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Fifty years ago, gay sex between men in private was
decriminalised in England and Wales. Despite this, hate crimes
against gay people have persisted, and the number of attacks
recorded by police has been rising. There were 7,194 in England
and Wales in the year to April 2016. Campaigners say this isn't
the full picture, though, as many victims still don't report
assaults. Six people affected by hate crimes share their stories.

Warning: This story contains details of violence and images
which some readers might find upsetting.

James and Dain were enjoying a night out together in Brighton in
May 2016 when they were followed out of a nightclub and attacked
on the seafront. The assault has left physical and emotional
scars.

James: We were at the bar and we got this look from a couple of
guys from across the dance floor. It takes a lot to make me feel
uncomfortable but it was just such a weird look they gave us.
Dain had his arm around me. I don't think they liked that.

Then they started shouting at us. I told Dain we needed to get
out of the club into a taxi the quickest way possible.

Dain: We left the bar. No-one was about. All of a sudden I heard
running behind us. There was no way we were going to outrun
them. They grabbed us from behind and chucked us to the floor. I
was lying on the pavement and all I could see was James but the
next thing I saw was a shoe coming towards my face. That knocked
me completely unconscious.

James: One of the boys started kicking Dain's face really
rapidly. There was a lot of aggression and shouting of "gay
boys".

Every time I tried to crawl closer to Dain, I was dragged along
the pavement. At that point, a taxi drove past and called the
police. I remember standing up for the first time and Dain
looked at me and said, "I can't see."

Dain: My eye socket was completely shattered. I had haemorrhages
in both my eyes and fractures on my cheeks. My tooth was chipped
and my nose was broken as well. I remember being in hospital and
kept asking, "Am I going to be able to see again?"

They said, "We can't tell you because everything is so swollen."
They couldn't even open my eyes.

James and I were very close anyway but spending that much time
with each other really proved to me how strong our relationship
is. I'm a very resilient person and I'm not going to live my
life how someone else wants me to. I'm not going to let anyone
change that. If anything, this has made me want to be who I am
even more.

James: It's made him stronger and it's made him not care about
what other people think and to go out there and be himself even
more, whereas it's done the opposite to me. It's changed me.
I've changed my thought process and mindset, how I think, how I
look, how I speak, who I'm with, where we go and it's sad
because I remember how we were before it happened and I look at
us now and it's upsetting because it's them who made this
happen. That's what's hard to accept.

It's a year since it happened and I thought things would
probably get easier but they haven't. When we're out and about
he wants us to look like we're together obviously but I'm scared
of something similar happening again. It wasn't like that a year
ago. We didn't go down the street holding hands but I wasn't
fully aware of us making sure that we weren't seen as a couple.

I couldn't ever forgive the people who attacked us or forget
what happened. It will stay with me and I'm sure it will stay
with them for the rest of their lives.

Both attackers, Gage Vye-Parminter and Matthew Howes, pleaded
guilty to grievous bodily harm and assault and were sentenced to
seven years in prison.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-40643461
 

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