We are living in 2021, almost in 2022 and still are violence, abuse and hatred used against the LGBTQ community.
People that are hating our community are founding more and more anti LGBTQ hate groups, with the tendency to rise this number.
Only in the USA the number of those groups was at 49 in 2018, rising to 70 in 2019. Groups that vilify the LGBTQ community in fact, represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019.
Here are 2 examples of anti LGBTQ hate groups:
A church called the "Faithful World Baptist Church" run by Steven Anderson, who believes that homosexuality is a sin and abomination which God punishes with the death penalty.
Another example is the "Alliance Defending Freedom", a conservative Christian legal group with attorneys across the country and a long track record of litigating against LGBTQ rights.
Many of the 70 groups in 2019 are well established.
I you look at the facts the LGBTQ community is a victim of violence, ranging from aggressive psychological bullying to physical assault, torture, kidnapping, murder and especially "corrective" rape.
And the cruelty is going far back in time.
Also its proven that the LGBTQ community is experiencing more violence and homophobic attacks than non- LGBTQ people.
Here are some facts for you:
LGBTQ people are nearly 4 times more likely to experience violent victimisation compared to non-LGBTQ people.
LGBTQ people are about 6 times more likely to experience violence by someone who is well known to them compared to non-LGBTQ people.
Let's have a look at different countries.
In many many countries you still have to fear violence, punishment, jail or even the death penalty.
It is clear, to say, that we're not living in a safe world. Yes of course some places are safer than others, but we are living in 2021 and the homophobic attacks are still happening too often.
You can never be too sure that you're safe wether you are actually at home, on the streets, in the supermarket, in a club, even at a police station.
So why should we feel safe? How can we?
We want to give you some examples of homophobic crimes in the past few years, to show you that society still isn't where it should be.
USA: a 24 year old man died from an attack by a group of neo-Nazis. He was tortured for hours, had cigarettes stubbed out on him and carved swastikas into his body.
Nepal: a transgender woman was arrested by police officers who took her to the station, where they verbally abused her and commanded her to strip. When she refused, the officers stripped her clothes forcibly and touched her genitals while mocking her. After they threatened to cut her hair off as a punishment for wearing women's clothes.
South Africa: a 24 year old LGBTQ rights activist was raped and murdered. Her face and head were disfigured caused by stoning and she had been stabbed several times with broken glass. The men were shouting: "We'll take the lesbian out of you."
Honduras: a 23 year old transgender woman was beaten, raped and then burned to death.
Germany: a gay couple was attacked by an islamic extremist. One of them was stabbed to death and the other one left with severe injuries. This happened in the old town of Dresden.
Italy: a 18 year old woman and her transgender partner were rammed with a car by her brother who wasn't supporting their relationship. The girl died immediately, and her partner was left severely injured.
UK: a gay couple was brutally attacked in Birmingham by three men who were beating them, leaving one of them unconscious. They also used bottles to attack, causing serious cuts. They left them there laying in their own blood, but luckily the couple survived. They were walking through the streets in Birminghams gay village.
USA: 49 people were killed and 53 injured in a shooting at an Orlando gay night club.
No matter where we are, we always have to fear that something could happen...
As sad as it is, but in some places we are thinking three times before we hold hands, or kiss or even look at each other. We're thinking about booking 2 different hotel rooms, so no one is getting suspicious, don't cuddle like others on the beach, or in the sea. You never know how the people around you could react. And it's really not about the verbal abuse, we don't care about that anymore, but we are afraid of physical abuse by men, possible rape etc..
So the examples given, are of course by far not representing everything that happens everyday. But they show you, that in situations where we think we should be safe we aren't. And that's scary.
To answer the question in the headline: no we don't think that we are safe in todays society. But there are some countries where the LGBTQ community is more protected by the government, and where people are more ope-minded as well. Just be aware of your surroundings and if ever something happens to you, take steps to bring those horrible people to justice.
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