|
 Dieter Brishagen says a report about homophobic attacks in Hobart gives only half the story.
On December 15 last year a story in The Mercury began:
“Every night, a Hobart couple closes the curtains, deadlocks the door, turns all the lights out and bunkers down.
“Juan and Pedro fear for their lives after numerous threats of violence and intimidation from a group of fellow residents at Stainforth Court.
“Through an interpreter the pair from Chile have described the horror that has become their daily life.”
The two Chilean men – described later in the story as a gay couple – are the victims of attacks you might expect to find in an area openly hostile to gay men: their clothes have been slashed on the line, bricks and rocks thrown through their windows.
Alarmed, I continued to read about this homophobic violence: “It is a fear they had come to Tasmania to escape,” the journalist wrote. “In their homeland neo-Nazi groups have murdered homosexuals.”
But it seems the pair are not the only victims of the notorious Stainforth Court government housing estate. Another story published by The Mercury on the same day as the Chilean couple’s began:
“Housing Minister Lin Thorp admits the Stainforth Court housing complex is a major concern.
“Charities have stopped referring the homeless to the complex because of alleged intimidation by standover thugs and drug-taking.
“Ms Thorp said options to tackle the problems included refurbishing the development, knocking it down and starting again or selling the land off to a private developer and moving tenants elsewhere.
“‘Stainforth has been an issue for many years and we are aware of the high concentration of drug and alcohol addictions with the residents there,’ she said.”
The two stories made me realise that more than a cursory glance needs to be paid to news reports before we jump to conclusions that crimes are motivated by homophobia.
Reading the first story without referencing the second prompts the immediate response that the destruction of property is linked to the men’s sexuality. But is there a link? The journalist (the same person wrote both yarns) does not give any evidence that the men were deliberately targeted because of their sexuality. There is no reporting of anti-gay graffiti, the men make no mention of homophobic slurs from their attackers.
I’m not suggesting that violence against gay men doesn’t happen – of course it does.
What I am thinking is that the attacks against the men could have been motivated by racism; by that traditional Australian pastime of picking on the foreigner. Or there may have been no motivation at all – the guys live in an environment that not even the Housing Minister is prepared to defend.
The story ends by saying Juan and Pedro hope they will be moved to safer housing soon. “We understand that all Australians are not like this. It is about Stainforth Court only,” Pedro is quoted.
Whether or not they get their wish – and here’s hoping they do – the Chileans’ story’s take-home message is that in a world of victims, gay men are the most easily victimised. I would need more specific evidence to reach complete agreement in this case.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
