Anti-LGBTI hate crime

Hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are motivated by a bias based on a person's sexual orientation, gender identity and/or sex characteristics. In some instances, LGBTI people have been portrayed by the media and politicians as a threatening and inferior group, posing a danger to public health and "traditional" structures, such as marriage and the family. LGBTI people continue to experience stigmatization and lack of legal protection from discrimination and hate crime. ODIHR's annual reporting on hate crime has included reports of physical assaults and murders, with transgender people being particularly at risk. Serious physical assaults carried out by groups, especially around pride parades, are also common features of hate crimes against LGBTI people.

Recording practices vary, with some states recording hate crimes against transgender persons as a separate category. The number of NGOs reporting on hate crimes against LGBTI has grown markedly in recent years. Reports from NGOs to ODIHR suggest that mistrust of authorities, as well as an unwillingness or fear to reveal one's own sexual orientation or gender identity contributes to significant under-reporting of hate crimes targeting this group.

TANDIS

Reports

Overview of incidents reported by civil society

Attacks Against People Attacks Against Property Total
Violent Attacks Threats
478 101 22 601

International Reports

Albania

In its fifth report on Albania, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that police consult civil society regularly on hate crimes and investigate these crimes thoroughly, fully considering bias motivation.

Armenia

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided technical assistance to the civil society groups We for Civil Equality and Exchange of Letters, allowing victims of LGBT hate crime to be referred to them for support.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The UN Human Rights Council, in its Universal Periodic Review (UPR),​ recommended that local authorities collect and evaluate hate crime data, and publicly and unequivocally condemn any hate crime against LGBT groups and bring those responsible to justice.

Bulgaria

In its fifth report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that the Bulgarian authorities include sexual orientation and gender identity in all the articles of the criminal code addressing hate speech and hate crime. It also recommended the collection of data on hate speech and hate crime against LGBT people, including on the number of cases reported, investigated and prosecuted.

France

In his country visit report, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe expressed concern at rising racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and homophobic rhetoric and acts. He stressed that the existing, solid legal framework needs to be complemented by more preventive and awareness-raising measures.

Greece

In its fifth report on Greece, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended including sexual orientation and gender identity in the mandate of new anti-racism police units. It also recommended that the authorities offer training to police, judges and prosecutors on violent incidents and the application of Article 81A of the Criminal Code, which concerns hate crimes.

North Macedonia

In its report on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Nations Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) called upon the authorities to take appropriate measures to prevent and end impunity for violence against the LGBT community.

Norway

It its fifth report on Norway, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) praised the Oslo police for creating a specialized hate crime unit, involving civil society organizations in police officer training and conducting regular dialogue with civil society. ECRI recommended the creation of an electronic system for recording and monitoring racist and homophobic/transphobic incidents and processing them through the judicial system.

Serbia

The OSCE Mission to Serbia reported that the Ministry of Interior launched a project with Labris to train some 120 police officers on addressing hate crimes against LGBT communities.

In his report following the country visit to Serbia, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe praised the country’s efforts in the field of hate crime training for judicial officials and the adoption of the "Action Plan for the Improvement of Work and Co-operation of the Police with Representatives and Associations of Persons of Different Sexual Orientation." He expressed concern over the large number of hate crimes targeting Roma and Sinti, and noted the persistent violence against LGBT people.

Slovakia

In its fifth report on Slovakia, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) noted the amendments to aggravating circumstances provisions in the criminal code and reiterated the need for detailed statistical data on racist and homophobic/transphobic hate crime.

Switzerland

In its fifth report on Switzerland, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommended that the Swiss authorities improve their system for recording and monitoring violent incidents in order to obtain more reliable statistics on the racist, homophobic or transphobic motivations of offences.

OSCE Region

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ (FRA) report "Being Trans in the EU - Comparative analysis of the EU LGBT survey data” showed that respondents experience the highest levels of violence, hate motivated attacks and harassment amongst LGBT groups. The report indicated the need to collect statistics on numbers and types of crime and gender identity of victims, to address the underreporting of hate crime and to improve policies and legal measures combating hate crime across the EU.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a survey highlighting how LGBT people experience bias-motivated discrimination, violence and harassment in different areas of life. The survey revealed that respondents are subject to high levels of repeated victimization and violence, which is particularly high for transgender respondents, and that most LGBT respondents did not report hate incidents to the police or other authorities.

In resolution 27/32 on "Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity," the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) expressed grave concern at acts of violence committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

In his annual report, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe noted that hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people cannot be tolerated and recommended that bias motive be taken into account as an aggravating circumstance in these crimes.

The European Parliament adopted the "Resolution on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union", in which it called on EU Member States to propose and adopt legislation and policies to combat homophobia, transphobia and hate crimes.