Garda campaign to combat rise in attacks on gay community

THE gardaí yesterday launched a nationwide campaign to combat attacks on the gay community.

The initiative follows a reported rise in recent months in violence, including serious assaults, directed at members of the gay community. Senior gardaí are concerned about the extent to which homophobic attacks are going unreported.

“The launch is an acknowledgement by us that there are problems out there that are very often not reported,” said Deputy Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald.

“One of the difficulties we have is the underreporting of crimes against the gay and lesbian community.”

The campaign, ‘Be Proud, Be Safe’, was launched during the middle of Gay Pride Week, which culminates with the Pride Parade in Dublin on Saturday.

The initiative has been eight months in the making but comes a month after an horrific attack on a gay man in Dublin city centre. Brian O’Callaghan was savagely beaten near Christchurch and was in intensive care for two weeks afterwards.

Chief Supt Pat Cregg, of Garda Community Relations, said the campaign comprised of advertisements in three gay publications, together with a poster and leaflet campaign.

He said the aim was to ensure that people from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities can take their part in society free of harassment and violence directed against them.

Deputy Commissioner Fitzgerald said gardaí realised it could be difficult, or embarrassing, for gay people to report incidents to gardaí.

“That is understandable, but I think it’s hugely important that we encourage people to report these crimes. By doing so you’re highlighting that there is a bit of a problem there, you’re highlighting the fact a crime has been committed and you are preventing some other person from suffering from the same sort of crime.”

He said gardaí would be as discreet as the victim wanted them to be.

As part of the campaign, the force has set up an email for those reluctant to contact the gardaí in person. The email, [e-mail], is staffed by garda gay liaison officers, of which there are now 16 across the country.

Keith O’Malley of the Gay & Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) welcomed the campaign and said it was “terribly important” in building confidence between gardaí and the gay community and increasing the reporting of incidents.

“There has been an upsurge in crimes against lesbian and gay people going home at night,” said Mr O’Malley. He said the increase was both in the number of incidents and their severity.

“There have been some particularly vicious beatings. It tends to happen in waves, so hopefully it will go away.”

A garda survey in 2000 found that 80% of gay people surveyed had been assaulted and most did not report to gardaí.