Anti-homophobia on the terraces: A practical guide | Moral Victory | 11 February 2015

The terraces can seem like an intimidating place if you aren’t a straight, white, able-bodied, cis male.

We hope that Dulwich Hamlet is different and to demonstrate that we’re hosting a friendly with Stonewall FC on Wednesday 11 February.

As well as marking LGBT History Month, the match is part of wider anti-discrimination work that has been taking place at our club.

The Supporters Trust and the Committee have been leading these efforts including producing two anti-homophobia banners, which were sponsored by the FARE network. One of them is on display at Champion Hill; the other was presented to our friends at Altona 93 in Hamburg.

In September, a number of our players wore Rainbow Laces as part of a Stonewall campaign to tackle homophobia in football.

Non-League day, also in September, saw the club chosen as an ambassador for the national Kick Out Campaign against racism in football.

As fans, we also have a responsibility to ensure that games both home and away are inclusive and safe for everyone.

Part of this is making sure that between us we have the practical skills and confidence to challenge those who make homophobic, biphobic or transphobic ‘jokes’, derogatory comments and are able to offer solidarity to people who feel uncomfortable or threatened by someone else’s words or behaviour.

Often these incidents are dressed up as banter but it’s not funny when you’re on the receiving end. Letting this behaviour slide contributes to a culture of homophobia and could mean people, LGBTQIA or not, are put off from coming to the Hamlet.

Different people will feel able to offer solidarity and challenge behaviour in different ways. Here are some things that you can do:

1. First of all, don’t presume a fan’s sexuality or gender even if they are in a relationship with someone of a different sex
2. If a another fan is upset by what they hear or see, ask them if they are ok
3. Let them know that they aren’t on their own
4. Don’t tell them how bad you feel you feel about the incident. Right now, it’s your role to support them NOT the other way round
5. Don’t put them under pressure to confront the behaviour if they don’t want to
6. Let the person who made the comments know that their words and/or behaviour isn’t acceptable (whether it’s aimed at a person or not)
7. Be firm but don’t escalate the situation
8. If you feel like you can’t deal with it by yourself, report it to the stewards

You can also use the points on this list as a guide when challenging other forms of discriminatory language or behaviour.

It’s our club so it’s up to us to make sure that we create and maintain an atmosphere where everyone can enjoy the match, whoever we have sex with.

Love and solidarity x

Originally published in The Moral Victory Winter 2015. Follow the @MVzine on Twitter