An East Belfast non-binary bisexual has described the impact of homophobic hate crime as police reveal a record number of incidents in NI over the past year.
Brooklyn Burridge, 21, was chased and attacked with bottles yards from their place of work on the Newtownards Road after a group started hurling abuse at them when they were with their ex-partner.
The incident was never reported to the police, as Brooklyn believed that it would not be taken seriously enough following previous experiences.
Read more: Concern over 'sustained pattern of burglaries' across South Belfast
They shared their story with Belfast Live as it has been revealed that during 2021/22 there were a record number of homophobic hate crimes recorded in Northern Ireland.
Homophobic hate incidents increased from 366 to 462, while crimes increased from 246 to 336 from April 1 2021 to March 31 2022. Transphobic hate incidents decreased from 71 to 65, but crimes increased from 34 to 42.
Brooklyn said that growing up as a member of the LGBTQI in Northern Ireland can be very difficult, with issues primarily stemming from "an old-fashioned way of thinking."
They said that while the majority of people in their own generation have been more accepting of the community, older generations can be more difficult to engage with and can refuse to understand the issues they face.
They said: "Growing up in the LGBTQI community in East Belfast can be a struggle, although things definitely got better over time, especially with my family. I am lucky that they are very accepting and supportive.
"It was in school where I faced my first real challenges and this was not from my fellow pupils, it was the adults who gave me the most trouble. I was once seen kissing a friend and after that we were not even allowed to sit on the same side of the classroom together.
"In my role working at McDonalds, I face almost weekly abuse from some people due to the way I look, although I don't let that bother me and shrug it off as most of the time they do not know better, but there are other times that have left me very scared.
Brooklyn continued: "Last year I was walking with my ex-partner through C.S Lewis Square when a group started to shout homophobic abuse at us, with things quickly turning violent. They started to throw glass bottles and chase us, and I suffered a cut on the back of my legs. I thought I had made it to safety in an alleyway but the group caught up with me and hit me again in the back of the head.
"A few months later I then found them coming into my work expecting me to serve them, which is something I just refused to do at the time and I am grateful that the managers understood why."
Brooklyn said that they always have an underlying fear when they leave the house that they could be abused when out and about, but have now got to know the places and areas where they feel safe and know they will be fully accepted and supported.
They continued: "You always have that underlying fear wherever you go because you know there is the potential for something to happen and I stick to going places that I know are accepting and supportive. Thankfully in Belfast there are many places that are.
"It is important though that we challenge any 'old-fashioned' and ignorant attitudes though and it is good to see that within younger generations they are much better than the older ones. I hope this means that those who are now growing up as LGBTQI in Belfast won't have to go through the same issues that we have."
SDLP councillor Seamus de Faoite, a member of the LGBTQI community has said that while it has come a long way over the past few decades, there is still a long way to go, with the recent "damning" hate crime figures showing that.
Councillor de Faoite said: “There can be no doubt that we have come a long way in how our rainbow community is treated and viewed in Northern Ireland over the past few decades, but these damning figures show just how far we still have to go before people can feel respected, accepted and safe regardless of their sexuality or gender.
“I suspect the vast majority of people would assume homophobic and transphobe hate crimes are on the decline. In fact the opposite is true, these latest figures from the PSNI show that these crimes are at their highest level in over 15 years. That should make everybody sit up and take notice, we need to robustly tackle hate and those who spread it or we face the situation getting even worse in future.
“That includes delivering the long-awaited Sexual Orientation Strategy and Conversion Therapy Ban, which the Communities Minister failed to deliver in the last Assembly, despite promises to the contrary."
He continued: “Behind every one of these statistics is someone attacked, sometimes verbally, sometimes extremely violently, just for being themselves. It is hard to overstate how much of a negative impact this type of attack can have on somebody, particularly young people. People in our rainbow community are already more likely to suffer from mental health and other issues and incidents like this can make things so much worse.
“I welcome the efforts of LGBT+ organisations working with the police to tackle these issues and support victims but we need to see long overdue action from an incoming Executive on hate crime reform, the sexual orientation strategy, relationship and sexuality education and Trans healthcare if we are ever going to reduce these worrying statistics. I will continue my efforts to secure a permanent home for our rainbow community in Belfast and the LGBT+ organisations who continue to support victims so we can base their services in one central and accessible location to continue supporting the community.”
Police have said that nobody should face discrimination in Northern Ireland because of their gender or sexual identity and recognise there is still a "long way to go" before the community can live their lives openly without fear.
Superintendent Sue Steen, the Police Service’s Hate Crime Lead said: “This awareness day and week of activity hosted by our partners is a reminder to us all of the continued work that needs to take place to support our LBGTQIA communities.
“Nobody should face discrimination because of their gender or sexuality and we will continue tackling such prejudice. We should be proud of the diversity within Northern Ireland.
“We still have a long way to go until everybody in our community feels safe to live their lives openly and without fear. There are still too many LGBTQIA people who are subjected to harmful comments and even violence.
“These hate crimes will not be tolerated and it is up to all not to stand by if we see somebody being affected and to report it to the police.
“Over the coming weeks, alongside The Rainbow Project, we will be hosting a series of listening events with members of the LGBTQIA community to hear what more we can do to build trust and confidence in policing so that we can work together to put an end to hate.”
On 1st April 2022, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Department of Justice launched a new advocacy service to support victims of hate crime, including from the LGBTQIA community, through the justice system.
The Hate Crime Advocacy service is a consortium consisting of The Rainbow Project, The Migrant Centre NI, Leonard Cheshire Disability and Victim Support NI.
When a victim reports a hate crime to the police, their details will be shared with the advocates. They will then contact the victim to offer support and answer any questions they may have about the criminal justice process.
Commenting on the Hate Crime Advocacy service and the ongoing partnership working with the Police to increase reporting of hate crime against LGBTQIA people, Aisling Playford, Policy and Advocacy Manager at The Rainbow Project said: “The majority of LGBTQIA hate crimes and incidents go unreported, with young people particularly reluctant to report their experiences to the police.
"A staggering 68% of respondents to The Rainbow Project 2021 state of the community survey never reported any experiences of violence, abuse, intimidation or coercion to the Police or any other services and only 9% had reported to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
“Key reasons for not reporting included that they didn’t believe that Police could do anything about it or that it was not serious enough and they were fearful of repercussions. When you report hate crime or crime in general, you become part of the movement to stop it.
"No matter how small or trivial you think the incident might be, it is important to the whole community that it is acknowledged and reported. This is why The Rainbow Project is continuing to work alongside the Police Service of Northern Ireland and our Hate Crime Advocacy Partners in Victim Support, Leonard Cheshire and the Migrant Centre to increase awareness of hate crimes and getting victims and witnesses access to support.”
Read more: PSNI identify male in relation to viral Glider video
Read more: Woman robbed by 'gang' in Belfast city centre thanks those who helped her in aftermath
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
