Almost half of the people suspected of hate crimes against LGBT persons are aged under 18 according to daily Het Laatste Nieuws that makes the claim based on figures requested by MP Alexander Van Hoecke (far right Vlaams Belang). Last year, a total of 600 hate crimes against LGBT people were recorded.
The figures come from the federal police. Since April 2024, the police have been recording incidents with homophobic and transphobic motives separately.
The highest number of reports came from Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. These involved physical violence, theft, extortion and damage to property.
Of the 600 offences, 498 were homophobic in nature, and 102 were transphobic.
Highest number in Molenbeek
For 2025, Brussels leads the tally with more than one in six reports (107). Almost a quarter took place in the municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek.
Antwerp comes second with 78 recorded incidents, whilst Ghent takes third place with 49 reports.
Suspects' heritage not recorded
The vast majority of suspects are Belgian, but Vlaams Belang wants the origin of offenders to be recorded as well, says lawmaker Van Hoecke.
“These nationality figures tell us very little. To tackle a problem, we need to be able to identify it. We can only do that if we have a clear picture, if we know which communities are over-represented in these figures.”
Federal Equal Opportunities Minister Rob Beenders (Flemish socialist Vooruit) says that the problem of hate crimes is present in all sections of the population. For him, the origin of the perpetrators is not a priority.
Beenders describes it as a societal debate in which parents must also talk openly at home. “Supporting young people in their search for identity is still best achieved through a personal conversation. The algorithms on the internet push people in a certain direction; we must counteract that,” explains the minister. He promises an action plan.
How should we tackle this?
The LGBTQI+ umbrella organisation Çavaria has noticed the trend in society.
“Recent research in the Netherlands and Flanders shows that acceptance among young people is falling sharply. That is a new development. Young people themselves say that they hear nothing about gender diversity or sexual orientation at school, but that they are inundated with negative messages on social media,” says spokesperson Thomas Jans.
Çavaria is calling on all schools to make this a structural priority. “Schools that talk about it can make a difference,” it says.