Trans woman reports case of assault after being accused of robbery in downtown Rio | Rio de Janeiro

Rio – A 28-year-old trans woman reported a man for assault after he accused her of stealing in front of a cafeteria in the center of Rio. Professor Ísis Luna alleges that the suspect hit her with a crate after saying that she had stolen his cell phone. According to the victim, the accusation was made out of transphobia.

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The case happened on Sunday (5) on Rua Riachuelo. To the DAY, this Wednesday (8), Ísis said she was buying a snack at the establishment when the man arrived at the snack bar altered with a crate. Among the people who were at the scene, only she was accused of robbery by the suspect. The teacher highlighted that she asked him about the reason for the accusation and, at that moment, the man allegedly attacked her.

“I was at the cafeteria buying a snack to go home. As I was leaving, a white man with a wooden crate in his hand approached me aggressively asking if I had stolen it. Then he started to assert. That’s right. loudly in front of several people. I said no, that I had never seen him in front of me, that he was accusing me unfairly and that it was a crime. was I dressed or because I’m trans? At that moment, he attacked me with the crate, trying to hit my face, but I put my arm up to defend myself.

According to the victim, a security guard at the cafeteria intervened and prevented the man from continuing the attacks. Military police officers were also at the scene, but they reportedly released the suspect without taking his information and without taking him to the police station.

“The police were at the scene since the attacks began and did nothing. I went to tell the police that I had been attacked and their first question was whether I had done a program with the attacker. I am a teacher. I was in my leisure time together with a friend, close to my house, dealing with accusations of a man I had never seen in my life. The police officer said he was going to talk to him, in my opinion, he was going to take us both to the police station, which was the right thing to do. and, at the moment I was being calmed down by women who were at the scene, I saw my attacker running away and the police officers going to the police car, as if nothing had happened. I had to be quick, go to the police car and ask if they had. They hadn’t gotten any identification from the attacker. They were cold and said no,” he added.

Transphobia

For the teacher, all the aggression and the robbery accusation happened because she was a trans woman. The victim said that her back was to the suspect when he arrived at the cafeteria and he only started to change when she saw her face.

“I started to question why he did that without knowing me. Why did he think that I, among so many people there, had robbed him? For me, it’s clear that it was transphobia because he arrives at the cafeteria, my back is turned to the counter, he only saw me as a criminal when he looked at my face and identified me as trans. I don’t know where he was, but there were certainly trans women and transvestites. The moment he saw that I didn’t have a cell phone, he associated it. automatically to them. He was enraged and wanted to take out this hatred on the first person he saw. For this guy to hit, humiliate, accuse or even kill, nothing would result. He was sure that impunity would result. In the end, this perverse mind was right. He got away with it even though he attacked me and made false accusations”, he said.

The case was registered on Sunday (5) at the Center’s Women’s Assistance Police Station (Deam) for the crimes of bodily harm, slander and defamation. The forensic examination carried out by the victim on the same day as the crime revealed an injury to the left wrist.

Ísis revealed that she is looking for a lawyer or a public defender to classify the reason for the attacks as transphobia. She was at the Public Defender’s Office this Monday (6) to ask for help on the matter.

“It doesn’t matter if we are students, teachers, advisors or sex workers. This country is the one that kills us the most in the world. We can no longer neglect cases. We can no longer fail to register. We need to resort to legislation that provides punishment for transphobia It has to be put into practice. For this, the state has to train its police officers and delegates. Otherwise, we will continue to be killed and targeted, mainly by a political group that uses religious fundamentalism to do so. preaching hatred towards trans women”, he highlighted.

When asked about the matter, the Civil Police reported that efforts are underway to identify the perpetrator of the crime and clarify the facts.

When contacted about the accusations against the PMs, the Military Police advised the victim to formalize the complaint through the corporation’s official channels so that an investigative procedure can be initiated and the necessary checks can be carried out. Anonymity is guaranteed.

– SEPM Ombudsman: (21) 2334-6045 or email [email protected].
– SEPM General Inspectorate: (21) 2725-9098 or via the website https://www.cintpm.rj.gov.br/.

Similar case

On the same Sunday (5), another trans woman was attacked, but this time in Cabo Frio, in the Lagos Region. Ariela Nascimento, advisor to Niterói councilor Benny Briolly, reported that she was the target of aggression and transphobia in a bar in the city. She was accompanied by her boyfriend, a trans man, had a broken arm and was left with several bruises due to the violence of the attacks.

On social media, the woman made a huge outburst and reported that the transphobic acts began while she and her boyfriend were exchanging affection and affection. “A cis man started making transphobic and violent comments, which made us extremely uncomfortable and threatened. When we decided to leave and return home, we were surprised by a group of cis men who cowardly attacked me. They attacked me with kicks and blows. madeira, and my boyfriend, Bruno, was also injured trying to protect me”, he said.

The victim was attacked by at least five men. “We were targets of brutal attacks simply for being who we are: Trans people,” she lamented.

The case was registered at the 126th DP (Cabo Frio) and, later, passed on to the Women’s Assistance Police Station (Deam) of Cabo Frio. According to the Civil Police, the investigation is ongoing to clarify all the facts.