As someone who has many gay friends I worry and have great concern for their safety sometimes when I hear stories similar to the serial killer Stephen Port. I don't like stereotypes but there is a hand full of older gay men who like much, much younger men. Most of these relationships are healthy and these older men help guide and make young gay men feel more at ease and comfortable with their sexuality but some take advantage of their vulnerability and trust and it can lead to abusive relationships.
The police had so many chances to catch Port and prevent further murder and rape but ignored plies of evidence leading to him. I think in many cases police officers don't know how to deal with these issues and see a young gay man dead and sometimes think "oh he probably took some drugs at a dodgy party and died from it" and thought nothing more of it. I still hear stories now of young gay men being found dead in lake's after a night out and you never hear anymore about it and it carries on happening throughout the years but I only see it in my local news and not on big, mainstream media platforms.
Putting aside the case of Stephen Port I still see many other cases of crimes against gay people and it's not been highlighted enough. I've heard of men being beaten and verbally abused just because they apparently they look gay and as I said before I don't stereotype but with the high amount of migrants coming to the UK constantly from countries with strict religious values I can imagine they might not all take a liking towards the gay community and have backwards, outdated thoughts about them.
Some of my close friends have experience some of this themselves mainly when on a night out and people have had a couple drinks. I remember I was in Skegness seeing family and me and some of my cousins decided to go out clubbing and as one of my cousins was the only boy and he was dancing with a group of girls. Two men assumed he must have been gay and got up in his face and were using homophobic slurs at him but luckily my cousin is just as scary and got right back in their faces and they ran off like the cowards they are.
I've also had a friend be beaten up and robbed when walking back home from a gay club and his belongings were given back by the police but the criminals were never charged even though it could have been classed as a hate crime as well as a robbery and assault as they obviously targeted him because of his sexuality because he told me they called him a "fag" and a "gay boy."
It really upsets me when I hear things like this because it's 2018. I thought people were more open now a days and it stops them from coming out and feel a part of normal, everyday society because they live their life in fear and the police should be protecting them like everyone else.
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