This book originates from the Australian Institute of Criminology. The common thread running through it is not just the problem of violence, but the concept of homophobia - the disapproval of homosexual desire and an animosity to homosexual identities, politics and lifestyles. There are chapters on the differential impact of harassment and violence on young people, on gay men and on lesbians; on police responses to this violence in South Australia and New South Wales; on the constructed deviant status of homosexual homicide victims; on criminology's description of lesbians and gay men as deviants markedout from heterosexuals; on HIV-related violence and its impact on victims; and a detailed analysis of the relevant law throughout Australia.