Gender Newsletter, "Comrades Don't Speak Out" Russian Criminal Group, Target GayS

According to The Independent, there were several crimes committed against the gay community by criminal groups in Russia last month.

Criminal groups lure unsuspecting victims on gay dating community software or websites. They took the victim to the apartment, where other group members were ambushed. They would photograph the victim's appearance and appearance as a threat to extort money from him. Usually, victims pay to maintain a calm life, and they may be brutalized if they resist.

Real experience: thinking it's a date is a crime

Sergei, a victim, shared his true story to The Independent.

Sergei, 38, said he and the "bait" C sent by the crime syndicate met in Shabolovka, a southeastern suburb of Moscow, when he vaguely felt the date was a little wrong, but he didn't think much about it. It wasn't until he and C entered the apartment and suddenly two men came out of the back of the curtains that he realized something was wrong.

The men of these crime syndicates, and Sergei, say that his date C is actually a minor - although C's profile and appearance reveal that he is over 20 years old. They extorted 20,000 rubles (about NT$10,000) from Sergei, or they would stigmatize him as a paedophile and make him public.

Fortunately, Sergei was "lucky" that his 20-year military career kept him from being at a disadvantage. An hour later, he persuaded the criminal group to go outside so he could take the money from the ATM and deliver it. Later, Sergei ran away.

See that they are "afraid to speak up" and lock up gay communities as criminal targets

Russia's unfriendly ness to gay identity indirectly contributes to such crimes. Homosexual groups, often, remain silent after being abducted, and therefore, criminal groups active in the capital, which consider the gay community to be a well-suited target for crime, make it easy for them to achieve criminal purposes.

The operation process and methods of criminal groups are almost as concocted as the law.

This matter, once again, reminds us of the plight of gay Russians. Because these crimes are not new phenomena, but rather the contemporary deformation of homophobia.

With the exception of Chechnya, the peak of "anti-gay" violence in Russia took place about four years ago. The nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich led his criminal syndicate to set up a trap, beating and insulting more than a dozen gay men. However, Maxim Martinsinkevich and members of his group aim to uphold "anti-gay" values, not to rob money. Social activists say most of the recent crimes have targeted money-grabbing.

Today, criminal groups often use "homosexuality is taboo in Russia" to commit crimes. Igor Kochetkov, head of the Russian LGBT network, said it was sad that the criminal strategy was effective in Russia's "anti-Semitic" environment, as victims faced isolated situations and were often afraid to call the police.

"People are to let to go go to the police because they don't want to their to reveal the sing, and the regular homophobic Statements from officials don't exactly ly encourage them."
"People don't want to go to the police because they don't want to reveal their sexuality. Official homophobia makes it difficult for them to speak out. 」
Igor Kochetkov (the head of the Russian LGBT Network)

He added: "Russian law was not created to help them (gays). When the courts hear unusual cases, those cases are mostly considered general robbery, and the "hate factor" is rarely discussed. For example, when Martinevich was arrested and jailed in 2014, he mentioned only his racist ideas, not his extreme "anti-gay" ideology.

"When it's clearc crimes are play, the state dos s s ss to avoid the case."
"When crimes against homosexuals occur, the state will do everything in its power to avoid prosecution. 」
Igor Kochetkov (the head of the Russian LGBT Network)

As victims are often unable to prosecute crimes, these dating extortions against gays have become increasingly common.

According to a 2018 survey by the Russian LGBT Network, one in five members of its LGBT community said they were victims of such hate crimes. Of these, only a small number have reported to the police, and a few have conducted reasonable investigations.

Yevgeny, 39, was involved in a similar crime in 2017. At that time, he had the courage to report the case to the police, but it has been two years since the incident was not made, as the police refused to open a criminal investigation. Yevgeny believes it is the police who are covering up the criminal groups.

Social activists and victims say the Russian government's "homophobia" has quietly contributed to the crime of gay dating extortion.

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Just "homophobia" can hurt people.

Homophobia, also known as "homophobia", is the simplest definition of exclusion, revulsion or discrimination against the gay community.

Although "homophobia" does not necessarily actually harm the gay community, it can be seen from the above casethat that the social atmosphere or environment of "homophobia" is also prone to indirect harm to the gay community.

Many people say that they are merely "homophobic" or "do not like homosexuals", but judging from the tactics and actions of these criminal groups, the mere exploitation of Russia's "homophobia" environment is enough to persecute homosexuals and make them targets of criminal groups. These criminal acts range from ideological "homophobia" to bloody examples of the actual exercise of gender-based violence.

Even in the Netherlands, the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, there is no shortage of "homophobia" in society. On April 2, 2017, a gay couple walked down the road and were beaten by a group of young men, both of whom were injured. One of them told Dutch News: "We don't usually hold hands in public places to not provoke others. But that day we thought there were only two of us in the street, but suddenly there were six or eight young Moroccans, and when I realized what was happening, I was knocked to the ground by three of them. (Same-field update:"We hold hands against terrorism together!" Dutch men on the global online, holding hands quite gay )

Despite Taiwan's growing friendly atmosphere towards the gay community, the result of the referendum in late 2018, or the constitutional interpretation of the Constitution on May 24, 2017, has yet to be amended on same-sex marriage, and there is still plenty of room for progress on the issue of gays.

"We use fiction to control reality / use poetry to control illusions / Control of gender with our bodies" - How do we know we can control our own lives , Pam Berber

Before we become men, women or other identity, we are all human first, do not have to rush to classify, love is also.

If the fear of the gay community has directly or indirectly persecuted them and led to gender-based violence, should we look back and see if we are in fact a factor in the structure of the injury?