Gay And Bi Teens Lured On Dating Apps And Bashed On Camera In IS-Inspired Attacks
Warning: The source article on ABC News contains distressing video footage that may be triggering for some readers. It documents anti-gay violence.
A two-year investigation by ABC journalist Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop has exposed a systematic campaign of IS-inspired violence against gay and bisexual teenagers in Sydney, with victims lured through dating apps and beaten on camera by radicalised young men.
What the videos show
The ABC obtained footage and victim accounts dating back to 2023. In one video, a 16-year-old is forced into a toilet block, beaten, and called a “f***ot” and “kaffir” (meaning nonbeliever) as he begs for his life. In another, a bloodied victim is held in a headlock while attackers shout “Islamic State lives” and extort money from him. A third shows a boy lying on the grass, being stomped while an attacker shouts “Dawlatul Islam” (Arabic for Islamic State).
Five teenagers have since been convicted over four filmed bashings. One victim told the ABC he sustained permanent facial injuries. A 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery over one attack walked free on nine months’ probation, with no conviction recorded.
The IS connection
The attackers were linked to the same terrorist network behind the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre last December, in which Naveed and Sajid Akram killed 15 people. Several congregated at Al Madina Dawah Centre, a Bankstown prayer hall ordered to close after the Bondi attack.
Police connected them to pro-IS figures Wisam Haddad, a spiritual leader known for violent antisemitic and homophobic lectures, and Wassim Fayad, an alleged youth recruiter who had been released from a strict control order in 2023.
Chat logs showed the attacks had been under way for at least 10 months. In May 2023, one attacker wrote: “We keep doing that to gay c**ts on Wiiz [sic]. Wallah we gunna make a living off this.”
A national crisis
At least 64 people have been charged in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria since 2023 over app-based attacks on LGBTQIA+ people. Similar incidents have been reported in the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia, with many more going unreported. Victoria announced a parliamentary inquiry last week, and NSW is moving toward urgent new legislation.
“We are at risk of seeing these attacks that we’ve seen on videos turn deadly,” said Josh Roose, an extremism researcher at Deakin University. “It’s only a matter of time before a young man or men are killed.”
Victims were targeted through Grindr and Wizz, a social app popular with teenagers. ACON, an LGBTQIA+ health organisation, advises anyone using these apps to meet in public, verify who you’re meeting, and let someone you trust know where you’ll be.
Do you know more?
Contact Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop on Signal: @seanrdunlop01 or Protonmail: seanrdunlop@protonmail.com. You can also contact the ABC Investigations team via this form, or for more secure options, visit the confidential tips page.
