My girlfriend (now ex) and I were sat at a pier close to the Snowdome. We weren’t holding hands or anything and a group of children suddenly started chanting “filthy lezzers!” at us and started throwing rocks at us. I managed to chase them off, but the annoying thing was that this area wasn’t even in a busy public place, it was our one safe place and it had been ruined by some bigoted children.
Other occurrences include a man slapping another partner on the ass and saying, “Ooooh I want in on that, a good shafting will straighten you f****ts out” whilst we were shopping in Farmfoods.
Even after I promptly asked what the hell was wrong with him, nobody stepped in, they simply stared as I tried to defend my partner. He just said, “Well you should’ve chosen to be straight ennit you’re just asking for it’ and promptly walked off.”
Furthermore I’ve had beer bottles/cans thrown at me from car windows whilst walking home (along Lower Gungate and the Ashby Road), the passengers would shout “f***ing lezzers piss off you c**ts” and other derogatory remarks to my partner and I, usually involving rape/death threats.
Children with water pistols and rubbish around where I live would try to assault my partner and I as their parents would sit and watch, doing nothing until I said something, but even then it would be, “Oi f**k off you pedo’s or I’ll phone the coppers on ya.”
In recent months, since I appear more masculine now, I’ve had men threatening to beat me up and rape me. Some groups of men have even tried to follow me home, which has resulted in some evenings where I’m forced to run down side alleys in order to get out of their sight so I can get away. I run home heart pounding in my chest and it makes me scared to even leave my own house as there’s been increased reports of abductions within our area It leaves me thinking, “Will I get shouted at on the street today or will I be hunted down like an animal?”
It just isn’t right, women and LGBTQ+ folks shouldn’t be being harassed at all. It’s 2016 for crying out loud, surely as a society we should be moving on from these everyday degradations?
JB
Location: Tamworth, UK
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