Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

DALLAS (CBSDFW) - Dallas city leaders hope a new campaign will cut down on violence in Oak Lawn, a popular gay neighborhood.

As part of National Crime Victim's Rights Week, which begins today, the Dallas Police Department is joining forces with Equality Texas. They're the state's largest organization that fights for LGBT equality.

"We're living in a country where rhetoric is so inflamed that it's causing people to be attacked and targeted for being who they are," says Equality Texas CEO Chuck Smith.

As many as 15 people were attacked in the Oak Lawn neighborhood within the last six months. Michael Dominguez survived an attack back in October that left him with stab wounds and broken bones.

"We as humans have a history of hating what we don't understand," Dominguez says. "We see other people's experiences but can't walk in their shoes, so we put up barriers."

Since the violence against him Dominguez has created a support group called SOS, or Survivors Offering Support. The group gives a sense of community to other victims in Dallas's LGBT community.

"People have asked why I don't just fade into obscurity so I can heal," says Dominguez. "The fact is, if I don't speak up who's going to? How many people before me have been attacked and didn't have their voices heard?"

For the first few months of this year the crime rate in Oak Lawn seemed to have gone down. But within the last month there have been several more attacks which weren't reported to police.

"It's very important to report these crimes, and I really hope these people can come forward and share their stories," says city councilman Adam Medrano, who represents the Oak Lawn neighborhood. "Oak Lawn has really stepped up on volunteer patrols, and there are more undercover officers and cameras on the streets."

There have been no arrests in connection with any attacks in Oak Lawn.

Representatives from the Dallas Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff's office and the Dallas County District Attorney's office were also on hand at today's meeting. They say violence and discrimination do not reflect Texas or American values, and hope this new campaign will bring victims forward and help investigations.

"It's not us versus them, it's us versus us," Dominguez says. "We're all human beings. We're all searching for love and commonality and a place in the world."

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)