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Lucky to be alive, but faced with the prospect of never being able to fully recover after being attacked by a teenager with a machete.
“When I saw my arm bleeding, I was like damn. I was bleeding and then I started screaming, call triple zero, call the ambulance, call triple zero. So, I don’t know how many people called but at least two people were on the phone with the ambulance with triple zero at the time.
Frank Bonnici, 47, from Melbourne, faces weeks of rehabilitation after being injured in the arm with a machete.
He and his partner Mykey O’Halloron were attacked while walking when they were approached by four teenagers who shouted homophobic slurs.
Mr Bonnici has since been unable to work and says a surgeon warned him he might not regain full use of his arm.
“All my work has completely stopped. I do social work, I teach yoga, I also do modeling. All my work is physical. So, I have absolutely no income right now. Yes, I have victims of crime (support), but I’ve heard it can take months.
Australia is seeing a rise in homophobic attacks, largely carried out by groups of teenage offenders who lure their victims through dating apps like Grindr and Scruff.
The chief executive of Thorne Harbor Health in Melbourne, Simon Ruth, says the attacks took place in multiple jurisdictions.
“We’re seeing it across the country. So it’s Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, Auckland and Canberra. But it now seems to be intensifying as well. So we’ve had a base level of attack on the apps , especially Grindr and Snapchat But now it seems to be escalating into more violent attacks.
Jeremy Oliver works for Victoria Police in a specialist unit for LGBTIQ+ Victorians.
He says there have been several dozen attacks in Victoria since June and more than 15 arrests of teenage offenders who carried out attacks using knives, machetes and bats.
“Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of weapons produced in these incidents and the crimes that have been committed are usually assaults or armed assaults. There have been home invasions where the offenders were able to identify where the someone. There is also extortion. So, at the scene, the offenders will ask the victim to open their bank account and transfer money to another account, as well as armed robbery. and flights, therefore theft of goods that the victim could have transported.
Mr Oliver says after conversations with community organizations and government agencies, police believe there are a number of factors driving these offences, including a global decline in social cohesion and an increase in anti-LGBTIQ+ hatred and discrimination.
“We also know that there is a growing level of toxic masculinity among men, particularly among young men, and again, all over the world, not just here in Victoria, and there is this phenomenon that has been referred to as ‘post and brag’ where people commit any type of crime and post it on social media – whether it’s TikTok or Snapchat – to brag about what they’ve done and try to gain. some form of influence or notoriety through their position within their particular networks or communities.
As Australia experiences this increase in homophobic attacks, Frank Bonnici says the population must be on alert.
“Be careful, watch your back, because this can literally happen to anyone, especially gay people. Even if you’re walking in pairs, if you see something wrong, immediately walk the other way, put Get to safety immediately because this is really bad, I could be dead right now.
Simon Ruth of Thorne Harbor Health says there needs to be a nationally coordinated response to these crimes.
“We also need a national detection service, which we need to track this. It appears to be driven nationally. It appears to be driven online. State jurisdictional police forces have a role in detection and arrest, but someone has to follow up on The fact that this appears to be coordinated across the country And prevention, because this is happening online, also needs to be addressed on a national level.
This view is shared by Equality Australia’s chief executive, Anna Brown.
“This is, you could say, a form of domestic terrorism. The radicalization agenda and how the government is tackling other forms of extreme ideologies that lead to violence and attacks. This should be treated with the same level of seriousness and seriousness and We now have a parliamentary secretary for social cohesion, Peter Khalil, so this is something he could look at. is taking a step forward to say that we are going to act in this area. working with state and territory governments and police services, federal police and other security agencies and ensuring that there is actually an adequate and comprehensive response to this problem.
Anna Brown has welcomed the introduction of a federal hate crime bill by the Albanian government.
And she says the latest attacks reinforce her view that legislation must include provisions against hate speech and serious defamation.
“It has never been more urgent that we have laws, civil protections but also criminal offenses for more serious, really serious speech, as we do in some states and territories, because we know that hate speech lead to an escalation of violence and threats against our communities. It’s all part of the same picture and you need to have a multi-faceted response.
While grateful he was not killed in the machete attack, Frank Bonnici said he wonders what awaits him in the weeks and months to come.
“I’m not sleeping well at night. How long will this last? The stupid dreams I’m having are… I’m not sleeping at night and I’m in a lot of pain and I just keep taking painkillers every day.
Specialist support and advice is available from QLife on 1800 184 527 and Lifeline on 13 11 14.
