Attacks against LGBTI people increased by 13% in 2023 in France compared to 2022, with even a jump of 19% for crimes and misdemeanors recorded by the police and the gendarmerie, according to a study by the statistical service of the Ministry of Defense. ‘interior published Thursday May 16. These figures are published on the eve of the World Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
In total, 4,560 offenses against lesbians, gays, bi, trans and intersex people were recorded in France last year: 2,870 crimes or misdemeanors and 1,690 fines (94% of which are linked to insults). Crimes and misdemeanors (defamation, attacks, threats, harassment, etc.), already up by 13% in 2022, jumped by 19%, while fines, which had fallen by 9%, this time increased by 4%.
Steady increase in anti-LGBTI acts since 2016
Since 2016, this type of act has increased significantly: 17% on average per year for crimes and misdemeanors and 10% for fines. If the study reports a “liberation of speech and [of] an improvement in the reception conditions” of victims by the police and the gendarmerie, it specifies that only 20% of LGBTI victims file a complaint in the event of threats or violence, and only 5% in the event of insult (according to a survey carried out over the period 2012-2018).
A third (34%) of anti-LGBTI crimes recorded in 2023 are insults or defamation. Attacks on people account for 19% of the total, as do threats (19%). Harassment (5%) is rarer, as are attacks of a sexual nature, even if the latter is increasing (8% of the total, compared to 2% in 2022). Offenses are committed more in towns with more than 200,000 inhabitants, particularly in Paris.
28% of anti-LGBTI crimes and offenses are committed in the streets and/or on public roads, 19% in residential settings and 8% in educational establishments. More than 70% of victims of these crimes are men, and 49% are under 30 years old, including 7% under 15 years old.
For their part, the suspects are mainly men (82%). Nearly half (49%) are under 30; those under 19 even represent 31% of those accused. The SOS Homophobia association said on Wednesday that it was “extremely” concerned for the year 2024, after having itself recorded in 2023 a “worrying” level of violence and discrimination suffered by LGBTI people.