Hit the shower boys

A DUTCH multicultural group is organising a football tournament between gays and Muslims, hoping to counter a study which claimed there was a rising tide of fear among gays.

A nationwide survey by the Police Research Academy said that most gays questioned feel unsafe and reported experiencing verbal attacks in the last year. Of the 776 homosexuals who responded to an internet questionnaire, 80 per cent said they believed their safety was threatened at some time during the year, claimed academy director Frits Vlek, who commissioned the research.

Only 3 per cent said they were physically assaulted, Mr Vlek said in an interview, but 40 per cent claimed they had been insulted or verbally abused.

Youths from Moroccan and Turkish backgrounds were often blamed for the incidents, Mr Vlek said, since homosexuality is not widely accepted in many Muslim cultures.