As the train was getting closer, I could feel them getting closer and closer to my back, and they were almost nudging me forward to the platform edge. I remember feeling really scared and I didn't know what to do. Nobody helped or said anything to me, and that almost stayed with me more than the initial homophobia.
Reporting helps with two things: it bring[s] justice and hopefully deter[s] people from committing hate crimes again, and it contributes to broader statistics that accurately illustrate the fundamental problem that needs to be addressed.
The hardest part about what I experienced was hearing my mum's reaction to me telling her what happened. She always worries about these things happening to me because she knows LGBTQ+ people are targeted.
Experiencing homophobia is something that's unfortunately a part of our lives, and something we've become accustomed to and have our own coping mechanisms to handle.
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