Gay-on-gay violence threat

Gay-on-gay violence threat

The Anti-Violence Project has asked people to be aware of danger from within the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, after recent reports of violent gay-on-gay attacks on Oxford St.

One incident -“ which led the victim to place an ad in Sydney Star Observer calling for peace in the community -“ took place outside the Midnight Shift on a Saturday afternoon.

Another assault was in the queue at the Stonewall Hotel, when a young man was punched and kicked after an argument broke out among patrons waiting to get in. And a third man was punched in the head after stumbling into a group of gay men he did not know at Sleaze Ball.

The man who was involved in the incident outside the Shift said it took him two weeks to get over it.

I just had a few scratches, and I could walk away after it, but it still took two weeks. I just kept wondering why it had happened to me, he told the Star.

You just don’t expect these things to happen within the gay community.

Anti-Violence Project spokes-person Dean Johnston said while there were still significant incidences of violence occurring due to people outside the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, it was important to be aware of other potential dangers.

We’re not trying to lessen other warnings we’ve made about violence from outside, he said.

But we should be prepared to respond to violence from within the community as well. The message we want to get out there is if people see this happening, they should report it. And if it’s safe to do so, they should tell the people involved that it’s not acceptable behaviour.

The Anti-Violence Project is also planning a major public awareness campaign about same-sex domestic violence, which will be launched in 2004.

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