Say something now!
"Please first receive my utmost sincere love; I am so proud you guys have taken action creating this project. I am a Spanish citizen living in Amsterdam (meant to be the gay capital of Europe) for the last 11 years. The last 3 years I have noticed increasing homophobia among the local population and also from immigrants. This has caused me to become an isolated person. The situation is scary, as everywhere I travel I meet rejection. But what can we do and how?"—Claudio Abdala, North Holland, Netherlands, The

Why Report Homophobic Abuse?

Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. Many highly respectable individuals of ancient and modern times have been homosexuals, several of the greatest men among them (Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, etc.). It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime, and cruelty too…—Sigmund Freud, 1935

Many people do not report homophobic crimes to the police. This may be because they feel uncomfortable admitting their sexuality or reporting the nature of the crime or because they fear a negative or unsympathetic reaction from the police.

Many people think that nothing will be done by the police even if they do report a homophobic incident or hate crime, an opinion which has formed because of past experiences of the police. It's a vicious circle; more will be done if the police and government have more information, statistics and evidence to show what a serious problem homophobia is and the extent to which it affects our society, even down to the everyday bullying that many people within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have to go through.

The more people talk about homophobia, are aware of it and have the knowledge and confidence to report it, the more the police will have to take notice and do something about it.

However, the British police have come a long way over the last fifteen years in improving their knowledge of homophobic crimes and showing their commitment to treating victims, witnesses and reporters of homophobic crimes with respect, sensitively and in confidence.

By reporting a homophobic crime or other incident—whether you are the victim, witness or you are reporting on behalf of someone else—you are providing the police with valuable information to enable them to catch the offenders and prevent them from committing further crimes against others.

Information given will enable the police to build up patterns of behaviour and identify areas of concern for your community. As a result of incidents being reported, resources can be targeted in the right areas to tackle identified problems.

By reporting, you'll also be able to find out where to get any help, advice and support you may need.

Even if what has happened to you is not, in the eyes of the law, an actual criminal offence, you should still inform the police. The more information the police can gather, the easier it will be to stamp out hate crimes. Work together with us to make a difference and tackle homophobic hate crime.

Silence is not golden. Tell someone, and get help and support.