Gay homicides : activism, victims and law and order

![CDATA[Since the late 1980s, there have been claims of a marked increase in violence directed against lesbians and gay men in various nations including Australia (Herek & Berrill 1992; Mason 1993). Because these attacks have only very recently become a focus of police attention or researchers’ interest, there can only be speculation about their real level of increase. It seems likely that the increased concern with this violence is a result of the efforts of activists themselves. Community research, protest rallies and other publicity, have provided the catalyst for making homophobic violence into a public issue. This change has often reflected the growing political strength and organisation of this minority group. Especially in New South Wales, the lesbian and gay community now has an increased and often open representation in party politics and sections of the state bureaucracy. Official concerns about assaults and harassment formed the political backdrop for the 1993 enactment of legislation against sexual vilification in that state.]]