Nancy Platts

A new consensus was reached for addressing LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) safety at a public meeting last month hosted by Spectrum the LGBT Community Forum,  to discuss LGBT community concerns on hate crime.

A new independent LGBT safety forum is to be set up with six community members volunteering to form a task group to explore options and bring back proposals to another public meeting in the new year.  

An additional proposal by Spectrum, Gscene Magazine and the Chair of the Race Harassment Forum for closer dialogue with BME communities on tackling hate crime in the city was also agreed and further endorsed by the Race Harassment Forum for more investigation.

Spectrum Coordinator Arthur Law said:
“Spectrum welcomes the decision to set up a new forum. And we will support the Task Group in its work in identifying a way forward as needed. New mechanisms need to be found to provide improved support and outcomes for victims as well as action to reduce fear, abuse and violence against LGBT people in the city. We also look forward to closer cooperation with BME communities in joint action to tackle hate crime”.

The University of Brighton’s Dr Kath Browne reported from the Count Me In Too Safety findings that marginalised and isolated members of the community were more likely than others in the community to experience hate crime. Eighty-six per cent of hate crime victims in the survey hadn’t reported to the police. The findings also suggested the need for a broader definition of safety to include fears and impacts of exclusion, discrimination and multiple marginalisation.

Community members voiced concerns that there wasn’t always effective follow-up on incidents that were reported, and that these were sometimes not classed by the police as crimes even though they may be cases of repeat victimisation. The Police and Council agreed to take a closer look at incidents that were ‘non-crimed’ and supported proposals for a tracking system to improve outcomes, support and confidence for those reporting.

Nancy Platts the Labour candidate for Brighton Pavilion said:
"Crime and the fear of crime are often high on people’s list of concerns about their local area and recent high profile homophobic hate crimes, including the horrific murder of Andrea Waddell in Brighton have created a sense urgency to take action.

"Last night, I joined the LGBT community at a meeting organised by Spectrum to talk about how we could tackle hate crime together.   This meeting was a follow-up to the candle-lit vigil held in November where I pledged my support for the LGBT community.

"Although the meeting was well-attended by agencies and community activists, we need to get a much wider group of the LGBT community involved.

"I thought the idea that LGBT groups link up with the Black and Minority Ethnic community to explore the similarities in their experiences was a good one, as it is only by standing together as a united community that we can successfully tackle hate crime.

"Evidence shows there is work to do but it needs leadership and I know that although Spectrum will do its best to support any new initiative, they are not funded by the Police or Partnership Community Safety Team and the Council is cutting their funding by a quarter from April.

"I will contacting the Police to discuss how crimes and ‘incidents’ are being recorded as this was clearly a major issue for the LGBT community and I was not entirely satisfied with the answers that were given.

"No decent society can accept acts of violence or bigotry and we must never tolerate those who would have us live in fear of walking down the street or speaking out against abuse".

Former leader of the Council and Labour candidate for Brighton Kemptown Simon Burgess said:
"There's a lot of history that makes progress difficult and that was voiced at the meeting. However the fact that the council, police, voluntary sector and members of the public were there shows there is a widespread positive commitment to tackling hate crime. The months ahead are bound to be difficult but tackling hate has to be the top priority not what has or hasn't happened in the past.


If you have views about what action should be taken on hate crime then contact the task group via Spectrum at: info@spectrum-lgbt.org

For more information about Spectrum view:
www.spectrum-lgbt.org