Watch: Spaniards react emotionally to everyday homophobia
By Will Stroude
A young American couple arrive in Madrid after making a reservation to stay in a hostel online. When they ask for directions, the hostel owner sends them a note, but as they don’t speak a word of Spanish, they ask some helpful passers-by to translate it for them.
The people of Madrid are all to happy to help, but upon finding that the note is filled with homophobic slurs and even threats of violence if the couple dare to show affection in the hostel during their stay, they react with sadness and disbelief.
“It’s better if you go to another hostel, because this one is not very good”, one visibly upset girl says.
“Here in Spain, you cannot say this”, says one man, while another informs the pair: “You can take this to the police and they can close his business”.
Luckily, the young couple are played by actors, and the video has been made by Spain’s State Federation of Lesbian, Gays Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGTB) for its new campaign, ‘Con la voz bien alta’ or ‘With a loud voice’, El Pais reports.
The aim of the campaign is to remind people that they have the right to file a police complaint against anyone who threatens, insults or physically assaults someone because of their sexual orientation – and while the note in question might be fake, the visceral reactions of the passers-by to its homophobic sentiments are completely real.
According to the FELGTB, 38% of LGBT Spaniards have been a victim of discrimination but only 10% reported such incidents to police. The group hopes the new campaign will educate people about LGBT hate crime and their legal right to report it.
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