Third of lesbians and gays in Scottish capital ‘have been attacked’
March 3rd, 2010 by Chloe.Setter
A third of the lesbian and gay community in Edinburgh have been physically assaulted because of their sexuality, according to a study by gay rights charity Stonewall Scotland.
Nearly 300 people were polled by the charity and two thirds said they had been the victims of verbal assault.
Of those who had been subject to gay hate crimes, 90% said they had not reported the abuse to police.
Councillor Paul Edie, chairman of the city’s Community Safety Partnership, said such hate crimes “are very real and affect the lives of Edinburgh citizens every day”.
He said the council, in conjunction with Stonewall Scotland, had launched a Community Safety Partnership to reduce the number of gay-related hate crimes in the city.
“We want to ensure Edinburgh is a place where all people can live, work, study and visit free from fear and the threat of harassment or violence of any kind.”
It is a view echoed by the local police. Insp Dennis Hunter, of Lothian and Borders Police Force, insisted any such discrimination “would not be tolerated”.
One victim, Debbie Baird, 32, told how she had been a victim of hate crime while out with friends in the city at night and a man had subjected her to a violent attack.
“I was really shocked that a big guy would attack a group of girls so viciously,” she said. “He came out of nowhere and started shouting homophobic comments and then attacked and head-butted my friend.”
Her attacker was caught by nearby police and subsequently charged, however, police are keen for victims of crime to come forward and report incidents to the police or to a Remote Reporting Centre – places run by voluntary or public sector especially for victims to report crime anonymously.
Stonewall Scotland director Carl Watt said: “This shows that in Edinburgh alone too many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been physically or verbally attacked because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
“We welcome this campaign because it shows that hate crime will never be tolerated and that people who have experienced homophobic and transphobic hate crime can report it confidently, knowing they will be taken seriously.”
For more information on Stonewall’s Education for All campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools across Scotland, visit the organisation’s website or to learn more about Remote Reporting, click here.
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