A man who was bitten and spat at when he was viciously attacked on his way home from a gay pub says he is scared to go back into the city but is determined to regain his self-confidence.
Lewis North, 32, was walking home from the New Foresters in Nottingham and was walking through the Victoria Center when he was confronted by a lone man at around 2.30am on Sunday. "I saw someone in the distance and this person was trying to hide, but I didn't really know what they were doing," he told Yahoo News.
After passing some pillars in the mall, a man jumped at him and "tried to scare him." 'He tells me he's going to stab me. He's going to kill me. He's going to beat me up because I'm gay. He tells me I'm not allowed to go outside, I'm not allowed to walk down the street," says North.
After responding with "f**k off", North, originally from North Lincolnshire, says he was walking outside the building to a forecourt when the man started punching him. He added, "I go straight to the ground, and he just starts beating me up, and I'm like, what the hell is going on here?"
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North says he shouted for help but there was no one around to intervene, but he was then given the opportunity to strike back and hold the attacker to the ground. He says that during the struggle, the man bit one of his ears and spit on him.
At one point during the fight, North says he managed to grab his attacker's watch and threw it on the road hoping it would hit a car and get someone's attention - without success. With no sign of the attacker retreating, North says he felt "very overwhelmed" and fell to the ground.
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He says the hard fall caused his Apple Watch to alert emergency services, as well as his close friends and family, that he had fallen and trigger a 999 call on his phone. The man continued to hit him, calling him a "f****t" and "b***y boy," and asking if he thinks it's acceptable to be gay, recalled North, who is director of his own architecture, interior and landscape design company.
He adds: "It gets to the point where I can't really tolerate anything anymore, so then they just give up and I guess that's where I get the most injuries to my face."
North, who suffered cuts to the head and a swollen face, says he then remembers seeing blue lights in the distance and his attacker getting away from him. After walking around the corner and telling police what happened and saying, "that man needs to be arrested," he responded that an officer responded, "You don't have to tell me how to do my job, I know what I'm doing."
"I was like, 'Sorry, what?' I'm being torn here like a dog and I want safety from you, and you're pushing me away," North recalls. He then walked back to the New Foresters and was speaking to his friends and security at the entrance when police caught him. contacted him and said they would take a deposition the next morning.
'I am determined to put myself out there again'
North says he went to the Lord Roberts, a gay-friendly pub in the city, on Tuesday and noticed that the mood among him and his friends had changed.
"I was very scared. I had to change the way I would normally get there and I was scared of one of my friends who I didn't hear from," he adds. "The perceptions changed a bit and the group dynamics changed. Firstly, they all make sure I'm doing well, but secondly, they talk about safety in numbers, traveling together and sharing locations on our phones.
"It's quite scary to think that we have to do this in 2024. We have only just started the year and we are already seeing hate crimes against our community."
North says he has felt emotionally vulnerable since the attack and is staying with a friend so he is not home alone at night. However, he says he is determined not to let the ordeal put him off a night out on the town, even if it still feels 'a bit scary'.
"I have to put myself in there. If I don't do it, it will only get worse," he adds. 'I'm going to get back on the horse and start riding again. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so I'm coming out of this much more positive."
James Walker, Chief Inspector of Nottinghamshire Police, confirmed that officers are treating the incident as a hate crime, telling Yahoo News UK: "We take all allegations of violence and hate crime very seriously and officers responded quickly to an attack in Milton Street on January 7 around 8 p.m. 2.35 hours.
"The victim, aged 32, was supported by officers at the scene after being punched in the face. We arrested a 22 year old man for ABH. We are currently treating this as a hate crime. The investigation is ongoing and we continue to support the victim."
Homophobic attacks have increased significantly over the past decade
Homophobic attacks have increased in recent years. According to Home Office figures, hate crimes related to sexual orientation fell by 6% to 24,102 crimes in the year ending March 2023, while transgender hate crimes rose by 11% to 4,732 crimes.
However, the small drop in the first category is actually a step back in the trend, with the graph below, provided by Statista, showing how crimes against people because of their sexual orientation have risen significantly since 2014.
Commenting on the overall increase late last year, Stonewall External Affairs Director Robbie de Santos said: "Political leaders have not acted seriously or quickly enough. Instead, many of them fill the public domain with toxic language that dehumanizes LGBTQ+ people and legitimizes violence. The UK government has failed to implement a strategy that responds to its own statistics and reports.
"We need strong and committed leadership that turns away from divisive distractions and instead addresses the real problems facing the people of this country. We should not be treated as second-class citizens."
