Australian gay couple called ‘stupid faggots’ and brutally beaten by gang
Joshua and Alex were on their way home when they were attacked (joshua dickson)
An Australian gay couple has been physically and verbally attacked by a gang of men after leaving a club.
Joshua Dickson and Alex Vlasits said they were repeatedly punched and told “you all need to die” after being confronted while walking to an Uber to take them to their home in Queensland on July 1.
Hundreds of homophobic attacks took place in Australia during the same-sex marriage postal vote, and the tensions inflamed in that period have lingered despite equal marriage becoming legalised.
Vlasits’ injuries were severe (9 News)
Writing on Facebook, Vlasits said: “Josh ordered the Uber and we began walking through the Bay village car park and started to hear things in the distance from a group of youth who would have been about 17-19 years old.”
He recalled that they said: “Stupid faggots,” “You all need to die” and “You’re all disgusting.”
Vlasits continued: “Growing up and being openly gay I honestly didn’t take much notice of it and just brushed it off and we kept walking.
Vlasits said the attackers “knocked me out and I hit the concrete” (alexander__v/instagram)
“At this stage Josh still had his arm around me, the next thing I remember is Josh being pulled away from me and hearing someone running.
“That someone who was running came up from behind me and king hit me in the left side of my head, knocked me out and I hit the concrete,” continued Vlasits.
“After they hit me they went after Josh hitting him in the left side of this face and then came back for me with another two punches to the head while I was still in the ground.
Dickson said the attack was “the most degrading and disgusting thing I have ever experienced” (joshua m dickson/facebook)
“After this my memory of the rest of the night is pretty hazy and not clear.
“I’m very lucky that I only left this with a bloody ear and head from the punches, because it definitely could have been a lot worse as one punch can kill someone!”
Dickson told local outlet the Sunshine Coast Daily: “They got [Alex] from behind. I watched him fall to the ground. They coward punched (king hit) him.
He said that the attackers “called Alex a faggot” and “kept saying we shouldn’t be together ’cause we are men.
“That in itself is not okay.”
Dickson called the attackers “cowards” (joshua m dickson/facebook)
On Facebook, he added: “To be targeted for being the individual you are, is the most degrading and disgusting thing I have ever experienced in my life!”
Both men suffered concussions, and Vlasits was left with bruising and a cut on his head and ear.
In April, a gay man in Victoria, Australia was left unable to open one of his eyes following a vicious homophobic attack.
Brendan, 36, was called a “f**king faggot” before being punched in the left eye.
Though he doesn’t remember the rest of the attack because he lost consciousness, Brendan was left with damage to his ribs, skull and the other eye.
