Strong increase in anti-LGBT acts in France in 2019

A person participating in the Pride March in Nantes, June 14, 2014, with the rainbow flag in his hair. Jean-Sébastien Evrard / AFP

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Homophobic and transphobic assaults and insults increased by 36% in France last year, according to the Minister of the Interior. In 2018, these acts had already experienced a similar surge. 

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Anti-LGBT acts (lesbian, gay, bi, trans) increased by 36% in 2019 in France. This is the alarming figure communicated by the Ministry of the Interior, this Saturday, May 16.

Homophobic and transphobic assaults and insults therefore continue to increase. Already in 2018, they had increased by 33% compared to the previous year.

The majority of the victims are young men

“  These figures testify to the deep roots of homophobia and transphobia in our society. They are part of a broader context of the progression of hate acts and identity extremism  ”, comments one on Beauvau Square.

For associations defending and supporting LGBT people, the finding is even more terrible because beyond these already hard statistics, many victims do not dare to file a complaint. In March 2019, the filmed assault of Julia , a transgender woman, had shed more light on these acts of hatred in France.

In 2019, insults and outrages represented 33% of the offenses. Violence, physical and sexual, represents 28% of complaints. The majority of the victims are men (75%), rather young: 62% of them are under 35 years of age. "  This increase in anti-LGBT hate acts calls for increased vigilance by the public authorities and a stronger mobilization of all of society,  " insists the Interior Ministry.

The confinement decreed in France between March 17 and May 11 prompted the government to act in favor of those at risk of increased violence within the family. In its emergency plan, the State devoted an envelope of 300,000 euros dedicated to the accommodation of LGBT people in danger. FLAG !, the association of LGBT police and gendarmes, launched an application at the end of April. This must help to report acts of violence and to better orient the victims.

(With AFP)

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