By LG On Friday, July 19, a lesbian couple was attacked by a man while waiting for the bus in the city of Berisso (Buenos Aires province). “Since you’re here, dress like a man,” the aggressor, who was with his wife and children, told them. He then spat on one of them and punched her twice. The incident was reported to the La Plata Prosecutor's Office. Local organizations are calling for a march to condemn this act of lesbophobia on Wednesday the 24th at 9:30 a.m. The young woman who was attacked—who preferred to remain anonymous—was with her partner. They were waiting for the bus when this man first verbally assaulted her. When she confronted him, he responded by spitting on her. “And then the man punched her in the left eye. She was wearing glasses, so the lens hit her. She tried to get up and saw a second punch coming. She managed to dodge it a little, so it hit her ear and ripped off her earring,” Sandra Di Sieri, a member of the Darío Santillán National Current Front, who is supporting the young woman, told Presentes. According to Di Sieri, when she tried to grab something to defend herself, a police patrol car appeared. When she approached to explain the situation, the aggressor started to leave. “Instead of arresting him, the patrol cars continued their rounds. When this woman saw the patrol car leave, she followed the man who attacked her,” Di Sieri continued. “At that moment, he, now accompanied by other men, threatened her with a hollow brick.” The complaint was finally filed on July 23rd at the prosecutor's office in the city of La Plata (located on 5th Street between 56th and 57th). “At the 2nd Police Station in Berisso, they refused to accept the complaint and sent them to the hospital first. After that, they went to file the complaint at the prosecutor's office on 54th Street between 6th and 7th, where they also refused to accept it. They were then sent to the DDI (Departmental Investigation Division). There, instead of taking the complaint, they questioned the young woman about why she had followed him, so they left,” said Di Sieri.

March in Berisso

Following this homophobic attack, a march in protest was called. It will take place on Wednesday the 24th at 9:30 a.m. in Berisso, starting at the intersection of Montevideo Street and 30th Avenue (General Mitre). “This attack is part of the escalating violence against lesbians, gay men, trans people, and transvestites in the region. Right-wing ideology, the 'Don't mess with my children' mentality, attempts to halt the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, and the resurgence of gender-based violence against women, lesbians, trans people, transvestites, non-binary people, and the entire LGBTQ+ community are all contributing factors. We will not tolerate this or any other aggression against us,” the call to action states. Toni Domínguez is a researcher at the Directorate of Sexual Diversity of the Faculty of Journalism and Social Communication at the National University of La Plata (UNLP), and is an activist with the LGBTQ+ organizations of La Plata, Berisso, and Ensenada. Regarding what is happening in this area, she described: “Here, the hostile environment for the LGBTI community has intensified considerably, with violent practices in public spaces, harassment, symbolic rape, explicit violence, beatings, and harassment. The truth is, as spaces for diversity, we are very concerned because we understand that this is not random. The people who commit these acts are neighbors, men who walk the streets, ordinary citizens like anyone else, but it is connected to and part of a political project that views sexual diversity as something that must be exterminated and/or persecuted.”

"Public policies are lacking"

“The idea is to take to the streets denouncing this aggression, not to normalize the fact that they come to attack us. It has to do with the social context we are living in.” The lack of public policies that promote the construction of new human relationships based on diversity “And respect for the free exercise of our bodies, identities, and desires results in violence against our comrades,” explained Sandra Di Sieri, citing several examples of recent attacks in the country. More than 30 organizations endorsed the statement condemning what happened and will be accompanying this march.