Last Thursday Tauranga Police stated they had arrested three men in relation to violent attacks of victims they had met on gay men’s hook-up apps, that had been filmed for social media.
Talking to Tauranga’s Sun Live media, a representative for the vigilante group stated the group had been posing as under 16’s and targeting men who still wanted to meet them, despite them being underage.
The attacks were then broadcast on Instagram accounts (some of which have been shut down) claiming to have been perpetrated by vigilantes beating up ‘paedophiles’.
But fearful members of Tauranga’s LGBTQ+ community have contacted YOUR EX stating that they believe these men and their supporters are simply homophobic and also targeting gay men who are trying to meet up with other men of legal age.
They tell YOUR EX they believe that despite these arrests the attacks will continue happening, with at least five active Instagram accounts continuing to showcase footage of the attacks.
One community member (who wished to remain anonymous) told YOUR EX that he knew of at least one man who was attacked for trying to meet up with a 21-year-old.
“It is clear that they are just targeting gay men as they are now active on both Scruff and Grindr, which only allows people 18 years and older to join anyway. I believe these vicious attacks are driven by homophobia rather than any true motivation to seek justice.”
“The rainbow community in Tauranga are becoming increasingly concerned about the group gaining more support and followers based on this misinformation… It’s also fuelling more false narratives and is putting our community more at risk.”
“This group are seeking an excuse to bash gay men who in many cases legitimately believe that they are meeting up with consenting adults. It’s spreading more hate in an already highly homophobic city and is spreading the false narrative that all gay men are groomers. Members of our community are terrified that they’ll be the next innocent victim of these vicious assaults… I’m all for keeping underage people safe, but violence is not the way to do it,” he told YOUR EX.
“In general, we discourage members of the public from taking matters into their own hands as they could place themselves and members of the public at risk,” NZ Police told YOUR EX in a statement.
“The people involved have no way of knowing the people they are targeting are committing criminal offences and put themselves at risk of targeting innocent people and causing serious harm.
“Vigilante action such as this could also harm current and future Police investigations targeting online offenders. Police would hate to see actions such as these hinder or prevent a prosecution against an online offender.
“Police encourage anyone concerned about potential offending to contact us immediately.
“All complaints will be taken seriously and followed up as appropriate where there is evidence of criminal offending of this nature.”
If you are the victim of a child abuse or sexual abuse crime, you can contact:
· https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/child-abuse-directory-information-and-support
· Safe to Talk: 0800 044 334 Text 4334
If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s sexual behaviour, please reach out for support:
· Safe Network: 09 377 9898
· WellStop: 04 566 4745
· STOP: 03 353 0257
