By Lucas Fauno Gutiérrez. Florencia B. (27 years old) and Irupé B. (23 years old) are girlfriends. On Friday, April 20, they were assaulted by the owner of a supermarket in Morón (Greater Buenos Aires) while shopping. “He insulted us in front of everyone and nobody did anything,” one of the women said. The couple filed a complaint with the Morón Prosecutor's Office No. 2 and the National Institute Against Discrimination, Racism, and Xenophobia (INADI). Florencia told Presentes that they had gone to the store to buy groceries for dinner. That night they were celebrating their anniversary. While they were hugging and kissing, the man approached them “in a rude manner” and told them they couldn't kiss there “because there were children and families .” One of them replied that they weren't doing anything wrong, but the man repeated the same thing. So they put down the groceries they were going to buy and started walking toward the door. They recounted that at that moment, the man, who was becoming increasingly angry, began yelling at them, calling them inappropriate for leaving things out of place. He finished by saying, “You stupid whores, get out of here!” The young women said that while he continued insulting them, he told them he was the owner, and when one of them asked his name and started filming him, he said, “Get out of here before I punch you and rip your head off.”

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“He insulted us in front of everyone and nobody did anything. I always spoke to him respectfully, I never disrespected him,” Florencia said. She added that when they were already on the sidewalk, several people came out laughing at the situation, but nobody helped them.

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The couple filed a complaint with the Morón Prosecutor's Office No. 2, as well as with the National Institute Against Discrimination, Racism, and Xenophobia (INADI). They also posted about what happened to them on Facebook. "We decided to share it so that people become aware of what's happening," Florencia said.  

An ordinance that is not being enforced

From Conurbanxs x la diversidad They condemned the act in a statement denouncing "the dismantling of gender and sexual diversity policies by the Municipality." Florencia Paltrinieri, a representative of the organization, told Presentes that in November 2015, the Morón City Council approved an ordinance that, in addition to designating March 7 as Lesbian Visibility Day, committed the municipality to carrying out activities that promote respect for and visibility of the lesbian and bisexual women's community. “The ordinance exists, but they never carried out any activity,” She reported the incident. She added that they are in contact with Florencia and Irupé to offer them support and advice. “Many situations that begin with verbal abuse end in much more serious incidents,” Paltrinieri said.

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In Argentina, according to the report According to the National Observatory of LGBT Hate Crimes, which depends on the Argentine LGBT Federation (FALGBT), a hate crime was reported every three days in 2017.