THE FREEDOM BOOK - Cambridge University Students' Union

10 CUSU LGBT The Freedom Book 2008HomophobiaHomophobia:Fear or hatred of homosexuals and homosexualityHomophobia can present itself in many forms. From snide commentsto physical attacks, it’s always unacceptable. CUSU LBGT is dedicatedto tackling homophobia.We run an online report scheme so that any incident of homophobiacan be entered and logged. This can be done anonymously, or ourWelfare Officer can contact you to follow it up. Even if you feel thatit was minor or ‘harmless’ homophobia, we’d urge you to log it; thisway, we can spot trends and areas where homophobia exists withinthe University. To log a report, visit our website: www.cusu-lbgt.com ore-mail welfare@cusu-lbgt.com in confidence with the details.Police Officers in the Hate Crime Team at Parkside Police Station dealwith homophobic incidents that occur in Cambridge, and can offersupport and information to victims. They also liaise with the LGBTcommunity to encourage people to report incidents and to addressany community concerns. The Hate Crime Team can be contacted on01223 823 285 or 823 270. In an emergency call 999.Homophobic incidents can either be reported to the Police directlyor through the Open Out scheme, which enables homophobic andracist incidents, and incidents involving people with disabilities, to bereported at places other than a Police station. The Open Out Co-ordinator,Marie McKearney can be contacted on 01223 823552. OpenOut packs are available from CUSU and a member of the Open Outteam will contact anyone who makes a report, although reports canbe made anonymously.Further information about Open Out and the Police Liaison Officerscan be found at www.gaylinkscambs.org.uk.