We are in a crisis, in fact we have always been in a crisis as a country, when it comes to hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex+ (LGBTQI+) people.
It just so happens that there will be a period where there is sharp focus because there seems to be a spate in killings motivated by the hate for the LGBTQI+. I think a lot of killings continue to happen when we have shifted attention away from these issues.
Many go unrecorded and get lost with the many other neglected cases found within our justice system. Sadly, this should come as no surprise to many of you reading this when you think of the attitudes of our government officials.
Think of this context – a gay man walks into a police station to report being raped or attacked because they are gay. I am sure we can agree that the individual will likely walk out with very little assistance but face a lot of prejudice and ridicule instead.
As a country I do not believe we are meeting this crisis with the sense of urgency that it requires. Gandar (2021) states that in the last year-and-a-half, there has been at least one hate-related incident every month – often resulting in the death of the individual targeted. This speaks to those that we know of, many go unreported or never make it to the headlines.
The lack of urgency is also shown in the blasé approach that parliament seems to have when coming to the progress on The Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. We had the opportunity to be proactive rather than reactive but it has been more than two years and very little progress.
The argument that we need to educate our communities on LGBTIQ+ has some truth to it, however it does not suffice because at the end of the day people are being killed. There are no grounds or education needed to motivate for people not to be killed because they are queer.
People should not be killed solely because no-one has the right to take the life of another individual. And this is not something that anyone needs extensive education about.
These are hate crimes, targeted at a particular group of people – hence a legal framework that speaks to this, is critical. In as much as there are crimes premised on this hate, there needs to be sanctioned, legal responses that speak to that specific motive behind the crime.
The bulk of queer people have unwillingly had to accept that their lives will be marred with victimisation, violence and rejection. Often, queer people speak of having to develop a thicker skin than the average person because the bullying, hate, aggression, teasing and victimisation comes with the territory of not being a heterosexual human being.
There is no one queer person that you will meet who will not admit that part of living “freely” as a queer person is “simply” building a thicker skin because these attacks will come anyway and will break you down a lot of times; you just need to choose whether you will let the hate define you or not.
It is unfortunate that this is a reality, where people have to build an internal armour of sorts, to defend themselves against the attacks and victimisation from society solely because of who they are.
A lot of queer people have come to accept the discrimination, rejection, hate and violence as a part of their everyday lives – not because they want to, but because society leaves them no choice but to. This is the only way they can navigate life in a way that does not cripple them.
Interestingly, the owning of the word "queer" is "push-back" because the word was used as a slur to degrade those that do not identify within the bounds of heteronormativity.
The word was weaponised; the reclaiming of this word, although powerful without a doubt, somehow reflects on how much the LGBTIQ+ community constantly has to navigate and push-back against societies' constant rejection, so as to maintain some level of normalcy that should otherwise come without battle.
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