Homophobia: Crime

Ben Chapman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce numbers of crimes of violence with a homophobic motive in the North West.

Mr. Alan Campbell
In September 2009 we launched the Cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan which contains a number of action points designed to reduce numbers of crimes of violence across all five hate crime strands, including sexual orientation. In particular, it commits the Home Office to produce guidance for Crime and Disorder Partnerships on preventing and responding to hate incidents and hate crimes.

There is also a range of activity taking place in the North West to combat hate crime targeted at lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. For example, bar owners and door staff in and around the gay quarter of Liverpool have recently received hate crime awareness-raising training. Further, Liverpool’s Hate Crime Reduction Forum which brings stakeholders together from across Liverpool to address all strands of hate crime, funded the As One programme which was an educational awareness programme focused on youth centres in the Kensington area encompassing antisocial behaviour and diversity awareness.