Inquiry hears of vlence at gay beats | The Canberra Tim | Canberra, ACT

Contents:

• GAY CANBERRA
• CANBERRA GAY AND LBIAN SCENE
• INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS
• GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'
• POLICE 'SEEMED OBLIV' TO GAY BEAT NEAR CLIFF ATH
• CANBERRA, NOT SYDNEY, IS THE GAY AND LBIAN PAL OF ATRALIA
• GAY CANBERRA GUI | CANBERRA’S BT LGBTIQ+ BARS, CLUBS, RTRANTS & MORE!
• MAN’S FURY OVER ‘PRAVED’ TOILET ACT SPARKS BATE OVER GAY BEATS
• GAY-HATE RELATED HOMICIS: AN OVERVIEW OF MAJOR FDGS NSW
• GAY BEAT TO TRIBUTE: BONDI'S MARKS PARK TO GET HATE CRIME MEMORIAL
• AS CANBERRA MARKS TWO YEARS SCE THE SAME-SEX Y VOTE, ONCE-BULLIED GAY TEEN TAK TO THE STAGE
• GAY HATE BEHD 27 SYDNEY MURRS, POLICE REVIEW REVEALS
• ATRALIA REVISS A CHAPTER WHEN GANGS KILLED GAY MEN FOR SPORT

GAY CANBERRA

As Garry Wotherspoon observ: “[H]omosexuals have been imagative creatg other for a range of stutns … sce the ways which heterosexuals n meet each other openly are not available to homosexuals. The highlight of the gay scene Canberra is whout qutn the SprgOut Pri Ftival each November, which lasts the regn of three weeks and clus an almost endls stream of parti, a rally para and live mic.

(PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)Men at a popular Sydney gay beat had to stter when a r reered towards them "like was on a kangaroo shoot", an quiry has r's headlights and an apparent spotlight were blazg as the r drove at men at Rhcutters Bay Park Sydney's east, the 1990s. "It was a by Saturday night and men were stterg everywhere, nng like the dickens, " Barry Charl said on 72-year-old long-time gay rights activist was givg evince at the NSW Special Commissn of Inquiry to LGBTIQ hate is vtigatg historil hate crim agast the queer muny, particularly a wave of gay hate homicis and other crim Sydney durg the AIDS epimic of the 1980s. Dcribg himself as a "beats queen", Mr Charl said he was aware that vlence agast gay men at beats was occurrg before the equented them between 1969 and 1998, visg at least 40 different on around Sydney.

"Hangg around for longer than necsary was dangero, bee you knew you uld be apprehend, or were danger of vlence and some men were at risk of beg exposed as gay, " he Charl listed a strg of vlent acts he wnsed or experienced at beats, tellg the quiry he managed to sprt over the footbridge away om the r at the Rhcutters Bay cint. Another time an adolcent boy h him wh a tree saplg om the park, which was later the scene of a bashg murr of a gay outled his years of activism, notg a gay solidary Sydney rally phed the marchers back and began arrtg people after they cid to lay a wreath at the war memorial, to memorate gay and lbian service people.

CANBERRA GAY AND LBIAN SCENE

"Durg the early 1980s, the gay muny's growg visibily and nfince also meant growg vlence agast he rejected opns that the advent of HIV/AIDS gave rise to more anti-gay vlence wh beg ed as an exce or jtifitn. A NSW Supreme Court jury returned s guilty verdict on Wednday after hearg that Early had attacked the 43-year-old martial arts expert Randwick's Alison Park spectg he was homosexual. A post-mortem examatn revealed he died om severe head juri and a 1988 qut found Mr Keam died after beg stck by a person or persons Park had a reputatn for beg a gay beat, crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told the jury as the trial verdict spe a wholly circumstantial se beg brought agast Early wh no wns seeg he had any ntact wh Mr June 2021 a $1 ln reward was offered for rmatn about the was arrted at a home Clayton, Victoria two months later and was extraded to NSW where he remaed for the Keam's hherto unsolved ath was one of 88 killgs between 1976 and 2000 recently reviewed by police probg potential gay-hate vlence and allegatns of prr intified as heterosexual, was divorced om one woman and a facto relatnship wh another, havg a child wh each.

