Julian Suarez's belongings were covered in blood. Photo: SUPPLIED
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A man says he was assaulted in what he believes was a hate crime in a central Auckland gay bar, and that safe spaces for the rainbow community are disappearing.
Julian Suarez was taken to hospital early on Sunday morning with several injuries after he was allegedly attacked in the toilets of Family Bar on Karangahape Road.
Suarez had been at a Halloween party on the North Shore, dressed as one of the muses from Hercules, before going to bars in the city with friends.
Julian Suarez in hospital. Photo: SUPPLIED
The group decided to head to Family Bar after midnight and spent some time dancing and going between the spaces connected to the venue.
Coming back upstairs from a dance area, Suarez stopped at the toilets near the stairs.
"I don't have memory, until I was taken out the place in an ambulance," he said.
Suarez did not remember what happened in the toilets, but made a report while in the ambulance that three men had attacked him.
"I was taken out, I was bleeding, my costume was destroyed. I had a harness, and I have a big scratch on my chest, so I guess that they ripped my toga off."
He said he believed he was attacked because he was gay, and because of the way he was dressed.
"I love New Zealand, and this is my country, this is my home. This is the second safest country in the world, and this happened here, and I came from one of the most dangerous countries in the world, Colombia."
Police said it had received a report of an assault.
Julian Suarez in his Halloween outfit. Photo: SUPPLIED
"The matter is at the very early stages of assessment, and at this stage from what I can see there is nothing to suggest it is hate crime-related," a police spokesperson said.
Suarez said he did not feel safe going to Family Bar anymore.
"It's actually worse that it happened in a gay bar," he said, because aggressive and drunk people were creating an unsafe environment.
He said himself and others in the rainbow community have been feeling increasingly unsafe in places meant to be for them in the last few years, and even more after the assault.
"Straight people are more than welcome to join us, to our parties, because we know our parties are fun. And that's totally okay for them to come, as long as they know and respect who we are and who we are as a community, and don't express the hate, as they have shown in the last years, especially in places like this."
Family Bar operations manager Grady Elliott said he was shocked by the alleged attack and they were working with police to ensure those responsible were held accountable.
Elliott said they had known Suarez for years, as he was a former employee of another bar they managed.
"Family Bar is committed to safety and zero tolerance for any violence or discrimination," he said.
"We are shocked and deeply dismayed at the incident that occurred over the weekend involving our friend and ex-colleague.This is unacceptable and we are working closely with police to ensure those responsible are held accountable."
Elliott said a customer had noticed Suarez on the floor of the men's toilet and with the help of a security guard, helped him up and called an ambulance.
He said staff asked for descriptions of the offender or offenders but none was given at the time.
Elliott said the police had since requested any CCTV footage the bar has of the night, and staff were assisting police.
He said they had nine security guards at Family Bar on Saturday nights and they checked the toilet areas every 20 minutes.
Elliott said security let people know they were entering a gay venue and to have respect.
He said any issues that arose were dealt with immediately and "troublemakers are banned for six months or max two years".
Suarez's friend and flatmate, Robbie Dalgetty, posted a video to social media about the assault, which has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Labour's spokeperson for rainbow issues, Shanan Halbert, said his heart went out to Suarez and the rainbow community "that will be feeling rattled by this incident".
"The minister of police is well aware of my concerns for the safety of the rainbow community and the need for better protection. It's important that these incidents are treated very seriously."
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