What Could I Do About An Incident?
- If anyone is in immediate and serious physical danger, phone 999 without delay.
- If this is not the case --- you just want to report a homophobic or transphobic incident to the police, or to us --- you may find the rest of this page worth reading first. You will find the police and Intercom contact details on our main Community Safety page.
- If you aren't intending to report anything but just want to find out more about what you can do with regard to phobic incidents (for example, abuse, harassment, threats or attacks) then have a look at the rest of this page.
- If you are dissatisfied with the way an incident is being responded to by the police, your landlord, local government, your employer or school or college, or whoever, please contact us: we may be able to help.
We know some of this page is quite technical. If it is difficult to understand, please just call our helpline and talk to us directly. All our helpline listeners are friendly, well-trained, and non-judgemental, and they are all LGB or Trans. Our helpline number is 0845 6020 818. This is a low-cost local-rate number when called from most landlines.
- Possible protections against being Outed in Court
- Useful new protection against being Outed in media coverage of Court cases
- How minor is a minor incident?
- Just talking it through
- No, I want action!
- Things you can do to collect evidence
- Community advocacy services
Vital information! Are you concerned about being Outed?
We believe many crimes are not reported because the victim, or a witness, is afraid they will be Outed by giving evidence in Court. HELP IS AVAILABLE! Please read on.
Any young person (under 18) who is giving evidence about a crime committed by another person is guaranteed anonymity in Court (section 44 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999). This anonymity lasts for their entire lifetime.
Anyone of any age who is the victim of a serious sexual assault (including rape) is guaranteed anonymity in Court in respect of this attack. This anonymity also lasts for their entire lifetime.
Anyone who is giving evidence against someone who has blackmailed them is routinely granted anonymity in Court. Again, this anonymity lasts for their entire lifetime.
Doesn't apply to you? READ ON!
NEW Protection against being Outed ("Section 46")
ANYONE who cannot give evidence about any kind of phobic crime because they are afraid of being Outed in the media can apply to the Court, at the very beginning of the legal process, for an order banning the media from publishing anything that might identify them. (Section 46 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.)
The order is applied for through the Crown Prosecution Service, who are fully aware of the importance of this for many LGB/T people. The CPS has pledged itself to be trained and sympathetic and to do all they can to get the Order granted wherever this would help get good evidence to Court. (Intercom has helped to train Crown Prosecutors not only locally but nationally, both about Outing and about the importance of Section 46 Orders.)
The Courts also say they fully understand the importance of the Section 46 Orders, and senior magistrates have told us they will welcome an application under Section 46 that will make it possible for an LGB/T person to give evidence.
This applies not just to the victim, but to any friend or other witness who has important information that might help convict a criminal. And it applies to all phobic crimes, including verbal abuse, physical assault, harassment, and everything else. A Section 46 Order is not quite the same as full anonymity, but it can make an enormous difference to the witnesses --- and help get a bigot convicted!
Please contact Intercom if you want more detailed information about protecting yourself or someone else from being Outed in connection with a phobic crime.
Okay, that's really really important, but now let's move on.
How minor is a minor incident?
In one sense murder is more serious than assault, assault is more serious than verbal abuse, and so on. But this is only a small part of the story. A campaign of verbal abuse that goes on day and night for months, or even a single hateful remark by someone who has a special place in one's life---a father, a daughter, a spouse---may well be more destructive for the victim than a one-off physical assault. It's the context and the effects that are important. When we're listening to a victim, what matters most is their sense of how important an incident was to them.
If your first concern is to just get your head round something that's happened then an LGB/T community helpline can be a good first choice. For our own confidential helpline, see our Help and Advocacy page. Other community helplines are listed at the top of our Useful Links page. A helpline should be able to help you make your own decisions about how to respond to events in your life, and should be able to give you information about what choices are available to you. An advocacy service such as Intercom's will provide direct support enabling you to make your voice heard by (for instance) the police, the courts, an employer, a voluntary organisation, or local government.
Give us a call if you want to discuss what might be best to do in your situation. Support and information can be helpful. Otherwise, read on...
The first thing to think about is evidence. If there is any physical evidence of what's happened, protect it without damaging it. Don't even handle it till the police have had a chance to collect it.
