Empty Rhetoric
Here's a disturbing report from The Times in which a lawyer and his partner say their lives have been made intolerable by the anti-social behaviour and threatening behaviour of local children.
Now Mr Donaldson says Edinburgh city council, the enforcement agency, has been worse than useless, yet a local councillor, a community safety leader, insists that this kind of hate crime is completely unacceptable.
Sound like so much empty rhetoric on the council's part, if you ask me.
Homophobic abuse by gangs forces couple to quit home
Daniel Donaldson said he had been called a 'paedo' and a “beast” by children as young as 12
By Tom Knowles - The Times
A lawyer and his partner have been forced to leave their home after being subjected to continual abuse by gangs of youths for being gay.
Daniel Donaldson, 34, and his partner, Arran Southall, 28, are looking for a new place to live after unsuccessful legal moves to end the homophobic abuse they have faced over the past two months in the Drylaw area of Edinburgh, where they have lived for more than three years.
Mr Donaldson said he had been called a “paedo” and a “beast” by children as young as 12, and his home had been hit with bricks and bottles.
The children have also smashed the windscreen of Mr Southall’s car and have shouted abuse throughout the night outside their home.
Mr Donaldson said: “I’ve had stones and bits of bricks thrown at our house. They tried to smash my flat windows a few nights ago. They have chanted ‘paedo, paedo, paedo’ and ‘beast, beast, beast’. They kept coming up and rattling the letterbox or banging on the door.”
In a letter to Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary,Mr Donaldson said: “What is more disturbing is that the children even solicited the support of wayward adults to assist in their campaign of terror, shouting ‘beast, beast, beast’ at me and my home.”
Mr Donaldson said the police had done a good job, making sure the children were charged and put before the children’s panel, but he felt the pace of the youth justice system was too slow. The children had returned two days after the hearing, he said.
He had attempted to take out an interdict and non-harassment orders against the youths, yet found this was not possible because local authorities would not supply their details.
Mr Donaldson, a specialist in equalities law, said he and his partner had been forced to look for a new place to live. He said: “My partner and I are now looking to relocate away from Edinburgh. We have had enough.
“I hope that when we move, we get to enjoy the peace and quiet in our own home, and the freedom from abuse, harassment and vandalism that we should expect.
“The children concerned were charged and reported through the children’s hearing system. I had hoped this would put an end to it. However, because they are under 16, they were free to continue the abuse, and to encourage others to abuse us too. They knew they would get away with it, which is why they continued after being charged, reported and warned about their behaviour.”
Mr Donaldson said the police lacked the resources to be effective, as it was down to the City of Edinburgh Council to enforce antisocial behaviour legislation. He said: “I wrote to the council four weeks ago and they still haven’t got back to me. It’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve phoned them three times and can never speak to anyone, they’re always in meetings or busy, and when they do phone back it’s at five to five and then when I call back, the office is closed.
“I can’t get a civil protection order, because that requires the identity of abusers, and the social workers cite child protection issues. If I wanted to get their identities, I would have to go to court to launch a separate action against the council. It’s ridiculous.”
Councillor Cammy Day, the community safety leader, said: “Hate crime is completely unacceptable. The council treats all reports of hate crime extremely seriously, and is working with Police Scotland to investigate.
“Edinburgh is a diverse and thriving city which does not tolerate any form of hate crime, whether it’s to do with age, gender, race, faith, sexual orientation or disability. Sadly, there is a small minority who make people’s lives a misery.”
A lawyer and his partner have been forced to leave their home after being subjected to continual abuse by gangs of youths for being gay.
Daniel Donaldson, 34, and his partner, Arran Southall, 28, are looking for a new place to live after unsuccessful legal moves to end the homophobic abuse they have faced over the past two months in the Drylaw area of Edinburgh, where they have lived for more than three years.
Mr Donaldson said he had been called a “paedo” and a “beast” by children as young as 12, and his home had been hit with bricks and bottles.
The children have also smashed the windscreen of Mr Southall’s car and have shouted abuse throughout the night outside their home.
Mr Donaldson said: “I’ve had stones and bits of bricks thrown at our house. They tried to smash my flat windows a few nights ago. They have chanted ‘paedo, paedo, paedo’ and ‘beast, beast, beast’. They kept coming up and rattling the letterbox or banging on the door.”
In a letter to Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary,Mr Donaldson said: “What is more disturbing is that the children even solicited the support of wayward adults to assist in their campaign of terror, shouting ‘beast, beast, beast’ at me and my home.”
Mr Donaldson said the police had done a good job, making sure the children were charged and put before the children’s panel, but he felt the pace of the youth justice system was too slow. The children had returned two days after the hearing, he said.
He had attempted to take out an interdict and non-harassment orders against the youths, yet found this was not possible because local authorities would not supply their details.
Mr Donaldson, a specialist in equalities law, said he and his partner had been forced to look for a new place to live. He said: “My partner and I are now looking to relocate away from Edinburgh. We have had enough.
“I hope that when we move, we get to enjoy the peace and quiet in our own home, and the freedom from abuse, harassment and vandalism that we should expect.
“The children concerned were charged and reported through the children’s hearing system. I had hoped this would put an end to it. However, because they are under 16, they were free to continue the abuse, and to encourage others to abuse us too. They knew they would get away with it, which is why they continued after being charged, reported and warned about their behaviour.”
Mr Donaldson said the police lacked the resources to be effective, as it was down to the City of Edinburgh Council to enforce antisocial behaviour legislation. He said: “I wrote to the council four weeks ago and they still haven’t got back to me. It’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve phoned them three times and can never speak to anyone, they’re always in meetings or busy, and when they do phone back it’s at five to five and then when I call back, the office is closed.
“I can’t get a civil protection order, because that requires the identity of abusers, and the social workers cite child protection issues. If I wanted to get their identities, I would have to go to court to launch a separate action against the council. It’s ridiculous.”
Councillor Cammy Day, the community safety leader, said: “Hate crime is completely unacceptable. The council treats all reports of hate crime extremely seriously, and is working with Police Scotland to investigate.
“Edinburgh is a diverse and thriving city which does not tolerate any form of hate crime, whether it’s to do with age, gender, race, faith, sexual orientation or disability. Sadly, there is a small minority who make people’s lives a misery.”
