1500 March Against Increasing Number Of Homophobic Attacks In Liverpool

A march, organised by Edge Hill student Emma Louise Stewart, against homophobia in Liverpool yesterday saw an estimated 1,500 people turn out in reaction to a homophobic gang attack upon James Parkes, a gay trainee police officer on October 25th.

Whilst this move shows there is a lot of support for the LGBT community in the area, Liverpool has seen an increasing amount of homophobic attacks in the last couple of years, with the Liverpool Echo reporting last week that a student from Liverpool Community College had been set upon whilst walking to catch a train, with the victim believing the verbal and physical abuse was connected to his flamboyant dress.

The gang who fled the scene were, like in the case of James Parkes, school aged teenagers between the age of 12 and 14, a worrying trend that shows a real need for more work to be done in schools to combat what appears to be a growing number of attacks fuelled by homophobic hatred.

Amongst those who were at the march yesterday was Marie Causer, the mother of Michael Causer who was brutally murdered last year, in an attack that was originally investigated as homophobic. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo she said she’s been impressed by the turnout, and that it was important event with people there “…to get the message across that enough is enough and that homophobia isn’t acceptable, not here, not anywhere. It’s to unite everyone and show that we’re all equal, nobody’s any different. My son was murdered for being what he was and for living the life he wanted to live.”

Also present at the march as Liverpool councillor Steve Radford who read message of support from Bishop of Liverpool, on behalf all denominations of the city.

Emma Louise Stewart, the organiser of the march, whilst impressed by the turnout,  was also quick to highlight the need not just to march, but to also report homophobic crimes as the more that this is done the more seriously it will taken by law enforcement agencies and society as a whole.

Photo by Gene Hunt