Gloria De Piero MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, responding to Stonewall ‘Homophobic Hate Crime– The Gay British Crime Survey 2013’, said:

“This Summer we celebrated the passing of equal marriage in Parliament but this report shows us that, whilst there might be equality under the law, people still face the most appalling abuse and discrimination every day simply because of their sexuality.

“It is shocking that three quarters of victims of homophobic hate crime don’t report the incident to the police and that victims still do not feel they will be taken seriously when they do.

“There is still too little understanding among the police and criminal justice professionals about the nature and seriousness of homophobic hate crime. The Tory-led Government should be working with them to review urgently their approach to tackling these crimes and to develop proper national standards for training officers and frontline staff in identifying and responding to homophobic hate crime and supporting victims.”