Comments on: New research finds 80% of Irish gays have been victims of homophobic abuse

By: Patrick Dublin, Ireland

Patrick Dublin, Ireland — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:11:24 +0000

I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties but I don't agree at all with your view about Ireland, Vitom. I'm Irish, live in Ireland and things have improved immeasurably for lesbien and gay people in the past decade…..at least in the major urban areas. There is a thriving and growing gay scene and gay men whoul get much less aggro than, say, immigrants and racial minorities. Your mind seems to have been poisoned against Ireland.

I would, in any case, question how this study survey was caried out.

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By: Victim

Victim — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:34:14 +0000

To answer your question Simon yes I a quite serious. I have been told by other psychiatrists they have the right to kill patients if they feel they need the medication. The side effects of certain medications are suppressed by drug companies as they do not wish to pay compensation.The human rights commission want to see this doctor locked up but are powerless to act.As well, In Ireland being mentally ill ,gay and ethnic is enough for you to be terrorised by the population.At least I have never had these problems in the UK or Australia.The Irish are the most intolerant western Europeans I have ever encountered and that is where my family have lived for generations unfortunately.

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By: Simon Murphy

Simon Murphy — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:01:06 +0000

These studies are sad but they are not remotely surprising. I think that it is very unusual for ANY gay person to avoid homophobia. In the UK the teenagers now use the word 'gay' to mean 'rubbish'. I don't necessarily think that the levels of abuse in Ireland are especially bad (well certainly in the republic which doesn't have crazed extremists like Iris Robinson and her facist church). I left Ireland about 9 years ago. I was occasionally called 'faggot' as a teenager (as are most gay teenagers) but it was only after I moved to Amsterdam (so called gay capital) that I was physically assaulted for being gay. That is why I am slightly suspicious of these reports. They lack context or comparative analysis.

By the way Victim – I don't understand your comments about dying because of Psychiatric treatment. Are you serious? And have you reported the psychiatrist to their professional organisation and had him struck off?

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By: Victim

Victim — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:58:16 +0000

It seems not that much has changed in the last decade since I left Ireland.This is ironic since when I told a Psychiatrist that I had been abused and threatened over my sexuality in Ireland he started an agressive treatment to remove these false beliefs. Im seriously harmed and will eventually die from the abuse from this doctors treatment. Seems theres' many other Irish gays who have been picked on for their sexuality.It seems many still wish to deny the realities of and impact of homophobia.

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By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:45:45 +0000

Those figures are sad and depressing but not surprising. I was quite fortunate in that I rarely received verbal abuse form my gay sexuality but it did happen when I first came out, over a decade ago. I was also lucky to have a supportive family environment.

Martin ….shame on your mother! She really needs to cop herself on. You are who you are and if she can't or won't accept that then it's her loss.

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By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:26:31 +0000

I hope Iris is proud!

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By: martin

martin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:11:10 +0000

In school, it was an open secret that I was gay, but no one knew officially. Yes, I was the "joke" sometimes & was teased but I would never have called it harassment.

However, homophobic bullying is endemic in Irish schools which the teachers often turn a blind eye because they don't know how to properly handle the situation.

Where I am harassed, is not in school, university, work but in my own home…not by my father, but by my mother.

Any other situation is ok, but when I do return home, this situation is very hard to take…therefore, I spend as little time as possible in her presence.

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