The level of hate against trans people in the UK has largely gone unreported in the media. This has led to the general public not being aware of how it’s affected the trans community.
In the past 5 years the number of transphobic offences recorded annually by the Metropolitan Police has more than doubled.
North West Bylines spoke to two trans individuals on their experiences of anti-trans hate.
Trans hate in the street
Eve (She/Her) from Lancashire has suffered several transphobic hate incidents since 2020. She tells us:
In 2020, Liz Truss started making noises about banning trans people from bathrooms and JK Rowling released her TERF Wars essay during lockdown. I’d been busying myself with helping make sure care homes got PPE and learning to roller-skate near the local river. There were a couple of guys on bikes – tracky bottoms, skeletal features, shaved heads – who’d come down and yell things like, “Thanks, SIR!” and “Fucking tranny!” when I was on my own. I reported it to the police, but I didn’t expect anything from it.
At the supermarket
The Police never did help Eve, and the hate against her continued. The next episode she remembers vividly was when she was shopping at her local supermarket.
After that, though, people started getting ruder and it became obvious the police weren’t interested in helping. This is Lancashire Constabulary, btw.
The next one I remember was going shopping at a nearby Lidl. Someone yelled something abusive at me out the car window and drove away before I could see them or the number plate. I reported it to the police and got a text message back saying they couldn’t see anything on the video footage. But, as I reported it online, they hadn’t seen a picture of me, so I have no idea how they planned to identify me.
And at the train station
Unfortunely the transphobic hate directed at Eve continued. Even at the train station and in the street, people think it is acceptable to verbally abuse someone just because they don’t like the way that person looks.
‘Fucking tranny fag!’ yelled at me from a car driving by, in front of a busy railway station. I got the number plate, like I was asked to and reported it. The police said that as I thought the passenger was the one who shouted, and they looked youngish, that it might not have been their car, and they couldn’t possibly go any further. Which baffled me. I thought the police were meant to investigate crime. Talking to the owner of the car seemed a good starting point and they didn’t care to do that. They refused to do that.
Trans hate turned violent
And as if the name calling wasn’t bad enough, Eve was yet to experience further transphobic harrassment. This time, things turned violent.
I was walking past the university gym, which is surrounded by CCTV. Three kids, probably about 13-14 years old, were walking past the gym, which led to the street I was walking down. They came down yelling stuff about “gypos” and “pakis” until they saw me. Now, this was during COVID, but it was quite busy. There must have been at least ten people about. And the university told everyone that the CCTV was always on for female students’ safety.
Anyway, they see me and start picking up rocks from the floor and throwing them at me. Quite a few people stopped, in shock. They had rubbish aim but did nearly hit me. They yelled transphobic slurs at me and then ran off when they’d finished trying to stone me. Someone asked if I was OK, but I was more furious than upset. I usually handle situations well and then fall apart later when I’m on my own. I got to my friend’s house, and told them, and they were shocked, too. It took a couple of hours, but, by then, I was shaking and upset and went home to hide under the sheets and didn’t go out for a few days where I could avoid it.
The police did nothing, again!
“I told the police. And they said that the university doesn’t actually switch on the CCTV, despite them telling female students that it is always on, and despite my friends who attended the uni saying that wasn’t true. At this point, I simply decided to stop reporting anything to the police, because they were clearly not interested in doing anything to keep me safe.”
Queer hate at Pride
Unfortunately Eve is only one of many trans people in the UK who have experienced transphobia in public and private spaces.
Helen (She/Her) experienced thomophobic/transphobic abuse in Glasgow.
It was the day after Pride where I live. My first Pride as an out queer trans person. What started as a dangerous driving incident escalated into a hate crime because the driver who almost struck my wife with his car then threatened violence against me when I went into a carpark to take his registration number so we could report it to the police. He didn’t just verbally threaten violence, he actually charged at me. We disengaged safely but during the incident he called me a, ‘fucking poof’ at least three times. I’m convinced that this person only decided to use that slur because I no longer present as male, but I also don’t pass [as female]. Unsophisticated transphobes and homophobes just conflate the two. I have both protected characteristics so I reported it to the police as both homophobic and Transphobic.
To be fair to the police, even though our first attempt to make the report wasn’t particularly empathetic, the uniformed officers who took our statements were respectful and sympathetic, which was surprising to me. However, their focus on the hate crime was entirely around the incident being homophobic. I’m really worried that if I had reported an incident that was only transphobic, they may not have taken me as seriously. The statistics in the UK seem to bear that out.
I don’t really feel safe anymore
The most upsetting thing about the whole incident was that it occurred in a busy carpark on a Sunday afternoon. There were loads of people about. No one other than my wife challenged this man or his behaviour. I don’t really feel safe going out in public by myself anymore. I don’t think I can rely on anyone helping me should something like this happen again.
I already had hyper-vigilance, but my anxiety is almost unbearable now.
If you are affected by one of the issues described here, and want to talk to someone, you can contact the Samaritans via email or by phone.
