I
LGBT persons are more likely than the general population to be
apprehended by the police, to be subject to discriminatory profiling,
and to experience hostile attitudes from police officers. Trans women in particular report experiencing high levels of police brutality.
Once LGBTI persons are brought to the police stations for interrogation (or even before), specific threats may be used by police officers
to extort confessions, and/or as a form of punishment or correction.
Law enforcement officials must not only abstain from holding any
discriminatory attitudes towards LGBTI persons, but indeed have
a positive obligation to protect them, including during public demonstrations. They should also be able to adequately respond to reports of hate crimes, although evidence indicates that LGBT persons
tend to underreport such crimes because of mistrust in institutions
and fear of reprisals.
1. Discriminatory profiling and violence during arrest or apprehension
Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights
Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Chapter IV
nteractions with and arrests and detention by the police are moments when the risks of abuse and torture are heightened. While
all persons in the hands of law enforcement officers may be said
to be in a situation of vulnerability as a result of the power imbalance inherent therein, LGBT persons are particularly at risk of abuse, especially in contexts where same-sex relations and non-binary
identities are criminalised.
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