Hate Speech Assault: Johannesburg Gay Couple Verbally Attacked by Homophobes

A gay couple in Olivedale, north of Johannesburg, have been left shaken after being subjected to a vicious and unprovoked homophobic hate speech attack in their neighbourhood.

On Sunday, 18 January, Jason, a 32-year-old IT specialist, and his partner, Dillon, decided to take a walk to a nearby grocery store. “It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for an afternoon stroll,” Jason told MambaOnline.

As the couple walked along a suburban street, they passed a Renault Scenic parked at the side of the road with two men inside.

According to Jason, the driver initially smiled and appeared to greet them. Jason nodded back and said, “Hey”. However, as the couple finished passing the vehicle, the situation escalated rapidly, with the occupants suddenly shouting abuse at them.

Homophobic hate speech

“They started screaming ‘f*ggots! f*ggots in the street!’ at full volume,” Jason said. The men then got out of the car and continued to hurl a barrage of slurs and sexually explicit hate speech insults at the couple.

Jason remarked that he and his partner weren’t showing any sign of affection that might have set the men off, surmising that, “I may have come across feminine.”

Humiliated and unsure how to respond, the couple continued walking without engaging with their attackers.

“I was embarrassed and ashamed at first. Then shocked that this was happening. Then angry, because I wanted to confront them, but I didn’t feel it was safe to. If this is what they’re capable of saying, what are they capable of doing?” Jason asked.

“We beelined home without looking back. I was terrified,” he added.

A neighbour intervenes

The verbal assault was so loud that a homeowner came outside to investigate the shouting. At that point, the men returned to their car and drove off.

“I can’t express how uncomfortable my partner and I felt once we were back at home,” Jason said. “The thoughts running through our minds. We didn’t talk to each other or acknowledge each other for a good hour.”

The couple later approached a resident who lives across the street from where the car had been parked to ask for CCTV footage of the incident.

When they reviewed the footage, they were further disturbed to see what appeared to be one of the men attempting to break off a branch from a nearby tree, seemingly with the intention of using it as a weapon.

“I’m still trying to convince myself it wasn’t going to be used against us,” Jason said.

This isn’t just about us…

Unfortunately, screenshots of the footage shared with MambaOnline are not clear enough to identify the men or the vehicle’s licence plate, making it unlikely that the perpetrators will be traced.

Despite this, Jason believes it is important to speak out about the incident to highlight the reality that LGBTQ+ people face the risk of queerphobic hate at any time, in public spaces, and even in broad daylight, simply for who they are, how they look or because of their expression.

“I was going to leave it, but this is not okay. Not just for me, but for the next person as well,” he said. “This is a complete stranger hating another stranger for literally existing. And if it’s not happening to me, it’s happening elsewhere, and that is just unacceptable.

“This isn’t about me. It’s about people who don’t have the privileges that I have had, and still have. I can see a psychologist to cope with this. We’re creating media awareness about it. But there’s someone out there who isn’t in this position. It’s them I’m concerned about.”

Jason added: “It’s a dark reminder that homophobia is very much alive and well, even if it’s not happening to you.”