As a homophobic incident is at the centre of an internal inquiry within the Bruxelles-Capitale-Ixelles police, the LGBT community is questioning officers' laissez-faire attitude when its members are victims of abuse, De Morgen reported on Thursday.
The incident being investigated occurred on Tuesday in the early evening on a cafe terrace in the rue du Marché au Charbon. A woman picked on some homosexual customers in an escalating situation which prompted the owner to approach two police officers on nearby patrol for help.
The officers in question, however, refused to intervene.
Frédérick da Soghe, who is also president of the Brussels LGBTQI+ shopkeepers' association, stated in a post on Facebook that this is a typical reaction when homophobic abuse is reported to the police.
According to figures by the anti-discrimination group Unia, this kind of behaviour is on the increase.
The complainants, often reluctant to go to the police, generally get the impression they are dealing with officers who are disinterested or ignorant, if not quite simply homophobic, when it comes to dealing with the problem.
The Brussels Times
