Ben Goldstone, South London Socialist Party
On Sunday 13 August, two men were stabbed in a homophobic attack outside The Two Brewers, a popular LGBTQ+ venue in Clapham, South London. The two men have since been released from hospital and, at present, no arrests have been made in conjunction with the attack.
This attack comes at a time when the Tories have been increasing divisive rhetoric against oppressed groups, including LGBTQ+ people. Lee Anderson, the deputy chairman of the Tory party, came out and said that the next election will most likely be fought on “culture wars and trans debate”. Protests have erupted between far-right groups and counter-protestors over Drag Queen Story Time events, and the right-wing media was thrown into a frenzy after Costa Coffee included a cartoon depicting a trans-masculine character with mastectomy scars.
The increase of divisive ideas coming from politicians and the media has real impacts, and increases the risk of violence for LGBTQ+ people. Home Office figures show, for the year ending March 2022, that there were 26,152 sexual orientation crimes, a 41% increase on the year before, with transgender identity hate crimes also rising by 56%.
Crimes against LGBTQ+ people have increased, and LGBTQ+ services, such as shelters and health, have been cut, further reducing safety and wellbeing.
In times of capitalist crisis, the ruling class is prepared to attack oppressed groups to try to foster divisions within the working class and distract from the real culprits responsible for our falling living standards – the bosses. There is enough money in the world to comfortably meet the needs of everyone, it’s just in the wrong hands – this is why we need to fight for socialism. The Socialist Party fights for fair pay and services for all, for trade union campaigns against division, and for democratic community control of our safety.