For further enquiri please ntact Health Atralia (formerly the Natnal LGBTI Health Alliance), is the natnal peak health anisatn Atralia for anisatns and dividuals that provi health-related programs, servic and rearch foced on lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex and queer people and other sexualy, genr and bodily diverse (LGBTIQ+) people and muni. Parentlk provis rmatn to assists parents who have learnt their child is gay or is Atralia’s first natnally-oriented unsellg and referral service for people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or tersex (LGBTI) Out provis eful rmatn if you are about to tell someone you are gay, lbian or bisexual. SprgOut Canberra's queer pri ftival celebrat the diversy of lol Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Intersex Office of LGBTIQ+ Affairs ordat and supports strategic ernment projects and policy to promote Canberra as the most LGBTIQ iendly Cy.

(Bian De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)When police found 18-year-old Mark Stewart ad at the bottom of a cliff near a known gay beat on Sydney's northern beach, they quickly led out foul a special missn of quiry to spected gay hate crim has heard NSW Police should have done more to vtigate if Mr Stewart was ath near Manly 1976 is the last a tranche of four s beg examed by the probe, which was lnched at the urgg of a NSW parliamentary quiry to LGBTQI hate crim om 1970 to is unclear whether Mr Stewart fell to his ath as a rult of suici, accint or homici, unsel assistg the quiry William Mars told the hearg police should have done more to nvass the area for potential evince or Mars cricised police for losg Mr Stewart's se file as well as a potentially tellg note found on his body, which uld have been the clue on whether he had met up wh a potential romantic tert at a Kgs Cross gay bar.

INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS

Officers appeared obliv to the fact Mr Stewart may have been the area bee was a known gay beat, even though police had been btg men for homosexual activi there, Commissner John Sackar was hate asslts were a mon occurrence Manly durg the 1970s but the police report found "no spic circumstanc" surroundg the ath. Earlier, the quiry examed the se of Carl Stockton, a 52-year-old tra driver who was found lyg on an ner Sydney street 1996, vered blood and sufferg severe head Stockton, who was openly gay, died five days later at St Vcent's Mr Stewart's se, there was not enough evince to terme that Mr Stockton was targeted for his sexualy, even though he had prevly been the victim of several gay hate attacks, unsel assistg the quiry Christe Melis told the did not follow up on tip-offs about a group of men the area who were allegedly bashg patrons at Bar Cleveland, a pub equented by gay men that Mr Stockton attend on the night he staed his was mon for victims of LGBTQI bias crim not to report to police at the time due to "mistst and act relatns", Ms Melis said. Homosexual nduct was crimalised NSW 1984 but homophobic attus were still rife the muny durg the 1980s and '90s, and anti-gay bashgs were special missn is due to liver s report to the NSW ernor June.

GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'

When namg the world's great "rabow ci", New York, San Francis and R Janeiro e to of urse Sydney, home of the annual Mardi Gras, which began as a prott and has bee one of the pla's great open statistilly speakg, Canberra is Atralia's real gay and lbian pal — y, normre Canberra, wh s policians and sued not jt by a ltle. (ABC News: Gregory Nelson)Perhaps unsurprisgly, the ACT also has Atralia's first openly gay head of ernment, Andrew Friday Mr Barr announced his Government's latt move to make the pal an LGBTQI-iendly cy: will ban nversn therapy — a practice sometim lled "prayg the gay away" — which tri to change a person's sexual discreded practice, ed historilly by some church groups, has been lked to mental harm and suici, and is now rarely ed. Geni Pictur (“Mrs Lowry & Son, ” “Good Luck To You, Leo Gran”) has optned Emmett Monterey’s acclaimed memoir “Go the Way Your Blood Beats” – about growg up gay and disabled 1980s London – for TV adaptatn.

Sharg a screenshot of the post to the “Marrickville Rantg/Complats” page, she mocked the man sayg he had “accintally happened across a ‘beat’” — public plac where gay men meet for sex.

