LGBTIQ+ hate crime
A hate crime is a crime that is committed against a person or property because of their:
- political beliefs
- nationality
- ethnicity
- race
- skin colour
- religion
- world view
- origin
- disability
- social status
- gender/gender identity
- sexual identity
- external appearance
Perpetrators of hate crimes seek out people based on prejudices and attack these people as a way of attacking a group of people. This means that their actions affect the entire group and are intended to have an impact within society. It is also possible for several of the aspects described above to be involved, e.g. if someone is attacked because of their sexual identity and their nationality. Perpetrators may be strangers or they may be known to the person being targeted, e.g. neighbours or colleagues.
Hate crimes constitute politically motivated crimes. According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, politically motivated crimes pose a serious threat to our free and democratic way of life. That means that politically motivated crimes may be subject to harsher penalties on account of their particularly serious nature. In Germany, they fall under the jurisdiction of the federal police and are recorded in separate, standardised national statistics in order to identify trends and tendencies early. It is therefore particularly important to report LGBTIQ+ hate crimes to the police.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior recorded 1,051 reports of LGBTIQ+ hate crimes in Germany in 2021, a significant increase compared to the previous year. This means that crimes committed because of someone’s sexual identity have risen by around 50%, and those committed because of someone’s gender identity by around 67%.
Strong! – the LGBTIQ+ Centre Against Violence and Discrimination – recorded an equally dramatic rise in LGBTIQ+ hate crimes in Bavaria in 2021. This may also include incidents that do not pass the threshold to be considered a crime. A total of 165 incidents were reported, a roughly 63% rise compared to the previous year. The most frequent reports Strong! receives relate to physical assault, sexual assault and rape, threats and discrimination. Most incidents occurred in public, including on public transport.
Police in Bavaria recorded an increase in LGBTIQ+ hate crimes from 88 in 2021 to 96 in 2022, 28 of which constituted criminal offences which fall under the jurisdiction of the Munich Police. The clearance rate for hate crimes in 2022 was roughly the same as for crimes in general at 61.6%, as reported by the Police Crime Statistics (excluding violations of the German Residency Act).
The Munich Police have been recording reports of LGBTIQ+ hate crimes in their annual Safety Report since 2018.
I can find the Munich Police Safety Reports here