Gay Hate Crime In UK’s Liverpool.
Last Friday, drag queen and DJ Lady Shaun was punched in the face in the early hours of Friday morning, according to local media. She was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken jaw. Two passing police officers gave chase but failed to catch the suspect.
Lady Shaun told the Liverpool Echo: “We need to make our streets safe for everybody. I see myself as a gay ambassador to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people and I want them to know that we shouldn’t be ashamed to stand up for ourselves.”
This latest attack follows on from another incident three weeks ago, when choreographer and performer Calvin Fox was pushed to the ground by two people and suffered cuts and bruising to his face. Mr Fox, told the newspaper: “After last year’s Liverpool Pride, an amazing event that had no trouble reported, we thought Liverpool had woken up and accepted the term ‘gay’.”
Local police said there had been a “slight rise” in anti-gay attacks but attributed this to better reporting. Louise Harrison, a chief inspector with the Liverpool Police said: “People are feeling more confident and comfortable reporting these incidents to the police, whereas before lots of these crimes were going unreported. We have to strike a balance between a heavy police presence which could scare people off and those that say it makes them feel safer, but we will continue to talk to the gay community.”
