Police say an attack on a 25-year-old Sydney man may have been "bias related," after the victim reported hearing homophobic slurs and comments about his clothing moments before being violently punched.
Isaac Keatinge, who uses the gender-neutral title Mx, was walking alone in the Sydney suburb of Newtown after leaving a party on Saturday night when he walked past a group of men.
Mx Keating, who was wearing a black dress and make-up at the time, told SBS the men swore and made homophobic remarks before pushing him.
"Then there was just a lot of rapid punches to the head," he told SBS.
Following the attack he was in a daze and "stumbled back to the party".
In a statement to SBS, NSW Police said they were called to the Newtown residence about 12.15 am on Sunday after reports of an assault.
"Police obtained a statement from the man and are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including bias based on his appearance at the time," the statement said.
Mx Keatinge was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries and received more than 10 stitches in his face.
Isaac Keatinge told SBS he has received an outpouring of support following the attack. Source: Supplied
Newtown Local Area Commander, Superintendent Simon Hardman, said in a statement that targeted attacks on people were unacceptable.
"This report is extremely concerning and absolutely unacceptable. NSW Police will follow every avenue of investigation possible," he said.
Mx Keatinge posted an image of his battered face to Facebook explaining what happened and said he has received an overwhelming amount of support since.
"Police obtained a statement from the man and are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, including bias based on his appearance at the time."
"It's obvious to me that it's something that people have been needing to speak about for a while," he said.
"People are jumping at the chance to have a social dialogue."
Mx Keatinge said that homophobic and transphobic violence was far too common in Australia and more needed to be done at a policy level to address it.
He is now assisting police with their investigation and told SBS he felt physically "disorientated" and was concerned about the financial toll of taking time off work to recover.
Editor's note: Isaac Keatinge identifies by the gender pronoun "he" and has approved use of it in this article.
Isaac Keatinge says he was called a "faggot," among other slurs, before being attack. Source: Supplied
