BY Lux Alptraum
June 21, 2007
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As you’re probably aware, June is Gay Pride Month. To show our gay pride, we’re having Gay Week over at Boinkology: from Monday to Friday, it’s all gay posts, all the gay time.

Gay Pride is a time for celebrating (it is about pride, after all): it’s also a great time to raise awareness about various issues that affect the gay community. As Gay Pride gears up in San Francisco, the city is taking the time to raise awareness about rape in the gay community.

Through a billboard campaign (featuring images such as the one above), a hot line, and a website, San Francisco is hoping to reach out and raise awareness about the severity of this issue. How serious is it? The San Francisco Gate has some statistics:

Nine cases of gay sexual assault were reported in the city in 2006, but in the first half of 2007, that number is already up to 18. Officials said they believe more attacks are happening this year, but that increased awareness of the importance of reporting the crimes may also contribute to the higher number.

The attacks are almost all happening in the Castro. Anti-crime volunteers began patrolling the neighborhood last fall wearing orange clothing and carrying whistles after two men reported being raped in the area.

[NB: As with all cases of statistics and sexual assault, it's important to remember that reported numbers are usually lower than actually instances of assault. For quite a few reasons (including the stigma of coming out as a survivor of sexual assault), victims of assault don't always report what happens to them.]