LGBTI+ individuals increasingly targeted by violence and intimidation
While Belgium is often praised for its progressive stance on LGBTI+ rights, new figures show that members of the community continue to face a troubling level of violence, intimidation and hate crimes.
According to the Equal Opportunities Centre Unia and the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, LGBT+ people — particularly gay and transgender individuals — are increasingly the target of discrimination and physical aggression.
Unia reports that it closed 136 cases related to sexual orientation in the past year. Compared to other types of discrimination files, these are more frequently marked by hate crimes: in 35 per cent of cases, victims reported physical assault, and a similar proportion involved serious intimidation.
Using dating apps to inflict violence
Perpetrators are often young men, sometimes operating in groups, who deliberately target other men. One recurring pattern involves so-called “dating app traps,” where perpetrators lure gay men through dating platforms and then ambush them. “The victims are insulted, threatened, beaten and blackmailed,” Unia notes.
A particularly high-profile case will appear before the Brussels criminal court on 14 May. Three men are being prosecuted for homophobic violence against at least eight victims, all of whom they contacted through a dating app. Unia has joined the proceedings as a civil party, as it has done in ten other similar cases so far this year.
Daily discrimination
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men highlights that transgender individuals continue to experience disproportionate levels of discrimination, particularly in employment, insurance and healthcare. The institute says that these structural barriers often go unreported and remain difficult to address.
People gather around a rainbow flag with candle lights, for a moment of silence in Kessel-Lo, Belgium, in 2024 to honour victims of homophobic violence.©PHOTO WIKTOR DABKOWSKI / ZIMA PRESS WIRE
Related news
