Picture: http://www.pacificariptide.com/pacifica_riptide/images/2007/07/06/good_shrink_bad_shrink.jpgIn a recent interview that I conducted with one of the resident psychologists' (whose name wishes to remain anonomys) on the UKZN, Howard College campus, some serious comments about the social enviroment of University life for gay people were made.
He comments on a scenario that involves hate crimes on two gay men on this campus in particular. Two gay men holding hands during a walk home were confronted by men in a car. After a passenger asked why they were holding hands and a few words were exchanged, the driver maneuvered the vehicle onto the sidewalk, pinning one of the men against the wall while the passenger shot him in the chest. When therapy is requested, it is usually short-term. But some victims do need long-term therapy. The Psychologist, says the principal risk is that the survivor may feel 'there's something wrong with me that caused me to be targeted as a gay person,'' he said. The psychologist's main task is to help the survivor reaffirm the positive value of a gay or lesbian identity, and help them feel the anger rather than blame themselves. That's why, he says, the psychologist needs to separate out the external event from the person's internal feelings.
So when a group of young men is hanging around looking for a target, he says, gay people are more likely victims because gays are 'not valued greatly and are somewhat acceptable to attack' because of society's antipathy towards them.
