Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Homophobia in the neighbourhood
John Toner of the Indy reports on the high levels of abuse that one couple receive on a daily basis:
A gay couple have told of their constant struggle with homophobia in Haringey.
Teacher Siobhan Wesley and her partner, charity worker Patricia Macleod, say they are subjected to threatening sexual and homophobic abuse in public on an almost daily basis.
The pair live separately in the Green Lanes area of Haringey but spend a significant amount of time together as a couple in public.
This has exposed them to an escalating level of threatening sexual behaviour from people, predominantly men, and violent threats and abuse purely because they appear together in public as a gay couple.
Ms Wesley, 29, said: “All the time this happens, we’re just walking along the street and we get people yelling sexual insults at us, men shouting what they’d like us to do to them and people just screaming ‘lezzers’ at us.”
Recently the couple were saying goodbye at the end of Siobhan’s street when a man exposed himself to them and began to sexually insult them for no apparent reason.
I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that it is upsetting to read of this homophobic behaviour in the neighbourhood.
What should be done, as Ms Wesley suggests, to make local people aware that "queer people exist in this area, that it’s completely normal and that the comments they make are offensive and against the law."
UPDATED Sat 11th April
From GayHarrin website
Report it!
The local police station for Harringay can be reached on:
If you have witnessed or experienced harassment, report it by calling the Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Line:
- Name
- Address
- Email address /telephone no.
- Brief description of people involved, location and what was done or said.
Tags for Forum Posts: homophobia
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Some cultures ( not races ) represented in our neighbourhood advocate female genital mutilation. Would you prefer that we don't mention that ?
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Permalink Reply by Lauren on
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Ok well I don't agree with you. And the only person who mentioned race was yourself. I am talking about the abusive misogynists who are a nuisance on our streets. I don't care what race they are, I object only to their offensive attitudes towards women.
It isn't racism to point out that this behaviour stems from a culture of misogynists who think it is perfectly fine to force their "own" women to cover up and live a life of domestic servitude, yet it is perfectly acceptable to line the streets and shout sexual abuse at women and girls from other cultures who don't share their values.
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Why not confront this problem in realistic terms though? Why all the pussyfooting around the culture issue? We all know who is doing it and what ideas form the basis of their views,.
This needs to be talked about, it really does. It's been going on for years and it isn't being dealt with because people are too scared to confront it for fear of causing offence.
I don't know if you're a man or a woman Effingham Resident, I think I'd be a little sad to find out you are a woman and are too afraid to acknowledge where the issue lies or why we need to talk about it.
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I don't care what race they are. I care about cultural misogyny. You astonish me with your ignorance when you say (below) that you don't know who is doing it. Or perhaps you're just looking for a rise? I'm not quite sure what you're defending here, or even what you are offended by when the problem is widely acknowledged and has even been confronted in other areas such as Blackstock road. If you honestly don't know who is doing it and you are a woman, take a walk the length of green lanes tomorrow and it won't be long before you find out. If you're a man, get a female friend/daughter/sister to do the same walk but ten paces in front of you and observe. Even better, find two willing female participants for the purpose of this experiment, hell, I will even volunteer myself, to hold hands and walk down green lanes, and observe. Then tell me you don't know.
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And to answer your question , in the case of the Green Lanes abuse of women being talked about on this thread, i am talking about certain groups of culturally misogynistic men who happen to belong to mainly Turkish/Kurdish and North African communities. I'm not saying iall or even the majority of Turkish/Kurdish and North African men behave like this towards women, and I don't believe for one second that it is the case. I can only comment on the cases I have witnessed, been subject of or have heard first-hand reports of. I also don't doubt that if you go to other parts of the UK, or even the world you will find the same behaviour towards women from other men belonging to different nationalities or ethnic groups. I have also been on the receiving end of misogynistic abuse at the hands of white British males, including a member of my own family and a former boss. This thread is about Green Lanes though, so that's what is being talked about here.
If you think that makes me a racist then I can't stop you thinking that. But I'm tired of explaining myself to you. And I don't have to at all. As I said take a walk down the lanes tomorrow and see for yourself.
Does that satisfy you?
*bangs head against wall* -
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Pav - I'm sorry you feel offended. But as you yourself say " this reminds me that a lot more work needs to be done to change attitudes in some sections of society..... "
I can't help what you incorrectly infer.
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Neither did I refer to any specific, ethnic, religious or national group. " diverse " and "multicultural " would rule that out.
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Add to all this those poor ladies in cramped, hot, conditions with no room to stretch their legs or freely move around, rolling pastries in shop windows, and the women-only cleaner adverts that are displayed and tolerated and a walk down Green Lanes is like a step back into the dark ages.
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So do we just tolerate it then, in case we upset people? This is the problem, isn't it? Instead of citing past oppression by horrible white people as an excuse for this behaviour/abuse, why not remember where we all are, what we want from life, what century it is, what can be changed for the greater good etc etc to determine what is acceptable behaviour in broad daylight on the streets of a North London suburb? I can't understand why you are defending and justifying vile antisocial behaviour.
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So when did race come into it ?
As an example, some cultures feel that it is unhealthy to swallow spit and so expectorate on the street. Generally, people feel that this is a disgusting and unhealthy habit.
But it's not a race thing.
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As we are talking about Green Lanes, maybe the traders association could get involved? The abuse we are talking about is coming from guys who run/work at/frequent the businesses on Green Lanes (unless I'm wrong and men come here exclusively with the sole aim of standing in the street abusing women) Might that be an avenue worth exploring?
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