Many gay people accept that attacks on them are simply part of life, MSPs were told yesterday.
Many gay people accept that attacks on them are simply part of life, MSPs were told yesterday.
Christina Stokes, communications officer for Stonewall Scotland, said there was a "huge problem" with homophobic attacks not being reported. "A lot of people feel it's just part of being gay and that it's nothing serious," she said.
Asked what needed to be done to reduce prejudice, Ms Stokes told MSPs: "We need to make it very, very clear that homophobia is not acceptable, that transphobia is not acceptable, that everyone has rights and deserves to be treated decently."
Making attacks on gay people a specific crime is the only way to tackle the issue in the long term, it was claimed.
Creation of a new category of aggravated offence for attacks on gays, lesbians and transgender people would probably result in an initial increase in the number of reported offences, it was claimed yesterday. But they said proposed legislation would encourage more people to come forward and change the climate in the long-term.
Meanwhile, an attempt to allow gay and lesbian couples to legally marry was yesterday launched in the Scottish Parliament. The petition also wants same-sex couples to be allowed the choice of having a religious marriage, if the religion permits it.
The Scottish Parliament petition was organised by sexual equality group the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Network (LGBT).
The petition, which will be considered by a Holyrood committee, is seeking an amendment to the 1977 Marriage (Scotland) Act to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. It also wants the law changed to enable religious same-sex ceremonies - legislation on civil partnerships forbids mention of religion, requiring all partnerships to be secular.
