Gay man tells of hate crime fear

Aug 26 2008 By Richard Evans

Andrew Hinchliff

A GAY man has told of the horror of a homophobic hate attack suffered by himself and his partner.

Andrew Hinchliff, a county and town councillor in Llanfairfechan, has described how his partner escaped serious injury after a glass bottle was thrown by a hate mob because of his sexuality.

Cllr Hinchliff is the chairman of North Wales Police’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group and a member of gay rights group Stonewall. He spoke to the Weekly News at the launch of the police force's anti-homophobia hate crime campaign in Old Colwyn last week.

As a prominent councillor, Mr Hinchliff claims being openly gay has caused him problems over the years and several instances of actual hate crime, one which was reported to the police.

"A glass bottle was thrown at my partner. At first we thought it was an accident without realising someone was there," said Cllr Hinchliff. "But then we realised someone had aimed it. It missed by a couple of inches.

"We reported it as a hate crime and the police were aware of the group of people who did it and questioned them very seriously. It is very debilitating to learn someone has taken a dislike to you because of your sexuality, it is quite a frightening thought."

Despite the adversity, Cllr Hinchliff says it’s important to stand up for his rights, but feared for other more vulnerable members of the community who were either alone or older and less likely to report such crimes.

"I’m a county councillor, I’ve worked in civil rights for 30 years, I’m a gay man and chairman of North Wales Police LGBT," he said. "Lots of things happen in little ways, it’s not so bad for somebody like myself who’s quite strong, but for someone who doesn’t feel safe in the first place?

"I’ve been a councillor for a long time but if you are on your own it can be frightening. I’m older and gay and if someone did something against me that was homophobic or because of my age I would feel very vulnerable.

"I know people who have been unable to deal with it. As chair of North Wales LGBT I know all the officers involved and know how supportive they are to people who’ve had hate crime committed against them and that they take it seriously and to the highest level."

Read more about the North Wales Police campaign in this Thursday's Weekly News.