Man ‘slashed with machete’ in suspected homophobic attack

A man was slashed in the leg with a machete in Canada Water, London on Tuesday (23 July) afternoon in a suspected homophobic attack.

Police attended reports of the machete attack outside Sainsbury’s on Surrey Quays Road just after 3pm, according to the Southwark News.

‘At this time police believe there may be a homophobic motive for the attack’, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman told the News.

The news site also reports the suspected attacker fled the scene on a motorbike.

The BBC reports the victim was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

Reportedly, no arrests have been made.

Transphobic and homophobic hate crimes are on the rise

Both homophobic and transphobic hate crimes have drastically increased in England and Wales over the past five years.

An anaylsis by The Guardian revealed the alarming statistics last month.

From 2013-14 to 2017-18, LGBT hate crimes per capita rose 144%.

Police reported 11,600 known crimes of this nature in 2018.

This is more than double the 4,600 reported in 2013-14.

Anti-gay and lesbian, as well as transphobic attacks, have doubled and tripled, respectively.

West Yorkshire saw the highest spike in anti-LGBT hate crimes. They experience a 376% increase from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Recently, a group of teen males assaulted same-sex couple on a London bus.

The assault left them bloodied, scared, and angry.

It made headlines and renewed calls for action against anti-LGBT hate crimes.