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http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_948815,0015002200000002.htm
Homosexuals are soft targets
Soni Sangwan
New Delhi, August 15
Pushkin Chandra's murder may have put the spotlight on the grave security risk
that the gay community faces, but it was a crime just waiting to happen. Gay
activists have been concerned about the increasing number of gay and even
straight men entering the community with criminal intent. "Last year we had
even approached the police to help a guy from Simla who was being blackmailed.
Someone had managed to procure some pictures of him and was blackmailing him.We
lodged an FIR and the police was able to track the blackmailer down from
the phone calls and he was arrested," says Sunny, a social worker with
Development Advocacy and
Research Trust (DART). The blackmailer turned out to be a petty pick-pocket
looking for an easy buck.
Another doctor from Central
Delhi became a victim when the man he picked up from Connaught Place looted not
just Rs 5,000 from him, but also stole his medical equipment. From the
counselling sessions run by DART, Sunny claims to have noticed a trend of petty
criminals, especially pick-pockets, targetting the gay community. "They
talk well and gain access to the community but their intentions are purely
criminal. Since most gays want to keep their sexuality secret, they become easy
targets for blackmailers," he says. It's this desire for secrecy and fear
of being outed that subjects gays to grave security risks. "We are fighting
more than just the risk to health from unprotected sex, we are actually facing
crimes like blackmail, theft and even the ire of rejected one-night
stands," says another social worker.
In fact, most gay parties which are becoming quite the rage among the community
as they provide a relatively safer pick-up joint compared to the more common
cruising spots, are turning violent. Almost 70 per cent of these parties end up
in brawls. "In fact, for some of the organisers, if the party ends quietly,
it is termed boring," says Sunny.
"We advice everyone who comes to us to follow safe dating rules. One should
never take a stranger home. But someone who wants just a one-night stand
will take risks," says Sunny.
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