A shop owner in Rotorua is speaking out after a group of preachers yelled homophobic abuse at her and her wife.
On Monday, Sulphur Soapery owner Shannen Lunam said she was setting up her new shop with her wife when they were harassed.
"We were called disgusting, an abomination, and that we were going to hell," Lunam told Newshub.
She said the group of preachers had been hanging nearby for a while and hadn't set out to target their store.
Lunam said the group had been ranting about other things like COVID-19 vaccines and abortions but when they found out she was gay they started abusing her.
"They were pointing at us and saying, 'God knows what you've done and he doesn't like it."
Lunam told Newshub she had a relatively easy coming out story and this was her first experience of intense homophobia.
"It was very confronting - I didn't feel safe. It was really uncomfortable."
Lunam said she contacted police to try and get rid of the preachers but almost nothing was done about it.
"I felt that as a person in this community I didn't matter and that my safety wasn't a priority."
She said police only took action after one of her wife's friends went and told the preachers to move along.
A police spokesperson said the police were made aware of verbal altercations between groups of people outside a Tutanekai Street earlier this week.
They said officers did attend and asked the group to move on, with police reminding them of the hurt their words can, and did, cause.
Police said one male was formally warned for his behaviour and advice was given to the callers to remove themselves from the situation if possible and to call back if it escalated.
"Police's first approach is such a situation is to encourage those involved to move on, because in a public place, unless there is significant evidence of a criminal offence, there is little more Police is able to do immediately," the spokesperson said.
"Should the behaviour continue, individuals could be subject to disorderly or offensive behaviour charges, if the criminal threshold is met.
"Everyone in our town deserves to go about their daily business feeling safe, and we would encourage anyone who has immediate concerns for their physical safety to call 111."
The Rotorua local and her wife have been unable to continue getting ready to open their shop in August as they are afraid to go alone.
"We don't feel safe being alone and we won't go down to the new shop by ourselves."
Despite this, Lunam said the community support has been amazing and people have been trying to help them out.
"We have had messages from all around the country. We even had messages from overseas saying that is not on and that is not how people behave."
Over the past few months, there has been a spate of homophobic attacks across the country.
In June, the queer-friendly church in Greymouth was vandalised and a pride flag was burned on the lawn.
And in Tauranga claims surfaced that Christian school Bethlehem College had discriminated against queer students.
