Recent statistics by the South Yorkshire Police revealed that alleged anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes have increased by over 65% in five years.
The number of charges made to those accused of the crime has also doubled, from seven in 2018 to 14 so far in 2023.
Also, the amount of these cases dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence or the alleged victim dropping charges has more than doubled since 2018 with 58%.
Fiona Barrett, a 20-year-old who has lived in Sheffield for two years, claims she has experienced LGBTQ+ hate, primarily on West Street and the city centre.
She said: “I was walking with my girlfriend on West Street and when we started to hug and kiss, a man threw a can of something at us.
“It made me feel so angry as I didn’t understand why it was such a bad thing to be affectionate with my partner.
“It was the first time I’d experienced physical violence so that felt very intimidating.”
Miss Barrett also said the Conservative Party conference at the start of October could be cause of the rise in hate crimes.
At this conference, Rishi Sunak said to his delegates in Manchester: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be.
“They can’t, a man is a man and a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”
Since the conference at the start of October, the LGBTQ+ community have hit back against Sunak, including Sheffield Radical Pride (SRP).
SRP are a group campaigning for a return to the grassroot origins of Pride, free from corporations, the state, police, and ‘pinkwashing’.
A spokesperson for SRP told the Steel Speaker: “I’m cis, but I would say that his transphobic policies are cruel and unnecessary while deflecting from the fact that his government has done nothing for women’s safety.
“This is a populist diversion that serves as both a god whistle to transphobes and a distraction from the fact that he’s done nothing but harm marginalised people.”
Miss Barrett said: “After this, it feels like the discrimination against queer people is just escalating.
“Our safety cannot be guaranteed because of the influence the government has.”