{"id":167818,"date":"2018-04-10T11:18:50","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T01:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starobserver.com.au\/?p=167818"},"modified":"2018-04-10T11:20:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T01:20:10","slug":"melbourne-homophobic-bashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starobserver.com.au\/news\/national-news\/victoria-news\/melbourne-homophobic-bashing\/167818","title":{"rendered":"Police seek witnesses to homophobic bashing in Melbourne"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria Police are appealing for any witnesses of a recent homophobic attack to come forward.<\/p>\n

A man, named only as Brendan, was approached by a group of men on Smith Street in Collingwood, between Victoria Parade and Mason Street, at around 2:45am on January 27, according to 9 今日吃瓜<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

They confronted him with homophobic slurs before beating him and fleeing.<\/p>\n

“He said a word that wasn’t so nice… then there was one giant punch to my left eye,” Brendan told a press conference yesterday.<\/p>\n

“I remember picking myself back up… I spent 18 hours on my back, not being able to move.”<\/p>\n

The Brighton man’s physical injuries include cracked ribs and major damage to both eyes, which will require surgery.<\/p>\n

He said despite being on the road to recovery, he is still feeling the psychological trauma of the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a life-changing moment,” Brendan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m no longer going out at night by myself\u2026 it doesn\u2019t matter what part of the city I\u2019m in, I\u2019m always looking over my shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called the attackers “scum”.<\/p>\n

The Collingwood area is typically considered an LGBTI-friendly area, featuring a number of gay bars and venues, and a rainbow crossing installed at Gertrude Street five years ago.<\/p>\n

Police are continuing their investigation into the homphobic attack.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information on the incident can contact Victoria Police, or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I’m no longer going out at night by myself”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":335,"featured_media":167819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11207],"tags":[10654,6981,212,480,37],"class_list":["post-167818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-victoria-news","tag-assault","tag-collingwood","tag-homophobia","tag-melbourne","tag-police"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolice seek witnesses to homophobic bashing in Melbourne - Star Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Victoria Police are appealing for witnesses of a homophobic attack to come forward. 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