Research from UK charity Stonewall has shown that 56% per cent of same-sex couples are afraid of holding hands in public.

The findings have been released as part of the groups ‘Hold My Hand’ campaign which is calling on the British government to take action on the rising number of gay-related hate crimes.

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The group has highlighted that official figures from the UK Home Office have confirmed a huge rise in LGBTIQA+ related hate crimes.

Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation in England and Wales are up by 112% in the last five years and hate crimes against trans people in England and Wales have risen by 186% in the last five years. 

The charity is calling on the government to undertake two commitments.

They’d like to see anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes listed as an Aggravated Offence, so LGBTQ+ people have the same protections as people who face hate crime due to racism or religious discrimination. Changing this law would be in line with recommendations from the British Law Commission.

They’re also calling for the government to implement a Hate Crime Strategy and Action Plan that tackles barriers to LGBTQ+ reporting.

More than half of reported hate crimes in the last five years were for public order offences, while 41 per cent involved violence and five per cent were recorded as criminal damage.