Candlelit Vigil to raise awareness of homophobia in the UK.

A hate crime vigil is to take place in London on Friday 30 October at 8pm in Trafalgar Square.

The Vigil comes after the tragic death of 62 year old Ian Baynham, who died last week from fatal head injuries, sustained in a homophobic attack as he was walking through Trafalgar Square with a friend.

Mr Baynham's death, highlights the growing issue of homophobia in London, as the Metropolitan Police have reported an increase in homophobic hate crime.

Over the past year, the number of attacks against gay men and women in London has risen nearly 20 per cent, and in a recent survey 90 per cent of the gay men and women questioned said they had experienced homophobic insults and abuse.

The Vigil is also an opportunity to rembember the many victims of homophoia and hatred not only in London, but all over the world.

Only yesterday The Brighton Argos reported that a lesbian couple had been beaten up in a homophobic attack. The couple were punched in the face and homophobically abused by a gang of men.

The Argos also reported that Police waited 12 days before appealing for witnesses to the girls' homopbobic attack.

The day of the vigil also marks the 5 year anniversary of the death of David Morley. David was a popular figure in London's Soho Community. He was a survivor of the Admiral Duncan nail bombing - the homophobic attack carried out by David Copeland, but was viciously beaten to death on London's South Bank by a gang of youths.

Event organisers state that the aim of the vigil is to show the world that anti-sociable behaviour is unacceptable. The event organisers stress that the hate crime vigil is about everyone - lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, straight, highlighting that the attack on Ian Baynham was an attack "on everyone’s right to walk through their city without fear of attack".

To find out more about the vigil, click here.

To find out more about the ways you can challenge homophobia and hate, click here.

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