Two men were allegedly attacked on the night of Wednesday to Thursday in Sherbrooke in an ambush orchestrated by individuals using a fake profile on an LGBTQ+ dating platform, in a context where hate crimes reported to the police and linked to sexual orientation are on the rise.
After exchanging on the application Grindrone of the two victims went near rue Larocque, as agreed with her interlocutor. Once there, it was actually three individuals who were waiting for her. They then allegedly surrounded her and beat her up.
The same scenario then happened again 45 minutes later near the intersection of Aberdeen and Gillespie streets, causing a second victim.
One of the men targeted was reportedly pepper sprayed and the other was hit with a blunt object. Both victims were taken to hospital for treatment and precautionary measures for minor injuries.
A criminal investigation is ongoing, but little information is available at this time about the three suspects, who are believed to have fled on foot.
Increase in crimes targeting sexual orientation
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows a 69% increase in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2023 compared to the previous year.
For the scientific and strategic director of the Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, Louis Audet Gosselin, this increase is the direct consequence of the presence of LGBTQ+ community issues at the heart of socio-political debates.
Particularly, in the last year, [ces enjeux] have been more publicized, with homophobic and transphobic speeches that are uninhibited. We see it in schools, in the media, in certain positions taken or even in mobilizations against drag story hours in libraries.
Louis Audet Gosselin, scientific and strategic director of the Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence
“There is a significant increase that is fueled by a form of fear, misinformation and a lot of hateful messages circulating online that will translate into acts directly or indirectly targeting LGBTQ2+ communities,” he adds.
Overall, police-reported hate crimes increased by 32% in Canada in 2023, compared to 2022.
The Centre for the Prevention of Radicalisation Leading to Violence expects the number of hate crimes to remain at a “fairly high level” in the coming year “given the overall tensions in society”.
“When political and social tensions and debates are centered around issues that affect a particular community, we unfortunately see that this translates into hateful acts,” he says. “Unfortunately, the reality is much more serious.” [que ne le montrent les statistiques]. »
According to him, the figures presented by Statistics Canada are only “the tip of the iceberg.”
“There are a lot of hate crimes that are not reported to the police or the hate dimension is not taken into account by the police services,” he says.