Over the last weekend a new wave of offensive flyers targeting members of the local LGBTIQA+ community were found in people’s mail boxes, this time in Highgate around the East Perth train station.
Warning: This report contains details of harassment, stalking and offensive statements that some readers may find upsetting.
The flyers have been appearing in mailboxes for over 12 months and include outlandish and offensive statements about people, using photos they’ve published to social media.
Since OUTinPerth first published a story on the flyers a fortnight ago readers have reported receiving them in the letter boxes in a range of suburbs including Subiaco, West Leederville, Highgate, Mount Lawley, Maylands, Bayswater and Victoria Park.
The latest range of flyers, the fifth version OUTinPerth has seen shows the picture of an unidentified man, alongside a second photo of him performing an intimate act.
The flyer alleges that the unidentified man, referred to as Dylan, drugs people with a chemical concoction only known to the LGBTQI+ communities.
Western Australian Police have told us that they are aware of the latest round of flyers and encourage anyone who has been featured in the flyers to make contact with them.
“WA Police urge anyone who believes they have been a victim of crime to report the matter. The person depicted in the flyer should report the matter to police.
“We acknowledge and appreciate community support in providing information relating to criminal offences as this is an essential element of our ability to identify and disrupt criminal activity.” a spokesperson said.
“Anyone with any information relating to these flyers, or any criminal activity, is urged to provide the information to police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au”
The latest flyer potentially could land the person creating them in more serious legal trouble as they potentially break the state’s laws on sharing intimate images without permission. A person found guilty of the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, or threats to share images, can face between three and five years in prison.
Victim of previous flyer shares how the attack has effected him
OUTinPerth spoke to one of the victims of the flyers who shared he first became aware of the ongoing campaign a year ago, since then the flyers have been hitting people’s mailboxes on an ongoing basis.
“It was actually around this time last year, and at first I just ignored it.” they shared. “I also received a roast chicken in my mailbox, and then someone called me and said they were concerned about the roast chicken.”
Discovering the flyer with their name, phone number and residential address had also been sent to other houses in their neighborhood was something that left them in shock. The photos used in the flyer were taken off their social media profiles.
Soon friends and former colleagues were approaching them sharing that they’d also seen the flyers, and there’s were not the only ones, there were flyers for other people as well.
“There was one person nearly naked, I feel sorry for that person. That’s the worst, if that was me, I would be really ashamed. I feel so sorry for that person.” they said, noting one of the other victims in the series.
When the first round of flyers were distributed through the neighbourhood they reported it to their local police station, but were told there was little police could do and legally it would be considered a civil matter. But after months of the flyers appearing around town friends convinced them to report the attack a second time, this time to a different station.
“I’m glad that police at the another station actually decided to make a next step, but how far they’ve gone I’m not sure.” they shared.
The victim we spoke to said they realised that nobody who knew them would not seriously consider any of the outlandish claims in the flyers to be genuine, but they were concerned about how people who didn’t know them would react, and how to wider LGBTIQA+ communities are being perceived when people get notices like these in their mail.
Calls for better police response and law reforms
The campaign against members of the LGBTIQA+ communities has been goin on for over a year and comes at a time when there is renewed focus on hate speech and vilification of different parts of Australian society.
Over the weekend Rodney Croome from Just.Equal outlined some of the initiatives that could be undertaken form both a law reform and policing perspective to improve safety.
Just.Equal called for training of police to identity hate-motivated crime and better data-collection systems to record it, and the establishment of a third-party reporting system for those who experience hate crimes.
It was also suggested that community education campaigns about reporting hate crime and the damage it inflicts, alongside community education campaigns promoting respect and inclusion for LGBTIQA+ people and others vulnerable to hate.
Just.Equal have also noted that the situation highlights the need for specialist police liaison officers, and the absence of important law reform in Western Australia.
OUTinPerth contacted Police Minister Reece Whitby for comment but has not received a response.
Do you need some support?
If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, support and counselling are available from:
QLife: 1800 184 527 / qlife.org.au
QLife are a counselling and referral service for LGBTQIA+ people.
DISCHARGED: info@discharged.asn.au / discharged.asn.au
Discharged is a trans-led support service with peer support groups for trans and gender diverse folks.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au
Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 / www.beyondblue.org.au
