“Police fear that other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities may have been targeted” by two “robbers who met their victim through dating app” (Report, 24 October). Let’s be clear: this was a crime by men against men – lesbians had nothing to do with it. Women form a tiny proportion of violent criminals, and these men are hardly likely to target lesbians; heterosexual women are much more likely to get caught by men using a dating app, so they’re the people who need to be warned. We need to stop this mindless conflation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender – the groups have fewer commonalities than differences – and if men are the problem, then we should say so.
Professor Rosemary Auchmuty
University of Reading
