A new report, published to coincide with National Hate Crime Awareness Week, has argued that technology can play a vital role in supporting individuals to disclose more information about both criminal and non-criminal hate incidents involving LGBTQ+ people.
The report, called Hate Happens: Technology’s Role in Addressing anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Encounters in the UK, was written by academic Dr Kevin Guyan, whose work explores the intersection of data and identity. The report was commissioned by Vodafone Foundation, Stonewall and UK anti-abuse LGBTQ+ charity Galop, which jointly launched Zoteria – a specialist LGBTQ+ support app – in October 2022.
2021 research by Galop found that only one out of eight hate crimes were officially reported, and just one in five hate crime victims and survivors were able to access support. In this new report, Galop – which runs the UK’s National LGBTQ+ Hate Crime Helpline – said that verbal abuse from strangers is often normalised and dismissed and not reported. Research from the government’s National LGBT Survey (2017) also showed that over 90% of respondents hadn’t reported their most serious incident of hate crime.
Drawing on data from Zoteria’s first two years of operation, Dr Guyan argues that specialist mobile apps can make it easier for individuals to share as much or as little information as they wish about hate encounters involving the LGBTQ+ community.
For those who wish to access support, apps like Zoteria also provide a discreet and safe means to direct users to appropriate services. According to Stonewall, this is particularly important as many LGBTQ+ support services and organisations are based in major UK cities and may not be easily accessible to members of that community living outside of major urban areas.
In the report, Dr Guyan also calls for better reporting pathways and improved structural and strategic approaches to tackling LGBTQ+ hate incidents across the UK.
As Dr Guyan explains: “Major cities tend to provide more LGBTQ+ services such as health and wellbeing organisations, community groups and entertainment venues. By identifying geographical reporting trends we can better understand where encounters are happening and whether people have access to the services they need, or not. Technologies such as Zoteria could help us reach communities that may not ordinarily have access to LGBTQ+ specialist services and support.”
Klara Wertheim, Head of Global Programmes at Stonewall, added: “The Zoteria app has been a vital tool in supporting LGBTQ+ people affected by hate and helps us better understand where hate occurs and who it affects. This report is a vital reminder of how mobile technology can provide far greater accessibility to reporting hate and accessing advice.
“What’s clear from these findings is that anti-LGBTQ+ hate permeates everywhere. This work could help us tackle anti-LGBTQ+ hate by preventing it happening in the first place, and provide better tailored support services to victims. Zoteria is proof that, LGBTQ+ or not, we can all play a role in standing up to hate whenever we see it.”
A full copy of the report can be downloaded here
Zoteria is available to download in the UK, for free, on Apple App store and Google Play Store.