A Tralee man says he was beaten up in the county as a teenager because he was gay.
Ben Slimm says members of the LGBTQI+ community are always scared and worried due to oppressive reactions from others in society.
He says he has to come out to people every day and feels he can’t show affection to his husband in public for fear of the reaction he might get.
Mr Slimm, who describes himself as queer, says he was blamed for being assaulted:
Ben Slimm says, as a young queer man, he turned online to connect with members of the gay community.
He says he made risky decisions to connect with people who were like him.
The Labour Party representative says he felt things had changed for the positive in recent years, until the murders in Sligo.
Ben Slimm says more needs to be done by dating app operators to ensure peoples’ safety:
Meanwhile, Ben Slimm is organising a vigil for the two men who were killed in Sligo, Aidan Moffit and Michael Snee, and for all victims of transphobia and homophobia.
It’ll take place next Monday at 7pm in The Square in Tralee and people are invited to attend.
