303 cases of LGBT-phobia registered in Catalonia in 2023
Verbal aggressions represented majority of incidents
The Observatory against LGBT-phobia registered 303 cases of violence and discrimination in Catalonia in 2023, which represents a 27.8% increase compared to the previous year.
145 of the registered cases of LGBT-phobia were directed to gay men (63% of total), followed by 39 aggressions to trans women (17%), 11 to trans men (4.8%) and 8 cases of violence against non-binary people (3.5%).
Verbal aggressions represented the majority of the cases reported with 25.5% (77 cases), which included insults and derogatory remarks.
Physical assault made up for a quarter of all registered incidents, 23.5% of all cases, 71 in total, which is 12 more than in 2022.
The average age of the people who registered LGBT-phobic aggressions was 35.7 years old.
Barcelona was the area with the most registered cases with 70.5% (236), followed by Tarragona (23,6%), Lleida (3,9%), and Girona (2%).
Most of the aggressions happened in-person (80.4%), and 13.9% were committed through digital media such as social media or online platforms. That is why the Observatory emphasizes the "importance of tackling the problem of LGBT-phobia on online platforms because anonymity can make it easier for people to have discriminatory behavior."
Most of the cases reported occurred on the streets (24.7%), followed by the cases registered on a nightlife context (16.3%), and public transport (7.7%).
The director of the paper from the Observatory, Cristian Carrer, noted that "LGBT-phobia finds the spots to infiltrate in order to harm" and that is why it is important to create laws around the contexts where aggression and discrimination happen.
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