🏳️🌈 Were you attacked or threatened because of your LGBT identity?
This is a hate crime. The UK protects you. There is a free helpline specifically for LGBT people.
Galop helps LGBT people and works with interpreters.
What to do right now:
Galop: Mon-Tue 09:15-20:00, Wed-Fri 09:15-16:30 (break 13:00-14:00 daily)
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) definition
A hate crime is any criminal offence which the victim or any other person perceives to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on:
- Sexual orientation
- Transgender identity
- Race or ethnic origin
- Religion or belief
- Disability
The key word is «perceives». You do not need to prove the attacker's intent. It is enough that you perceived it that way.
The difference matters
Hate crime is a criminal offence — for example, assault, threats, theft, vandalism with an LGBT motive. This is recorded as a crime.
Hate incident is a non-criminal but recorded event — for example, verbal abuse that does not meet the criminal threshold. Police must still record this.
Both categories matter. Hate incidents help identify patterns and protect communities.
Year ending March 2025:
• 18,702 sexual orientation hate crimes (−2% year-on-year, 3rd successive annual fall)
• 3,809 transgender-identity-aggravated hate crimes (−11% year-on-year, but +50% vs 2020/21)
Published: 10 October 2025.
Read on gov.uk →
Separate helplines from Galop
In addition to the main hate crime line, Galop runs separate helplines:
- Domestic abuse — if there is violence in a relationship with a partner
- Sexual abuse — if you experienced sexual violence
- Conversion practices — if you were pressured to «be cured» or change your orientation
All lines are free. galop.org.uk