A Cork dancer reports a taxi driver sped towards them while shouting homophobic abuse. She also notes a recent rise in Cork attacks.
Caoimhe, known as Freya Femme, spoke about the incident on the radio. The driver saw them holding hands and allegedly drove his taxi towards them. He then shouted homophobic insults from the car.
Freya posted about the incident on Reddit. She also saw a gay man targeted in the city during the day. She says homophobia feels noticeably worse lately in Cork.
She thinks things have shifted in recent months, and she felt safe in Cork for eight years. Now, she feels less secure than before.
Freya believes online attitudes contribute to the issue. She says that bigotry always exists but that sometimes it becomes more socially acceptable. Meta recently changed its hate speech policy.
People can now say someone has a mental illness based on gender or sexual identity. Freya says this sends a bad message and normalizes open bigotry. She believes it spills into the real world.
The taxi incident happened late one night as she and her partner were walking home from a show. Freya feels unsafe taking taxis home at night, even though they used to rely on them for safety. Now, she feels there is no safe way home.
Days later, she saw a gay man threatened on Oliver Plunkett Street. The threats were extremely homophobic, and most people ignored it.
Freya tries to intervene if safe, talking to the victim and walking with them. She said that perpetrators often leave when noticed, but this man kept following them for quite a while.
Freya’s housemate also faced homophobia after leaving the gym. A group followed them and threw glass at them which led to her housemate visiting hospital. They reported the incident to the police.
The police at Anglesea Garda Station were helpful, however her housemate was shaken by the attack. People are supporting each other and don’t want to hide who they are, according to Freya.
She wants to channel her frustration into the community, as Cork’s queer community is really nice. People are banding together for support, and Freeya admits reluctance to go out while not wanting to let bigotry win.
Freyja thinks there needs to be more public shame again. People feel too free to say hurtful things, and she suggests talking to those becoming radicalized, especially young men online.