Homophobic Attacks On the Rise in Italy

22nd August: In the Gay Village in Rome, a man, fed up with a gay couple kissing, assaults them with a glass bottle and then tries to kill them with a knife. They are severely injured with one in hospital in a critical conditions. Initially the man gets reproached by the police, but not arrested. Then, after much pressures, he finally gets arrested.

25th August: The LGBT club Muccassassina in Rome is set on fire with petrol and completely damaged. Fortunately is was closed and nobody was inside during the fire.

26th August: Naples - a couple of gay man are assaulted and verbally abused by a group of men in the street of the city center.

1st September - Two petrol bombs explode in the Gay Street, in San Giovanni in Lateranom Rome. A man is injured.

The government continues to promote the legitimisation of the traditional heterosexual family . They still have not enacted any law to protect LGBT people and to recognize our rights. Italy needs laws and education policy to promote awareness, non-discrimination, inclusiveness.

Hidden Hate

On the 29th November a committee of MPs approved amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill that will make incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation an offence which is long overdue. None of the Conservative MPs on the committee voted against the proposals. The Bill will now proceed to a report stage and third reading in the Commons before being sent to the Lords. See further details from Pink News.

It was originally thought that the provisions would be extended to cover incitement to hatred against trans people and disabled people but this does not now appear to be the case for definate and is only going to be considered. With the recent murder of Kellie Telesford and the countless murder, torture and brutality of trans people worldwide such as Gisberta, there is overwhelming evidence that the law needs to be extended to cover hatred against Trans people.

Incitement against hatred towards disabled people is also so much needed. Disability organisations and charities report that crimes against disabled people is worryingly common but there is massive under-reporting. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act made it the courts' duty to increase the sentence for "any offence aggravated by hostility based on the victim's disability". The law came into force in 2005, but the CPS only started recording cases as "disability aggravated" in April this year. Since then only 68 cases had been identified, but a BBC Radio 5 Live Report Hidden Hate has new figures showing a third of these were incorrectly recorded.

The CPS says at least 30 cases have been successfully prosecuted and it is "firmly committed to bringing the perpetrators of crimes against disabled people to justice". It points to a new system of 42 area-based disability hate crime coordinators, the inclusion of a new "disability aggravated" category into its monitoring of cases, and a new campaign to raise awareness among staff. The police have also accepted there has been massive under-reporting of the issue. Real levels were estimated to represent a "many 100-fold increase of cases compared to what the police know about" according to Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris in recent evidence to a parliamentary group considering the issue.

Several recent high profile cases have helped bring the issue to prominence including Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy and died after being locked up in a shed for five months and tortured by so-called friends. He was starved, beaten, burnt, branded, cut and neglected until he died. Murder could not be proved because Kevin had epilepsy and it was possible he died from a seizure. The defendants pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault but the case was not investigated as a disability hate crime.

See BBC Article Fears of Disability Hate Crime, CPS Disability Hate Crime Policy, CPS Guidance on prosecuting homophobic hate crime

Police probe "homophobic" student

Fergus Bowman is now being investigated by police into comments made in a student newspaper after claims that he made anti-gay and racist comments on the Internet.
Officers at Preston Police's diversity unit are looking into the comments Fergus Bowman made on social networking site Facebook which could lead to a hate crime conviction. Bowman was a second year politics and religious student at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) and is from Catterall, near Garstang. He has quit his position of the Conservative Future Society at the University of Central Lancashire Student Union (UCLan) and been thrown out of the political party following the comments. Police have contacted the university and the company behind Facebook to gather further information about the incident before making a report to the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS). Sgt Phil Orm, of the diversity unit, said: "The police are aware of the situation and an investigation is being undertaken into it. "A report will be submitted to the CPS following the investigation and they will judge whether a prosecution should be made." In an interview with UCLan student newspaper, Pluto, the student said his comments were "a private joke" between friends.

By the way I searched lgbt, and lesbian and gay on the Conservative Future website and it did not come up with anything. I did find this quote from a member who was speaking about NUS Conference though "Going to the NUS conference has given me the opportunity to promote Conservative policies in student politics, however much of the week is dominated by irrelevant left-wing debates that do not reflect the genuine concerns of everyday students who we seek to represent".

On Facebook there is a group L.G.B.Tory which amongst it's aims include to support the Conservative party in decisions which directly help better the lives of members of the LGBT community and to dispel the stereotype that Conservatism means homophobia by increasing our profile by helping to support LGBT candidates in politics. Difficult tasks face the group I think. And by the way the group is open to anyone - you don't have to be Tory or LGBT.

I think I will stick with LGBT Labour because ONLY LABOUR CAN DELIVER EQUALITY AND HAS DONE SO FAR.........

At last incitement to gay hatred to be made a criminal offence

Nearly two years after the heinous murder of 24 year old Jodi Debrowski on 14th October 2005, there has never been a more salient time for Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary to announce that a new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation will be introduced in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. He added that he would consider similar protections for trans and disabled people. UNISON, LGBT Labour and Disabled Groups have long campaigned for the recognition of incitement to hatred against LGBT and disabled people and this move is more than welcome and overdue.

Whilst many police forces recognise homophobic and transphobic hate crimes against lgbt people, there are have been no specific criminal offences based on hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and therefore offences are dealt with under the ordinary criminal law.

Jodi Dobrowski was 24 when he was brutally beaten to death in a homophobic attack. His killers were sentenced to murder and ordered to serve not less than 28 years in prison. This was a landmark case in Britain, where Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was utilised in sentencing the killers. This Act empowers courts to impose tougher sentences for offenses motivated or aggravated by the victim's sexual orientation in England and Wales. But still other murders have taken place. On 30th January 2007, Malcom Benfold, a 57 year oold gay man was beaten to death in Blackpool after suffering severe head injuries. His 23 yeard old murderer, had gone out to gay bash homosexual man and received a life sentence and ordered that he must serve at least 18 years in prison.

On making today's announcement, Mr Straw said "It is a measure of how far we have come as a society in the last ten years that we are now appalled by hatred and invective directed at people on the basis of their sexuality," and "It is time for the law to recognise this."

Some religious groups claim their members could face seven years in jail for expressing their views about homosexuality under the proposed new legislation. The Christian Institute claim that the proposed incitement law restricts free speech, targets Christians and will stifle debate about homosexuality. It objects to the extension of incitement to racial hatred laws to sexual orientation as "homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle. " Christians are already protected from incitement to religious hatred by law. These are the religios groups that held placards up at Pride saying we will all burn in hell and took their children to vigils shouting abuse and showing hatred towards lgb people duting the debate on the goods facilities and services regulations debates.

With the increase in fascism and attacks from the far right all across Europe, there is no better time than now to send a message that incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation will not be tolerated.

For more details of the Governments announcement on the proposals to outlaw incitement of hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation see BBC News.

In memory of Jodi Dobrowski Born 1981 Died 14 October 2005.