POLICE 'SEEMED OBLIV' TO GAY BEAT NEAR CLIFF ATH

”More CoverageOne man who attend beats on a “semi-regular basis” told SBS, “It’s simply bee a part of gay culture and some men — spe beg able to fd someone nearby on Grdr to f**k the fort of their own home — prefer to go cisg at a beat bee that’s what turns them on.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, young men were targeted a wave of bashgs and murrs of at popular gay beats across the published as Man’s fury over ‘praved’ toilet act sparks bate over gay beats.

A gay prejudice related homici or gay-hate related homici is one where the victim may have been gay or perceived to be gay and the offenr’s actns motivated to some signifint gree by prejudice or homophobia. The New South Wal Police Gay/Lbian Client Consultant has piled and llated tails of the homicis for 10 years, monored trends, and enuraged rearchers to nduct valuable studi such as those by Tomsen (1994) and Tomsen and Gee (1997). For a se to be clud the dataset, there mt be a primary, but not necsarily sole, al lk between the offenr’s apparent prejudice towards gay men/lbians and their lethal act of vlence.

CANBERRA, NOT SYDNEY, IS THE GAY AND LBIAN PAL OF ATRALIA

Siar to the monorg role of the New South Wal Police Gay/Lbian Client Consultant, the Atralian Instute of Crimology (AIC) through s Natnal Homici Monorg Program (NHMP) has llected tails of all homici cints, victims and offenrs that have occurred each Atralian state and terrory sce 1 July 1989. This study exam differenc and siari between male gay-hate related and other male homicis, focg on characteristics associated wh the cint, victim and offenr, and the victim-offenr relatnship. The gay-hate related homicis piled by the Police Gay/Lbian Client Consultant were classified as such after nsultatn wh tectiv, general duti police, wns and rearchers who have read roners’ fil and/or urt transcripts.

Durg this 10-year perd, there were 37 male victims of gay-hate related homici (exclus seven s where sufficient tails were not available the NHMP dataset earlier years), and 454 male victims of other homici (after exclns discsed Study Parameters below) intified New South Wal. The opportuny to supplement the NHMP database wh rmatn provid by the Gay/Lbian Client Consultant has allowed a fairly accurate acunt of gay-hate related homicis and the characteristics thereof.

A gay-hate related homici differs om a gay person beg killed by another gay person—such an cint is not motivated by a hatred for the dividual bee they are part of a particular group, such as gays or lbians (Goln, Jackson and Cm 1999).

GAY CANBERRA GUI | CANBERRA’S BT LGBTIQ+ BARS, CLUBS, RTRANTS & MORE!

Durg this perd, on average, approximately four men were killed each year New South Wal attacks related to prejudice or homophobia which may also be lked to notns of genr and masculy. A male gay-hate related homici cint is more likely to occur on a Friday between midnight and 6 am, whereas other male homici cints are most likely to occur on Sunday between 6 pm and midnight. Table 1 NEW SOUTH WALES, 1 July 1989 – 30 June 1999: Comparison of Incint Characteristics Between Male Gay-Hate Related Homicis and Other Male Homicis Involvg Victims Aged Over 18.

A study by the New South Wal Gay/Lbian Client Consultant (Thompson 1999) showed that 70 per cent of the 42 gay-hate homicis rerd 1990-99 volved savage beatgs, repeated stabbgs, mutilatn and/or expectatn of a higher level of btaly has been prented hate crime lerature—see Lev and McDermt (1993), Mason (1993), Mart (1996) and has been observed by hospal staff particularly regard to gay-hate homici—see Herek and Berrill (1992). Table 2 NEW SOUTH WALES, 1 July 1989 – 30 June 1999: Comparison of Victim Characteristics Between Male Gay-Hate Related Homicis and Other Male Homicis Involvg Victims Aged Over 18. Approximately 39 per cent of gay-hate related offenrs were aged between 18 to 24 years (median age of 20 years), pared wh 34 per cent (18 to 24 years) of the offenrs of other homicis (median age of 25 years) (see Tabl 3 and 4).

Table 3 NEW SOUTH WALES, 1 July 1989 – 30 June 1999: Comparison of Offenr Characteristics Between Male Gay-Hate Related Homicis and Other Male Homicis Involvg Victims Aged Over 18.

