Half of Belgium Anti-LGBT+ Crime Suspects Are Minors
Nearly half of the suspects in hate crimes targeting LGBT+ and transgender people in Belgium are minors, according to new federal police figures that show a sharp rise in registered offences. Of the 600 homo- or transphobic offences recorded in 2025, 47.5% of known suspects were under 18 - up from 29.2% the previous year.
The figures, first reported by Het Laatste Nieuws and covered by VRT NWS, were disclosed through a parliamentary question tabled by Vlaams Belang MP Alexander Van Hoecke to Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (cd&v). They mark the first time Belgium has been able to map anti-LGBT+ violence using precise police data, after authorities began registering homophobic and transphobic motives separately in April 2024.
The Numbers Behind the Rise
According to the federal police data, the 600 registered offences break down into 498 homophobic and 102 transphobic incidents. Homophobic offences rose 35.7% from 367 in 2024, while transphobic offences climbed 21.4% from 84.
The most striking trend lies in the age of suspects. Minor suspects jumped 160.6%, from 33 in 2024 to 86 in 2025. For violence targeting trans people specifically, nearly twice as many minor suspects were registered as adult ones.
Geographically, the Brussels Region recorded 107 offences - more than one in six of the national total - with Sint-Jans-Molenbeek alone accounting for nearly a quarter of all incidents in the capital. Antwerp followed with 78 registered offences and Ghent with 49. The offences range from physical violence to theft, extortion and property damage, and the vast majority of suspects are Belgian nationals.
A “Sad Suspicion” Confirmed
Van Hoecke seized on the figures to renew his party’s long-standing demand that authorities also register the ethnic origin of perpetrators. “It is a sad suspicion that has existed for a long time, but is now confirmed in black and white in the police figures for the first time,” he said.
“It is unacceptable that anyone in this country should have to fear for their physical integrity because of their sexual orientation,” he added, arguing that “in Belgium, authorities persistently refuse to publish figures on origin. In the Netherlands, for example, such figures are available.”
The MP also acknowledged a major caveat: that the true number of offences is far higher, because many victims never file a complaint.
That political framing is not shared by Belgium’s LGBT+ community. The Flemish umbrella organisation Cavaria instead points to declining social acceptance among young people and the role of social media, rather than migration background.
Why Young People Are Drifting
“From recent research in the Netherlands and Flanders, we see that acceptance among young people is falling sharply. That is new,” Cavaria spokesperson Thomas Jans said. “Young people themselves say they hear nothing about gender diversity or sexual orientation at school, but that they are flooded with negative messages on social media.”
He called on all schools to address the topic structurally. “Schools that talk about it can make a difference.”
The concern is backed by polling: research by JOP in April 2025 found that one in five pupils aged 16 to 18 considered an attack on a homosexual person acceptable in some cases - up from fewer than one in ten in 2018.
The Reporting Gap
Experts caution that the headline figures must be read carefully. Because separate registration only began in April 2024, 2024 data are incomplete, limiting clean year-on-year comparisons. A rise in registered cases can also reflect greater willingness to report or better police recording, rather than a genuine increase in violence.
Cavaria stresses that reliable prevalence figures do not exist. According to the organisation’s own analysis, only about one in ten Flemish LGB respondents ever contacted police about an incident, and roughly 6% of trans victims of verbal or psychological violence reported it. Reasons include victims judging incidents “not serious enough,” fear of escalation or humiliation, reluctance to come out to police, and a belief that no one can help.
European data point to the same gap: roughly 14% of victims report to police, according to figures cited by VRT NWS. A February 2026 ILGA-Europe annual report confirmed rising physical and verbal violence against LGBTQIA+ people in Belgium alongside low official complaint numbers.
A Pattern of Luring and Impunity
The registered offences reflect tactics that have alarmed police and advocacy groups. In May 2025, Unia warned of a rise in violence against gay men who are lured through dating apps to locations where they are then robbed or assaulted. In December 2025, police in Leuven arrested four minors for luring a man via a dating app and attacking him, then assaulting a passer-by.
Beyond physical attacks, advocacy groups point to a legal loophole that leaves much online anti-LGBT+ hate speech effectively unpunished. Such speech is often classified as a “drukpersmisdrijf” (press offence), which can only be tried before the Assize Court - a heavy, rarely-used procedure. A 1999 exception easing this for racist hate speech does not yet cover sexual orientation or gender identity, and Cavaria and legal experts have called for the legislation to be modernised.
What to Watch
While the figures expose a troubling youth dimension, experts say the response must address both prevention and reporting. Cavaria wants schools to tackle gender and sexual diversity as part of the curriculum, and urges police and victim services to become more welcoming so that underreporting shrinks.
There are signs of progress. The number of specialised gender-transition centres has risen from two to six, though waiting times remain one to four years. Brussels opened MACS, Belgium’s first LGBTQIA+-specific health centre, in February 2026, and a record 748 people changed their gender marker on identity documents. Federal equal-opportunities minister Rob Beenders (Vooruit) has said he wants to enshrine same-sex marriage in the constitution.
For now, the central tension remains unresolved: a state that is only beginning to measure the problem, a community warning that the true scale is far larger, and a political debate over how - and around what framing - the response should be built.