Spike in anti-gay attacks in France
As France gears up to embrace marriage equality and perhaps even same-sex adoption, the nation has also seen a rise in anti-gay hate crimes and homophobic speech.
In its annual report, SOS Homophobie said it recorded 1,977 calls on its helpline in 2012, a 27 percent increase over the previous year.
The group’s head Elisabeth Ronzier said the last few months of 2012 and the start of this year were “intense” with hate speech increasing sharply, especially on the Internet.
She said incidents had doubled in October and November when compared to the previous year and tripled in December.
Yeesh. Wherever there’s progress there will also be people who aren’t ready to face the facts, and so they react in the worst possible ways. Keep yourselves and each other safe.
