Homophobia: reports declined in 2015

An improvement but no miracle. SOS Homophobie signs its twentieth Annual Report. Reports of harassment, assaults and insults are on the decline. But they remain very high, recalls the association for the defense of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals. Most of these intolerant behaviors occur in the contexts of everyday life.

152 physical assaults

Progress has taken place “by dint of activism, fighting and pride”, welcomes SOS Homophobie in the preamble. These last years have seen the sanctions against the aggressors increase and appear the crime of homophobic insult. Legislatively, PACS, marriage and adoption for same-sex couples have also been adopted.

But these societal changes have come at a high price: between 2012 and 2013, the number of testimonies for homophobia jumped by 78%. In 2015, they finally reached the level observed before the debates on marriage for all. But all the same, 1,318 testimonies were collected by the association, and 152 physical assaults recorded. Nothing to celebrate.

Source : SOS Homophobie Annual Report 2016

Outside Île-de-France

For the year 2015, the number of testimonials fell by 40%. But all sexual orientations are not equal in the face of this upturn: gayphobic cases, for example, have increased by 5.6% and biphobic cases have stagnated.

The majority of victims are also male, which is not really a surprise given these figures. More worryingly, more and more of them are declaring themselves the target of homophobia. Usually, intolerance occurs in shops and public places, but also in the workplace or comes from the neighborhood. In this context, it is more often couples who are targeted.

Île-de-France is far from being the center of homophobia since 46% of calls come from other regions of France. They also seem more violent since they represent 56% of physical attacks.

Always more harassment

These testimonies come from adults in the majority of cases. But 11% of callers are under the age of 18. This is an increasing data, alarms SOS Homophobie.

Internet reporting still dominates reporting contexts. But a strong decline should be noted. This is not the case when the victims are angry with their families, colleagues or when they go to shops.

Source : SOS Homophobie Annual Report 2016

Most of the time, this intolerance is limited to psychological warfare. One in two callers say they are the target of insults, rejection or ignorance. But 18% also suffer from discrimination and denounce in particular a too hetero-normed society. As many are victims of harassment, a situation that is unfortunately progressing.

SOS Homophobie therefore makes an appointment with the presidential candidates and asks them to commit to LGBT rights. “We must remain mobilized to carry our political demands higher and stronger than our opponents”, declare its executives. Access to medically assisted procreation, blood donation based on risky behavior and not sexual orientation are all battles to be waged.