As illustrated earlier (see section 4.3) harassment that may originate as verbal abuse can escalate over time and for some participants their experience of harassment spiralled into physical abuse of person and/or property. The police requirement for quantifying evidence in harassment cases was described in terms of creating barriers and preventing the acceptance or progression of cases where harassment was principally verbal in nature. Where physical evidence was limited participants described the action taken by the police as limited, causing frustration and distress. There were, however, cases where an LGB participant highly commended the attitudes, reactions and actions of the police. The case study below illustrates this sentiment.
Case Study 6: Rose Rose lives with her partner Karen in council housing in rural Wales. They have five children between them. Rose and Karen were transferred to their current housing after having suffered sustained homophobic harassment by gangs of youths. Initially Rose did not have sufficient points to qualify for transfer but a new housing manager awarded the couple maximum discretionary points in view of the homophobic harassment they were suffering and how it was affecting their children. Rose praised the police as ‘absolutely wonderful and supportive’. However, neither the police nor the council could advise her where to seek advice or support for homophobic harassment. Rose explained that the council acknowledged her situation as the first case of homophobic harassment that had been brought to their attention. Rose and Karen were keen to establish that they were being transferred to an area where they would not be harassed again. The council’s response to their anxiety was to assure them that there were no known problems of homophobia recorded by the housing officer or police.
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THE HOUSING NEEDS OF LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL (LGB) PEOPLE IN WALES
LGB participants within the research sample described the nature and form of police action that had been employed in cases of homophobic harassment. These included: • Verbal warning to perpetrators • Taking statements from perpetrators and other witnesses • Taking steps to issue Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) in conjunction with the local authority • Taking perpetrators to court • Installing CCTV to monitor/deter harassment
5.3.3 Access to lesbian, gay and bisexual specific services Only five LGB participants had accessed a service specifically aimed at lesbian, gay and bisexual people when they were experiencing housing problems. This figure reflects the lack of LGB specific services available within Wales and the general lack of knowledge about the LGB specific services that do exist amongst both housing service providers and LGB communities. Four of the five participants that had accessed LGB specific services were living in social housing at the time and the fifth participant was living in the private rented sector. The LGB specific services accessed by LGB participants in this research included: • Triangle Wales (a project that provides housing advice and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Wales) • Shelter advice helpline (a service established in partnership with Triangle Wales) • Student LGB groups within higher education • Local LGB youth groups
There is a lack of information available about the specialist LGB services that are established in Wales. When asked who they would approach for assistance when facing housing problems, a small minority of the LGB participants identified a specialist LGB housing service. Those that did, identified Triangle Wales. Several participants explained that they had tried to find out about LGB specific services when their housing problems occurred, but had difficulties in finding information on those that exist. The following quote illustrates this: “They [the LA] do know a lot more people who they can get in touch with now… Because we said to them, are there any support groups for people who have been through this or are going through this, are there gay people themselves that can get in touch with [with us] and say, look, we’ve been there. No, none.” Of the participants that had been aware of the telephone helpline (previously run via a partnership between Triangle Wales and Shelter), some expressed that they had refrained from using the service for fear that their identity might be exposed. Geographical as well as personal isolation – the latter, which is associated with a lack of knowledge and availability of LGB resources – were also salient barriers that prevented some participants accessing LGB specific services. The following quote illustrates the experiences of a participant who experienced both geographical and personal isolation: “Where I lived there was no services for gay and lesbian groups at all. I didn’t know anyone that was gay. So I wasn’t able to enquire about it. I didn’t have a way of finding out about it. It was all just very awkward and I was too scared, in one way, to phone up the [local] helpline.” (A young gay man from rural north Wales)