MAN’S FURY OVER ‘PRAVED’ TOILET ACT SPARKS BATE OVER GAY BEATS

Table 4 NEW SOUTH WALES, 1 July 1989 – 30 June 1999: Comparison of Victim - Offenr Relatnship Characteristics Between Male Gay-Hate Related Homicis and Other Male Homicis Involvg Victims Aged Over 18. Another difference between gay-hate related homicis and other homicis is that jt unr half of the s, the victims of gay-hate related homici were employed, and their offenrs not the workforce at the time of the offence (43.

This may dite that male gay-hate related homicis differ om homici general which most often occurs between persons who belong to what n be scribed as an unr-class Atralian society (Jam and Carch 1997). This study has found that there are differenc between gay-hate related and other New South Wal homicis relatg to cint, victim and offenr characteristics, and the victim-offenr relatnship.

2) outl immediate preventn measur which should be addrsed across Atralia, but her overridg premise is “that vlence preventn measur mt start by removg the anti-homosexual bias Atralian society... The clu the specialised Police Gay/Lbian Liaison Officers (GLLOs), munitn and tn mpaigns, workg wh schools to rce youth volvement anti-gay vlence, targeted recment advertisements, an award wng web-se, improvg liaison wh the gay and lbian muny, and marchg the annual Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras Para unr the banner “We’re Here Bee We Care”. Preventn n beg by parliaments and the judicial system placg a stronger emphasis on the rceratn of those who m gay-hate related homici, and so reaffirmg the serns of the offenc, and the importance of equaly.

GAY-HATE RELATED HOMICIS: AN OVERVIEW OF MAJOR FDGS NSW

It should be noted, however, that the verdicts were prr to New South Wal removg the unsworn statement om the dock and prr to ernment attentn focsg on the trials via the New South Wal Attorney General’s Homosexual Advance Defence (HAD) Monorg Group.

One of the signifint fdgs the prent study terms of possible policy directns was that the majory of perpetrators of gay-hate homici were young men unr the age of 25, and that more than half of the offenrs mted their crim groups.

GAY BEAT TO TRIBUTE: BONDI'S MARKS PARK TO GET HATE CRIME MEMORIAL

Edutn should foc specifilly on impartg knowledge of the cince of gay/lbian hate vlence and on lseng prejudic, on unrstandg and on creatg an atmosphere nducive to tolerance, and rpect for gay men and lbians.

AS CANBERRA MARKS TWO YEARS SCE THE SAME-SEX Y VOTE, ONCE-BULLIED GAY TEEN TAK TO THE STAGE

Marks Park south of Bondi was for s a known gay beat Sydney's eastern suburbs where multiple men were savagely bashed, robbed and some s, cliff-si park will bee a memorial to those men after was chosen as the se for a monument to victims of the cy's wave of gay hate crim om the 1970s to the 1990s. "The memorial will be built a natural amphheatre-like space, created by a slope the ground and a clter of tre, on the Tamarama si of the will face south, towards the ocean and Waverley Warren, Stt Johnson and John Rsell were victims of Sydney's s-long gay hate crime wave.

Photo: Jam BrickwoodCr Sally Betts said anisers of Sculpture by the Sea, the yearly two-week public art display that the park, should be nsulted over the memorial's the meetg, Cr Wakefield said the anisatn had been nsulted but the memorial was ultimately a matter for the uncil and Force Parrabell this year found evince of gay-hate bias or spected bias 27 s, while 23 of the aths also rema unsolved.

A review of 88 spic aths has revealed 27 men were likely murred simply for beg gay durg a vlent and dark perd of Sydney's NSW Police Force is now nsirg issug a formal apology to the victims after the men lost their liv to homophobic killers the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Releasg the fdgs of Strikeforce Parrabell, which found eight aths between 1976 and 2000 were the rult of gay-hate crim, Assistant Commissner Tony Cranll said police had learned om past mistak. A further 19 men are spected to have died siarly btal attacks while another 25 uld not be led out, Parrabell of the spected gay-hate killgs rema unsolved and 23 of the 88 s are now back wh the unsolved homici Police today released fdgs om a three-year review of 88 high-profile s and remendatns had been ma to ensure the mistak didn’t happen aga.

