<
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/very-real-risk-of-violence-the-growing-fear-within-nsw-s-lgbtq-community-20250209-p5lanp.html>
"Members of the LGBTQ community are being targeted by an escalating campaign of
intimidation and threats of violence, including neo-Nazi demonstrations,
prompting urgent calls for Chris Minns not to proceed with plans to exclude
LGBTQ people from hate speech laws being introduced into NSW parliament this
week.
The
Herald can reveal a series of previously unreported threats and attacks
against LGBTQ organisations, including a neo-Nazi demonstration outside a queer
film festival in Albury last year, have left community leaders fearful that
worsening homophobia will end in violence.
Some threats have forced members of the LGBTQ community to leave their homes.
In one case, a volunteer at an organisation that hosts drag story time events
relocated to a hotel for a week after receiving calls in which the caller
identified the volunteer’s home address and her daughter’s name.
The call, received at about midnight, was reported to police, but officers were
unable to trace it because it was made via a satellite phone.
“The threats started coming in to staff at the library and to the council. Then
late one night, about midnight, I got a call from a mobile number and the
person started telling me they were outside my house,” said the volunteer, who
spoke anonymously due to concerns of reprisal attacks.
“They rattled off my address, said my daughter’s full name and that they wanted
to speak to her ... they said they were here to save her, to pick her up. I
freaked out and hung up and called the police.”
The threat occurred in the context of a significant campaign of online
harassment against members of the organisation hosting the event."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
