Worrying rise in homophobic attacks

A spokesperson for the Rainbow Project — which provides health services for the gay community — has expressed concern that recent attacks on gay men in Derry City are causing anxiety.

A gay man was beaten after he was approached by two men and a woman at Queen's Quay in Derry around 12.30am on Saturday 10 April. The man was headbutted and fell to the ground, where the two men continued to assault him. He suffered a black eye, swollen face and various scrapes and bruises.

The following Thursday 16 April, another gay man had excrement smeared on the doors and windows of his Derry home.

David McCartney, the Rainbow Project's development co-ordinator, said that PSNI figures showed a 60% increase in attacks on gay people in the district in recent years.

"The recent attacks and the upward trend in the reporting of homophobic incidents demonstrates that this is still an ongoing problem for the community here," says McCartney, "Whilst this is wholly unacceptable, it is nothing new.

"It is, however, something that has been seriously under-reported for decades."