GAY HATE BEHD 27 SYDNEY MURRS, POLICE REVIEW REVEALS

A roner found John Rsell, whose body was found at the base of a cliff at Marks Park at Tamarama Sydney other men as likely thrown off a cliff near Marks Park by vlent gangs targetg homosexuals.

"There is evince that I am aware of to show that there were elevated stanc stanc of vlence aimed at gay men and lbians particular, but also other members of the LGBTIQ muny durg the '70s, '80s and '90s, " Assistant Commissner Cranll said. (Supplied) (Supplied)The unsolved homici un is now examg 23 s wh fears homophobic killers may still walk the the 1970s, gay men were found sla parks, hom or washed onto sharp rocks below Sydney's seclud gay cy's buddg LGBTIQ muny was beg targeted while much of the muny looked to 20 asslts took place each day but unsympathetic elements of the police and judiciary meant most attacks were never reported or vtigated. A team of police vtigators and pennt amics om Flrs Universy looked at whether attackers had shown evince of gay-hate reached different nclns some s but agreed eight aths were the rult of gay eight have been solved - the killers were charged and 2005, a roner found John Rsell, whose body was found at the base of a cliff at Marks Park at Tamarama Sydney other men as likely thrown off a cliff near Marks Park by vlent gangs targetg homosexuals.

A further 19 aths are spected gay hate crim and five of those rema them was 25-year-old newsrear Ross Warren whose keys were found at the base of a cliff at a Tamarama gay beat body was never found but homophobic youths were known to be lnchg attacks on gay men the area to assert masculy or as gang puty state roner, 2005, led Mr Warren was a homici Johnson is the spected victim of a gay hate spired Johnson, who was found ad on the rocks below North Head's gay beat 1988, is also a spected ath, like many others, was led a suici by an early Parrabell, like the latt ronial lg 2017, saw enough evince to le homophobic attackers may have thrown or chased him off the 34 s had no evince of bias while the remag 25 had sufficient evince for classifitn - but uld not be led church, state and medil world classified homosexualy as a s, crime and disease rpectively durg much of this support anisatn ACON weled Parrabell's fdgs, but the group's CEO Nilas Parkhill said the remendatns sentially rerce existg also lled for police to bolster the Bias Crim Un to protect the LGBTIQ Parkhill wants a broar pennt review to the crimal jtice system's handlg of the unr-siege muny the vlent s.

ATRALIA REVISS A CHAPTER WHEN GANGS KILLED GAY MEN FOR SPORT

His brother, a wealthy Boston tech entreprenr, has prsed the Atralian thori for years to revis the se, argug that Johnson was murred bee he was gay and that the police failed to see so, appears Johnson may not have been the only the 1980s and 1990s, the Atralian thori now say, gangs of teenagers Sydney hunted gay men for sport, sometim forcg them off the cliffs to their aths. But the police, many of whom had a reputatn for hostily toward gay men, often rried out perfunctory vtigatns that overlooked the possibily of homici, former officials and police officers the police New South Wal, the state that clus Sydney, are reviewg the aths of 88 men between 1976 and 2000 to terme whether they should be classified as anti-gay hate 30 of the s rema unsolved, and the police have not said how many of the killgs were tied to gangs.

Uniformed officers now march Sydney’s annual Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras Para, which drew a quarter-ln spectators last year and was attend for the first time by a prime mister, Mallm if the laws were changg slowly the 1980s — New South Wal crimalised sex between men only 1984 —, society, cludg the police, was even slower to do so. Rearchers who have studied the matter say the gangs were loose allianc of young men, teenage boys and sometim girls who looked for victims to harass and asslt at Sydney’s so-lled gay beats, plac where gay men were known to meet, cludg seclud spots on the cliffs.

Acrdg to a report by Ms Sue Thompson, a former state-appoted liaison between the New South Wal police and gays, one of the assailants told the police: “The easit thg wh a cliff is jt herdg them over the edge. He was found below a gay hangout, but the lol police officer who rpond to the ll ttified that he had not known that at the police found no signs of a stggle at the cliff top, but there had been a storm that uld have washed such evince away. But the roner reached no ncln about how Johnson had died, sayg that while anti-gay vlence was a possibily, so was an accintal the current qut rum June, will hear new evince, the roner’s office has said.