If you've experienced a rape or sexual assault (equally whether you're male or female) we really do recommend contacting the police immediately. They have trained officers who are understanding and sympathetic --- and (very important) there may be medical or other physical evidence of the attack which they could use as vital evidence against your attacker, so long as they can gather the evidence fast and sensitively. If you can possibly bear it, please, please do not wash or take a shower or a bath --- that could destroy very important microscopic or DNA evidence, even if the attacker used protection --- just contact the police immediately. Once any evidence has been collected then is the time to start the healing and cleansing process that will help you gather yourself together again. The sexual assault workers are committed to collecting the evidence as soon as humanly possible after you report the crime. They can also help you find the kind of emotional and other support you may be looking for.
If you've experienced a one-off physical attack (non-sexual), or an attack on your property (e.g. your house or car, or damage to your belongings), again, protect any physical evidence such as a weapon, a projectile, something the attacker handled, or the object they damaged. It is amazing what the forensic teams can do nowadays to collect vital DNA evidence from invisible traces. Don't touch any physical evidence but if convenient put it in a paper bag or in a piece of clean paper. (Don't use a plastic bag. Use the paper bag to hold it, and try hard not to touch it directly).
If you are experiencing any kind of harassment two things are important: to stop it from happening, and to collect as much evidence as possible of what is going on. The courts want to stop this kind of thing, but they cannot act unless there is good evidence of what has been going on. Don't worry if you cannot identify the harassers: the police are trained to investigate and may surprise you with how well they can track down names and addresses.
Things you can do to collect evidence
Make a note of each and every incident, with the date and time of day and place. In each note, describe the person doing the harassment, or give their name if you know it. Describe their actions: what did they actually do that had the effect of harassing you?
If you happen to have any kind of camera see if you can safely record any of the harassers, or the harassing activities. But be careful: don't do this if you feel there is any danger that the harassers might see that you are photographing or recording them. In severe cases the police can send someone to visit your house anonymously and secretly install invisible CCTV cameras to record what is happening: we've known recent cases where this has been done very successfully.
If you receive a harassing or threatening letter, handle the letter itself as little as possible. The letter and its envelope could be very important evidence.
Keep voicemails, text messages and e-mail messages, every single one, don't erase them whatever you do, even if you don't know who's sending them. The police can make a forensic record of these things for the Courts and investigate them.
If the harassment is taking place in social housing, or if the harasser is a tenant of a social housing landlord, the housing manager may be able to take action to prevent the harassing behaviour.
If the harassment is taking place in a neighbourhood you pass through (e.g. to get to school or the shops), your police neighbourhood beat manager may well be able to take action if you wish to contact them. (For police contact details see the top of our Community Safety page.)
If the harassment is taking place in your workplace this is unlawful, but not a crime (it is a "tort" --- see Phobic Incidents and Crimes), so you will need a solicitor rather than the police.You may wish to talk to us about any issues of Outing and confidentiality within the workplace, and you may also find it useful to check out our listings of law firms that have joined our Equality Tick scheme.
If the harassment is taking place on school or college premises, or on a school bus, this is a criminal act and the school authorities are now legally obliged to take action. If there are any problems here contact our Help and Advocacy team, which has many years of experience in dealing with schools in relation to homophobic bullying.
If the harassment is taking place in a community space like a playgroup, a mental health group activity, or any kind of drop-in, the organisation which runs the event or activity needs to be aware that by not preventing this harassment they may be unlawfully discriminating against you.
If the harassment is taking place in a commercial or business space where you are a customer (e.g. a fitness centre or training provider), again, they need to know they may be unlawfully discriminating against you by not taking steps to stop it happening.
Use your community advocacy service!
Community advocacy can be very helpful when you are dealing with an agency (such as a social landlord or business, a school or college, a voluntary organisation, or the police). A community advocate understands the issues from inside (being LGB or Trans themselves), and they know the way the system works and what kind of breach of the law may be taking place. They also know the ways in which systems fail, and can (sometimes!) be put right. They can often provide useful background or legal information, and support, and help you to make your voice heard. In the last resort, if things have gone badly wrong, a community advocate can help you make a complaint --- and a complaint can lead to getting the a bad system put right. You can contact Intercom's helpline and community advocacy service through the link in the left-hand column of this page.