A journalist was the victim of a homophobic attack after a night out in Manchester’s Gay Village on 12 August. Daniel McLaughlin, who identifies as bisexual and works as a podcast producer for the Manchester Evening News, told the outlet that he was wearing a rainbow badge and standing with his non-binary friend on Sackville Street when the incident took place.
The two were waiting for a taxi when a man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, approached them. “He was calling us nonces, f******s, perverts – every homophobic slur under the sun.
He fixated on calling us names,” the 28-year-old explained, adding that the perpetrator was muttering things under his breath before the attack. “I started saying ‘we’re not nonces, we’re puffs, there’s a difference’ – to which he became more aggrieved, shouting the same slurs.
He was clearly inebriated, clearly angry about something. “He started to get right up in my face, pushing me, shoving me, grabbing me and kicking me in the legs quite hard, then he went to go towards my friend.