A group of teenagers haveallegedly brutally attacked at least nine gay men in apparent hate crimes in Christchurch in six weeks. The details of these attacks are something out of the days when homosexuality was a crime. But these attacks are happening in 2023 at a large scaleand to extremely violent extents.
Kelly Hopkins is one of the nine gay men who have told police they were attacked. Hopkins received a message on Grindr, a queer hook-up app, from an anonymous account. The account sent photos in private messages to Hopkins. The account followed with a home address but asked to meet in public first.
Hopkins says he arrived at the dark and quiet Ferrier Park and suddenly out of the park came a boy with a torch who did not look like the photos the Grindr account sent. The boy yelled out, and on cue, a group of boys dressed in black came out and started beating Hopkins.
Hopkins tried to escape on his bicycle, but the boys knocked him down on the road and continued punching and kicking him. The boys smashed his glasses and threw a rock at his head but eventually, fearing someone would catch them, they left Hopkins bleeding on the road.
Hopkins told The Press he felt the boys were going to kill him.
Hopkins is not alone. At least eight other gay men have allegedly been attacked in similar circumstances. The teenagers pinned a man to the ground while hitting his head. They robbed him, smashed his glasses and left him lying unconscious in the street, eventually causing him a concussion.
Another gay man was allegedly chased, beaten in the head and knocked out. He needed stitches across his eyebrow and chin. The teenagers are alleged to have violated him by removing his clothes and exposing his genitals on a video recording. The teenagers have recorded their other attacks as well and victims fear they might end up on the internet.
The attacks have left queer people feeling vulnerable and afraid. Stock Photo / 123RF
The insidious part about these attacks is the teenagers have infiltrated an app that was made for queer people to interact with each other safely and have created an unnerving level of fear. It is not only apps that homophobes and transphobia have infiltrated. They have also been cropping up in queer bars and clubs.
These attacks are so gruesome and callous that people could die. No one should have to consider the prospect of being attacked so brutally that they might die when engaging in one-off romantic experiences or hook-ups.
These are not spontaneous attacks. They appear to bepremeditated group attacks. The victims are walking into a lion’s den. The queer community has a history of being persecuted by the Government, which is bad enough, but the thought of another gay man showing up to a park and realising he is about to be beaten sends a shiver down my spine. It is debilitating.
Using a hook-up app does not invite or justify any form of attack. Heterosexual people use Tinder as a hook-up app. It does not mean we should start chasing heterosexual people down the road to bash their heads in. Hook-up culture is a common part of many people’s lives but is still a taboo topic.
Shying away from talking about hook-up culture will endanger people to anti-queer attacks. When there are such high stakes, we must speak openly about the dangers and take safety measures. It may require people to stop engaging in activities that lead to these attacks or to take extra precautions.
People can meet at locations they know well or near their home, not too late at night and share their live location with a friend and have them on a phone call until all seems well. If at any point anything seems fishy, call it off – better alone than dead.
Queer people need to get vigilant - anyone amongst us could be the next victim.
