Source: Sydney Morning Herald
A SPATE of brutal attacks on gay men in Oxford Street has sparked an internal investigation of the Surry Hills police command--- and a controversial campaign to rally gays behind a street protest against homophobic violence.

The NSW Police Professional Standards Command, the branch that oversees internal investigations, has confirmed it will investigate the Surry Hills police complaints system after more than two years of allegations that officers have refused to record acts of anti-homosexual violence or investigate some bashings.

The gay activist and barrister David Buchanan, SC, said Oxford Street had become less safe in recent years, partly due to the rise of heterosexual clubs and watering holes on the strip.

"Oxford Street has changed, and the venues are encouraging a non-gay element," he said.

"Lots of people come into Oxford Street who ordinarily wouldn't be associated with the gay cultural precinct. There's no longer the friendly atmosphere that there used to be."

The bashing of Craig Gee, of Redfern, two months ago sparked outrage in the gay community, and a boil-over of tensions between the state's peak gay organisations, local police and Aboriginal groups after police reports described Mr Gee's attackers as Aboriginal.

The attack left Mr Gee, 27, with a fractured jaw, an eye socket smashed into three pieces, and a broken right leg. He says he has nightmares, occasional blurred vision, headaches and is afraid to go anywhere alone.

While Mr Gee recovered in hospital, someone used his stolen phone to text and call his mother and two of his friends, leaving what he described as "sexual, gruesome, disgusting" messages.

Mr Gee said the attack had been reported to police but they had been slow to act. Police deny this charge.

Anger was also fuelled by the poster used to publicise the street protest, a "Reclaim the right … to be who you are" rally to be held on Australia Day in Harmony Park, next to Surry Hills police station.

The red, militaristic posters depict a phalanx of muscle men holding red flags on steel poles.

The images have been described as racist. The event's organiser withdrew the poster from public display last night.

Chris Lawrence, an Aboriginal Redfern resident who is gay, said the posters depicted "a sea of white gay men". He said coverage of gay bashings by a local gay and lesbian newspaper, the Sydney Star Observer, risked inspiring a racist backlash.

The AIDS Council of NSW and the Star Observer have used Mr Gee's assault as a catalyst for a fresh campaign against what they say is a rise in homophobic violence.

Full article: Gays to go on the march after spate of attacks - National - smh.com.au