City Centre partners work to make Liverpool safer following rise in homophobic attacks

The recent rise in homophobic attacks in Liverpool city centre are causing fear and uncertainty within the city’s LGBTQIA community.

Liverpool BID Company is working with partners at Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council to make the city centre safe and welcoming, as well as with partners and organisations representing the city’s LGBTQIA community.

CEO of Liverpool BID Company, Bill Addy, says it is the responsibility of everyone living and working in the city centre to make people safe and tackle homophobia and intolerance:

“Liverpool is a city that thrives on its reputation for being welcoming and friendly, but that reputation is something that needs constant work and constant vigilance.

The recent rise in homophobic attacks in the city centre is both sickening and shocking, but it isn’t the responsibility of our LGBTQIA community to keep themselves safe, it’s the responsibility of everyone.

Liverpool’s night-time economy is world famous and we have seen the rapid rise in footfall over the past two months as the economy has reopened, but we need to continue to set a tone of being a city where you can go out, have a great night out and return home safely.

Zero-tolerance for Homophobia means calling it out, it means making intolerance as unwelcome in Liverpool as violence.

For businesses this means creating a safe environment, of ensuring that acceptance is part of everyday culture and behaviour.

At Liverpool BID we are working with our partners in Merseyside Police and Merseytravel to identify ways we can improve visibility, security and make the city centre safer.

We are working with LCR Pride Foundation and other LGBTQIA partners and organisations in Liverpool so that the community can define what the city needs to do to target intolerance”.