The country and many of its major cities have for years been considered safe havens for freely living one’s sexual and gender identity. And Canada is one of the first countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. But like other places in the world, “street violence” and on social networks has “escalated” in recent years, observes Pascal Vaillancourt, director of Interligne, a support and listening service for the LGBT+ community. “People call us and tell us about suffering that we heard less and less about,” he explains, referring to the increase in insults and attacks. He says that for the first time he himself was the victim of violent and homophobic threats recently with his partner on the streets of Montreal.