A Tik Tok influencer and LGBTQ+ campaigner has said more needs to be done in Wales to make people aware of hate crimes committed against the Queer community.
Ellis Lloyd Jones spoke out at the start of LGBTQ+ History Month, which carries extra significance this year as 2022 marks 50 years since the UK’s first Pride March.
Despite lockdown keeping people inside their homes, police recorded 14,670 hate crimes committed against the LGBTQ+ community between January and August of last year. Compared to the same period in 2019, that’s an increase of more than 3,500.
Campaigners warn that the figures are likely to be even higher because of under-reporting of such crimes.
Mr Lloyd Jones said the conversation needed to happen without being prompted by violence.
“Something’s got to happen for people to realise that it’s happening in other people’s lives,” he said.
“Someone unfortunately has to get attacked just for people to wake up and be like, ‘Right, ok, this is something serious. This is something which is happening’.
“I personally think we need to stop waiting for something to happen and just fix it”.
The theme of LGBTQ+ History Month this year is “The Arc is Long”, inspired by a Martin Luther King quote. It suggests that while it may take a long time, social justice is leading to better treatment of people in the community.
Queer communities in Wales are hoping LGBTQ+ History Month will help people to understand why their history is important and why now, more than ever, this month is needed.