Attacked for Being Gay... How to deal with Hate Crimes?

The need for a system to prevent hate crimes against LGBT people

By Narang

Published: August 31, 2016

Translated by Jooyea Lee

A gay man was recently attacked in the Jongno 3-ga neighborhood of Seoul. The victim (hereafter Mr. A) was in his twenties, a member of the LGBT human rights group Chingusai [meaning 'between friends'], as well as a choir member of the gay singing group G-Voice. At the time of the attack, he was socializing with friends after a G-Voice practice session when a drunk male in his thirties punched him in the face, calling him and his friends “faggots”. Mr. A immediately reported the incident to the police. The attacker attempted to run away, but was stopped by other gay men at the scene of the attack, and subsequently taken in by the police for questioning.

No place is safe

At the time of the assault, Mr. A didn’t display any “signs of homosexuality”: neither the clothes he was wearing nor his behavior suggested his sexual identity. He was looking at his cell phone in front of the bar where he was hanging out with his friends. It seems the attacker was aware that the Jongno 3-ga neighborhood was a frequent gathering spot for gay men.

Lee Jong-gul, the secretary-general of Chingusai, explains, “Cases from other countries show that hate crimes tend to occur more frequently in places with more LGBT activity. In those areas, people are more freely able to express themselves. In Korea, Jongno 3-ga and Itaewon are such places.” The reality is that, even in the few places where LGBT people are more or less “allowed” to reveal who they are, their safety is not guaranteed.

Of course, the recent attack is not the first case where LGBT people were targeted solely because of their sexual orientation or identity. In October 2011, a gay man who was passing through the Jongno 3-ga area holding his partner's hand was punched by three male pedestrians.

Queer Parade 2016: Opening performance by G-Voice ⓒ Photo by: Chingusai

Attacked, but can’t report

Physical attacks against LGBT people are not unrelated to the general homophobia that is pervasive across the country. Such crimes make LGBT people repress themselves even more. What's worse is the fact that when an incident like the recent Jongno 3-ga attack occurs, the victim is not likely to come forward.

The 2014 “Survey on LGBTI Social Needs in South Korea”, conducted by Chingusai, polled 3,159 people. Among the respondents, 41.5% had firsthand experience of discrimination or violence. However, only 5.1% of them reported the incident to the police or consulted a human rights organization about it. As for the reason why they didn't report the crimes (multiple answers allowed), “Because I didn’t want to reveal my identity” was the number one response with 67.4% of the respondents.

Mr. Lee Jong-gul says, “Even when they are attacked, LGBT people tend to blame themselves for ‘revealing themselves or doing something wrong.’ They’re afraid of being outed, and so avoid reporting or publicizing incidents. This reality poses challenges to even figuring out how often LGBT people experience hate crimes.

As for the reasoning behind such lack of reporting, 61.9% of the respondents revealed, ‘Because nothing will change, even if they are reported’; while 27% said, ‘Because I’m not sure where to report’; and 6.4% said ‘Because I’m afraid of the attacker’. These responses show the painful reality of Korea where there’s no relevant legislation or relief measures for LGBT people.

A flashmob organized by 'Korea IDAHOT Joint Action', May 14, 2016
ⓒ Photo by Chingusai

Hate crimes: time to introduce prevent measures

The recent Jongno 3-ga attack was unusual in that the victim actively sought police involvement. Even so, and even if the attacker is prosecuted, the case is unlikely to receive serious consideration as a hate crime. Chances are, the attack will end up as either an infliction of injury or a general assault charge. According to Han Ga-ram, a lawyer at Hope and Law, a public interest human rights advocacy group, the Jongno 3-ga attack is a typical hate crime targeting LGBT people. He introduced cases from other countries with hate crime legislation in place.

He says, “Through its Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the United States prohibits hate crimes based on sexual orientation/identity, ethnicity, or religion at the federal level. Furthermore, each state has aggravated punishment for hate crimes. As for Europe, each country not only has additional punishment for hate crimes, they proactively campaign for the issue and train the police force to prevent the crimes.”

Mr. Han emphasized, "What we urgently need in Korea is a policy and legislation to prevent hate crimes against minorities.”

On the other hand, Chingusai’s Lee Jong-gul advised, “If you as an LGBT person find yourself exposed to a hate crime, call 112 right away and preserve evidence like photos.” Instead of dismissing the incidents, he also asked victims to get in touch with human rights organization. “When we gather these cases, hate crimes will become more visible, and later, a foundation for legislation to prevent hate crimes.”

Going forward, Chingusai will actively cooperate with the police on this case. Internally, they will also distribute a guidebook amongst their members on how to respond to hate crimes.

Originally article: http://www.ildaro.com/sub_read.html?uid=7579