TOO FRIGHTENED TO LEAVE HIS HOME, THE MAN 'BULLIED & INSULTED' BECAUSE HE'S GAY

4 February 2010

Oliver Pugh
oliverp@southwarknews.org

Most of us take it for granted that we can step outside our front door and walk to the shops for a loaf of bread.

But that basic freedom has been taken away from one man, who is so scared of being beaten up that he has become a prisoner in his own home - all, he says, because he is gay.

Constantly scratching, with bags under his eyes and pacing around his flat like an animal at a zoo, 'Daniel' has been bullied for almost as long as he can remember.

Speaking to the ‘News’ just before LGBT month started this month, he said: "I haven't seen my friends in eight months because of all this abuse. I won't go anywhere on my own - I have to get walked off the estate by members of my family."

Too frightened to use his real name, the 22-year-old said when he was fifteen he was persecuted because he was eighteen stone, but when they realised he was gay the insults and threats became worse and he was beaten and robbed.

"Now I'm not fat anymore," he said, "but I'm gay and I'm still getting the abuse. “Throwing sticks and stones, rubbish onto my balcony, shouting abuse at me,
“
'You fat c***, you poof, we know it's you that's grassing. We are going to get you,' they say.
"Then a couple of months ago a bloke got battered outside my bedroom window. The same people who are abusing me ran out and started punching him and kicking him in the head. He got battered half to death - I thought he was dead.

 "I'm so depressed over this - I can't stop shaking. I come out in lumps, bumps and boils," he added. "They are going to catch up with me."

But Daniel is not alone. Southwark has seen a 40 per cent rise in homophobic crime in the last year and the borough's police force no longer has a full-time LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender) officer to help deal with the problem.

Police and council officials have denied there has been a real terms increase, saying instead that there has only been a change to the way homophobic crime is reported, giving better accuracy. 

Yet a spokesman for lesbian, gay and bisexual charity Stonewall said this was just the tip of the iceberg.
He said: "YouGov research for Stonewall shows that one in five lesbian and gay people have experienced a homophobic hate crime in the last three years. Three in four of those experiencing hate crimes didn't report them to the police, because they believe the police cannot or will not do anything about it.

"Without dedicated LGBT liaison officers and visible steps to ensure all officers are confident in tackling this problem, lesbian and gay people are likely to be even more reluctant to report these crimes."

Daniel now understandably wants to move away from the estate, but the council has decided he is not at "serious risk" so he is not a priority. He now faces the difficult choice of whether to move away from home and his mother - for whom he is a carer - or wait up to six years for a council flat.

“Four to six years of abuse before I am even considered for a flat. “I have not slept properly in two months. I am still up tossing and turning - everything runs through my head,” he said.

He said: "They aren't going to help me until they see me down on the deck. They want my blood basically."
A council spokesperson responded: "The council seriously considers any issue of harassment or abuse brought to its attention.

A risk assessment was carried out and a housing needs assessment took place, and it was decided that as Daniel is not a tenant or deemed at serious risk, his best option would be to seek private accommodation, which we will help him to do.

“We also referred him to Bede [a community based charity, offering services for local residents], for help dealing with any hate crime. As a local authority we are obliged to allocate social housing giving preference to those deemed to have a priority for housing.

We will continue to support Daniel as much as we can and sincerely hope that he finds suitable private accommodation as soon as possible."

If you have concerns about crime or anti social behaviour where you live you can get in touch with your local team. Find your team at: www.met.police.uk/teams/southwark

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