Homophobic crime remains unreported

According to the AIDS council of NSW, Mardis Gras weekend will see a spike in attacks.

But police are warning that they will be out in force adopting a zero tolerance approach to homophobic crime.

In 2010 in one of the gayest parts of one of the gayest cities in the world, it's still not safe for two men to hold hands in public.

Tom Morley and Gus Jacquier can vouch for that.

They were on their way home one saturday night last month when the mere sight of them walking hand in hand was enough to provoke a group young men to launch a violent assault.

"After a while they actually called out to a couple of their friends over the street who were much much bigger than us and came across intimidated u", Morley said.

"They said some really vulgar things and out of nowhere smashed Gus on the head, gave him the scar on his head"

The attack forced the couple to alter their behaviour.

"We both feel a bit paranoid now, we don't like to walk the streets holding hands anymore", they said.  

Many attacks unreported

The anti violence project at the AIDS Council of NSW deals with at least 100 such attacks every year - and they're just the tip of the iceberg.

Researchers say only 13% of homophobic assaults are actually reported.

"The degree to which people are attacked varies greatly", Nicolas Parkhill said.

"Some people can be verbally abused, some peoople can be spat on, up to we've had cases where people have lost their eyes, lost their lives, had glass bottles smashed over them so the level and extreme of violence really is quite great and wide."

Data compiled by the NSW government reveals that gay men and lesbians are around six times more likely to suffer from some form of harassment than the general population.

And there's a certain irony in the fact that many such attacks will take place now just as sydney celebrates a festival dedicated to tolerance and acceptance.

New police commander turning tables

Advocacy group ACON says history shows that there is a spike in attacks in the days leading up to the mardi gras parade and particularly on parade night itself.
   
Until recently the gay community had accused the police of not taking the issue seriously enough, but a new commander has brought about a sea change in opinion.

A married woman from the shire with no previous experience of gay issues, Superintendant Donna Adney has discovered a new found intolerance for intolerance.

"If you are homophobic or if you suffer from any hate crime, you limit the number of people you interact with, you limit your exposure, and you limit your boundaries.", she said.

"So by cancelling people out of your circle because of something you perceive about them, you actually limit your own abilities and your own boundaries."

To co-incide with mardis gras Superintendant Adney has added her face to a new campaign urging people to report attacks no matter how small.