Beaten up for being a lesbian

From the archive, first published Wednesday 24th Aug 2005.

Homophobic attackers left two lesbians with facial injuries after punching, kicking and throwing bricks at them in Oxford.

A group of men began making obscene comments to six women who were on a bus home after a night out in the city centre at 2am on Sunday.

Victim Debbie Baxter, 30, a show home consultant, said: "I went out for a friend's birthday party with my partner and some friends. On the bus, some men had been trying to pinch my partner's food off her, and were making comments."

She said they got off the bus at the stop before the Headington roundabout on London Road to head home, but were followed by the attackers.

She said: "I remember the bus moving off, and my partner was just laying unconscious with some lad kicking her in the face.

"I chased him down the next road and after that I don't remember anything. He punched me and I was knocked out. I remember when I was chasing him he was holding a white T-shirt in his hand, saying he had punched a woman and sounding really pleased."

She said she still had a headache, and only managed to open her eye on Monday evening.

Her partner, who asked not to be named, said: "This group of young lads just started making comments about lesbians and jeering. As soon as we got off the bus all I remember was having a very nasty headache.

"As I was lying on the floor, one of them came to me, and one of my mates came between me and him and he punched her.

"There were four of us that were hit and two of us that were hit badly."

She said she still had a bad headache, a sore jaw, bruising and four stitches.

She added: "I just want these men to get caught. I don't want them to pay in a bad way, but they should come down on them hard, to show them they can't get away with this."

Miss Baxter and her partner said they had not experienced homophobic abuse in Oxford before.

The women were travelling on the N17 Stagecoach service which left the city centre at 1.47am heading for Barton.

Pc Miranda Moore, of Oxford's Violent Crime Team, told the Oxford Mail: "This was a very serious homophobic attack on a group of young women who had enjoyed a Saturday night out in Oxford.

"The attackers obviously had a problem with the women's sexuality and carried out a violent and unprovoked attack before running off towards Barton."

She said officers were anxious to trace the offenders as soon as possible.

They particularly want to speak to a white man in his mid-20s, who was wearing blue dungarees rolled down to his waist.

Call Pc Moore on 08458 505505, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

The attack happened after a new report released in June found 90 per cent of gay, lesbian and transgender people in Oxfordshire had suffered homophobic abuse and not reported it.