that you confirm the following:

a) That there is no policy to exclude bisexuals from asylum on grounds of sexuality

b) That the government recognises that bisexuals can be just as subject to homophobia and persecution as homosexuals are, regardless of whether they have (or have not) engaged in heterosexual relationships in the past

c) That Home Office officials and others dealing with asylum seekers will be advised that bisexual people should have their sexuality treated with due respect, not assumed to be ‘really’ heterosexual, homosexual or lying about their sexuality

d) That bisexual asylum seekers should have their claims for asylum considered as carefully as for other asylum seekers.

We would also like to know what training officials dealing with asylum claims have had on LGBT issues that may be relevant, and how many bisexuals have applied for asylum since 2010.

We look forward to hearing from you about how you will ensure that bisexuals are receiving appropriate protection under the UK’s asylum system.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Surya Monro

and Dr Meg John Barker, Christina Richardson, Dr Caroline Walters, Dr Roshan Nair, Ed Lord, Dr

Helen Bowes-Catton, Dr Rebecca Jones, Kaye McLelland

“Bisexuality does exist, it is not a fiction, nor is it a phase”, Edward Lord’s key message to Civil Service equality conference

BiUK member Edward Lord presented a speech today at the Civil Service Rainbow Alliance conference 2013. He said…

I had the privilege of giving a keynote address to today’s Civil Service Rainbow Alliance (the national LGB&T staff network) conference at the Ministry of Defence. Also on the programme were Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service; Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions; Liz Bingham, managing Partner at EY; and Peter Tatchell.

 

I was invited to speak having been profiled last year by Stonewall as an LGB role model in its publication “Being yourself: sexual orientation and the workplace“, which gave me the starting point for my speech:

“Being an out politician can often mean acting as a role model not just within my local Council, but also in wider society: demonstrating that it is possible to be queer and play an active part in public life.

Indeed, I would argue that my sexual orientation and my understanding of the experiences of LGB&T people makes me better comprehend the diverse society in which we live and the discrimination which those from diverse backgrounds can face.

And it is on one element of discrimination, often within our own LGB&T communities, that I would like to focus my address today.

Of the seventeen Stonewall role models, I was the only one who identifies as bisexual; that is with the capacity to love people of more than one gender.

You may ask why that matters.

You may say “Don’t we all as LGB&T people suffer the same kind of discrimination in society?”

I would argue that we don’t and that there is a hierarchy where, in general, gay men, especially if they’re white and ‘straight acting’, have it a lot easier than lesbians, bisexual people and trans folk.

Bisexual people in particular often find themselves being made invisible both within and outside LGB&T communities.

50 shades of gay

A fascinating Ted talk arguing that most people are somewhere between completely gay and completely straight. Good to hear the Kinsey idea given some new energy.