Police are investigating after vandals daubed homophobic graffiti on the window of the LGBT+ community hub in Kirkcaldy.
“F*** the gays” was written across a window of the Hive, Pink Saltire’s LGBT+ Centre on Whytescauseway in the town centre.
The damage was discovered by Pink Saltire staff arriving at the centre on Thursday and has since been removed.
A spokesperson for the group, which prides itself on being a community voice for LGBT+ people, condemned the damage on social media.
‘We will not be intimidated’
They said: “Today we discovered homophobic graffiti scrawled in red marker pen on the windows of our new Hive LGBT+ Centre in Kirkcaldy.
“It’s surely no coincidence this comes during Pride month too.
“We will not be intimidated.
“We are not leaving.”
Pink Saltire was set up to support the LGBT+ community across Fife as well as events including Fife Pride, which have attracted thousands of people since they launched in 2017.
Stuart Duffy, Pink Saltire founder who are behind the development of The Hive, told The Courier: “Its obviously been a shock to discover the graffiti, but we know its a tiny minority of people who think this way and take to vandalism to make their views heard.
“The overwhelming majority of feedback about the development of The Hive has been positive, from our amazing local neighbours and businesses, to the groups and organisations keen to use the space.
“In fact just after we discovered the graffiti yesterday we had an excellent prescheduled meeting with partner organisations looking at how we can launch new services which support people who are at most need in our community.
“This mindless vandalism just demonstrates exactly why somewhere like The Hive is really needed – to help educate people about our community and culture and to show we’re no different to everyone else.”
Today we discovered the windows of our new Hive LGBT+ Centre in Kirkcaldy were defaced with homophobic graffiti – “F*ck the gays” written in red marker pen.
We wont be intimidated.
We wont be leaving.🏳️🌈🏴 pic.twitter.com/eUJKssN7lE
— Pink Saltire (@PinkSaltire) June 9, 2022
It took over the former Goldbergs department store as a hub last May.
Nobody at the Hive was available to speak but nearby business owners fear more vandalism.
One business owner, who asked not to be identified for fear of being targeted, called the graffiti “disgusting”.
He added: “It’s just shocking in this day and age that we still see this sort of vandalism.
“It’s disgusting.
“People are trying hard to earn a living, run businesses and provide services for the town.
“The Hive is a welcome addition to the the street and this type of attack is simply unacceptable.”
Appeal for information
Police confirmed they are investigating the vandalism.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating a report of homophobic graffiti on Whytescauseway, Kirkcaldy.
“Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101, quoting reference 3249 of June 9.”
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