Are ex-mining towns the last bastions of blatant homophobia?

Today, the reputation of towns such as Castleford and Goole in Yorkshire is well known and documented. Goole was named the worst place in the UK to live if you were LGBT following a spate of homophobic hate crimes in the noughties.

Goole is just one of a number of towns east of the Pennines with this reputation. Although tolerance and acceptance are growing to that homophobic hate crimes are no longer as big a problem as it used to be in these areas, there has recently been a further series of attacks and hate crimes in the West Yorkshire towns of Knottingley, Pontefract and Castleford.

Despite these incidents further north, it is ex-mining towns in North Nottinghamshire and North East Derbyshire where some of the more serious incidents occur. This has been highlighted especially in the towns of Warsop, Mansfield and Shirebrook. In Shirebrook, the situation is particularly bad, with one local authority representative saying "this is the only town where, for their own safety and survival, I strongly recommend to anyone thinking of coming out, DON'T!"

This would have been excellent advice this weekend. In the Shirebrook/Bolsover area in one night there were three serious homophobic violent hate crimes against people I know.

In the first incident, a lesbian in her 20s was followed by two men to her home in the Langwith Junction area of the town. On arrival at her home one man grabbed her and called her a "pussy bandit" and that they were going to show her "c*** what it's been missing". She struggled at which point the other man pulled a knife on her. She managed to reach her personal attack alarm and the men ran off. She called the police who, on arrival at the house, said the neighbours had complained about the noise from her personal alarm and she was taken to the police station for questioning, accusing her of making the story up as an excuse for "causing a disturbance of the peace".

In a second incident, a man in his 30s was invited to a house for a few drinks with someone he considered to be a close friend. This close friend had arranged for a gang to also visit the house to beat the man up, accusing him and "gays like him" of all being "paedos". He was attacked, left in the street, had all his money stolen by the gang. The so-called friend who had arranged this then put a brick through her own window and called the police. When the police arrived, unconcerned with this person's bruises and cuts, they arrested the victim for breaking the window. Another case of the victim being arrested.

In the third incident, a gay middle aged couple were waiting in Shirebrook town centre for a bus. Thinking there was no one around, they shared a quick kiss. As they did this, they were jumped by two youths in who called them "perverts", "paedophiles" and "sick gay b******s". One of the couple was hit over the head and became unconscious. The other managed to defend himself and hit one of the youths who was about to jump on his partner's abdomen. At this point the police car drove past and arrested the victim for assault. The youths were told to go home. The unconscious victim was taken to hospital where they remained for 3 days because of their injuries. When he regained consciousness, the policemen who interviewed him said these kinds of crimes "are only to be expected if you persist in living a gay lifestyle".

However haenus these crimes are, I am not posting this to raise awareness of homophobic attacks - hate crimes maybe abhorant but they are not unusual. What is unusual, which I find deeply shocking, hurtful and frightening is that these were viewed as acceptable by the police authorities in the area. And that the victims have been arrested, not the perpetrators of the attacks.

What is also shocking is I have also had five phone calls from local politicians since posting this blog. All of them started by saying "I am sorry, what are you accusing me of". One even said "I am in Parliament everyday how could I have got involved." None of them seemed to grasp that I have just been trying to make them aware of what is happening in their constituency. One politician, who had a history of supporting gay rights, completely flatly refused to accept that there was homophobia in his constituency and saying he would not get involved, asking me not to contact him about this matter again.

Therefore, I ask, is it any wonder hate crimes go unreported when victims are made to feel like the ones at fault (event to the point that they are arrested)?

I also question, is it any wonder that citizens of the UK have lost faith in our politicians and police, who are there to support and protect us?

And finally, I wonder what we can all do to tackle homophobia in communities like this when even local authorities appear to have given up hope.