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Morning Extra: The Investigation — How Safe Is Being Gay in Scotland?

Discussion & Talk

03/11/2008

The Investigation — How Safe Is Being Gay in Scotland?

BBC Radio Scotland - Morning Extra, The Investigation — How Safe Is Being Gay in Scotland?

Edi Stark investigates homophobic hate crime; Graham Stewart takes your calls.

How safe is it to be gay in Scotland? Edi Stark investigates homophobic hate crime; Graham Stewart takes your calls.

Edi Stark examines the statistics on homophobic crime and finds some of the human stories behind them. In Strathclyde, reported homophobic incidents have nearly quadrupled in the last three years; while in other areas, such as Central and Grampian, it has nearly tripled in recent times.

But do police figures give us a full picture of the extent of homophobic hate crime? According to a recent study conducted by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, about a quarter of gay men in the capital have been physically assaulted at least once in the last five years.

Some argue the problem can only be tackled with the extension of Hate Crime legislation. This would make it a statutory requirement for police forces to log all crimes and incidents perceived to be homophobic. Only then, perhaps, will we be better able to answer the question 'How safe it is to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender in Scotland?"

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