Sharp rise in hate crimes against LGBT+ people in Germany

Hate crimes against people on account of sexual orientation or gender identity are on the rise, according to police statistics presented in Berlin on Friday, reported dpa.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser termed the figures "shocking."

German police recorded 17,007 cases of hate crime over the course of 2023, with more than a 10th – 1,785 crimes – perpetrated on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex or queer people.

Violence played a role in around 18% of the cases of hate crime against this group, termed LSBTIQ* by the federal police agency (BKA).

According to the figures, there was a rise of around 50% in the number of cases registered with the police in 2023.

Crimes are seen as politically motivated hate crimes in the statistics if the attitude of the perpetrator reveals indications that they were carried out on the basis of prejudice, for example in relation to nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The figures also show that the victims of hate crimes directed at the LSBTIQ* group are overwhelmingly men.

According to the BKA, 808 of the 1,052 suspects investigated last year were German nationals. This figure included Germans with dual nationality.