No place for hate

I've lived as an out gay man in London for 25 years. In that time I've been verbally abused, spat at and queerbashed numerous times.

Finally, a few years ago, I decided it was time I learned how to defend myself and I took up kickboxing. The next person who tried to bash me got rather more than he bargained for. And I won't lie to you - it felt good. As he looked up in amazement at the 'battyboy' who decked him, I put on a brave face and said: 'Tell your friends a gay man did that to you!'

But we shouldn't have to fight for our dignity or our lives on the streets. And when we are the target of hate crime, and members of our community are abused or beaten or killed, we should expect justice.

This Saturday evening, a candlelit vigil will be held in Trafalgar Square - where speakers will include Harvey Milk's nephew Stuart - to raise people's consciousness of the continuing presence of hate crime in our society. It will also be an opportunity to reflect on the kinds of things we can all do to help change this situation. So, as a community, what can we do?

1) Report incidents to the police. Many divisions now have LGBT community liaison officers. Make use of them.

2) Promote better education. Homophobic hate crimes are often committed by young people barely out of school. Last week the Equality & Human Rights Commission published a report which found that two thirds of lesbian, gay and transgender secondary students have been victims of bullying. Seventeen per cent have had death threats. More must be done to tackle anti-gay bullying in schools, before it leads to violence.

3) Lobby for stiffer sentencing. Those who commit hate crimes are likely to reoffend. A few months in a juvenile detention centre is no deterrent.