Judge praises trans man who spoke out after months of transphobic abuse

Contains language some might find upsetting

A judge has praised the courage of a trans man who delivered an emotional victim statement after being subjected to months of transphobic harassment by a neighbour in Carlisle.

The victim told Carlisle Magistrates' Court he had been left feeling unsafe in his own home after enduring a campaign of abuse from 40-year-old Mark Proudfoot, which included transphobic slurs, threats of violence and being outed to members of his local community.

Proudfoot admitted eleven offences, including the harassment of the trans man over a three-month period in 2025. The court heard the abuse began when Proudfoot shouted insults across a communal garden and made remarks about the victim's transition.

On one occasion, he reportedly told the man: "You're nothing but a woman and I'll kick your head in." During another incident, he mocked the victim's gender identity by making gestures and repeatedly shouting transphobic taunts.

The victim said the abuse left him feeling exposed and vulnerable after his trans status was disclosed to neighbours without his consent. "My home should be somewhere I feel safe," he told the court in a powerful personal statement. "Instead, I have increasingly felt afraid and unwelcome there. I believe I was targeted because I am a trans man."

He described the public nature of the harassment as particularly distressing, saying it effectively outed him to people in the neighbourhood he had never met before. "The combination of the transphobic abuse and the threat of physical violence was particularly frightening," he said. "I was being targeted because of my identity while simultaneously being threatened with physical harm."

The victim said the abuse had continued to affect almost every aspect of his life, damaging his confidence, independence and wellbeing. "Going out has become difficult," he said. "I find large public spaces overwhelming because I constantly scan my surroundings in case I see them."

He added that hate crimes can leave lasting scars long after the incidents themselves have ended. "They can create a lasting sense that you are not safe or that you do not belong. That feeling has followed me beyond my garden, into the street, public spaces, my relationships and everyday parts of my life."

Despite the impact of the abuse, the victim said he was not motivated by revenge but by a desire for accountability. "I want the court to understand that the comments directed at me were not simply insults. They were intended to demean, humiliate and undermine my identity," he said. "Being a trans man does not make me less deserving of dignity, safety or respect."

He concluded with a defiant message to his abuser: "Regardless of what Mark thinks I am, I know who I am. And I also know what kind of man I am.

"I was raised to treat people with respect and kindness. I judge others by their character, not their identity. I measure strength by compassion. I measure character by integrity.

"By that measure, I am more of a man than he will ever be."

After the statement was read, District Judge Philip Holden thanked the victim for speaking publicly about his experience. "Thank you very much for the courage you have shown in reading that statement out," he told him.

Sentencing Proudfoot, Judge Holden said the defendant had deliberately targeted the victim and made his life "absolute abject misery". "You set about deliberately abusing him," the judge said. "It had a traumatic effect on him."

Proudfoot, of Newtown Road, Carlisle, was handed a 50-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months. He was also made subject to a restraining order prohibiting any contact with the victim for five years.

The victim had considered asking for the case to be heard in private but ultimately chose not to, hoping to highlight the real-world impact of transphobic abuse and hate crime.