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By Victoria Rodríguez and Soledad Mizerniuk 

On Sunday morning, Marisol Nuñez, a 66-year-old trans woman, was found beside the Santa Fe-Rosario highway, near the river. She had been attacked by a group of men and jumped into the river to save herself. She is now recovering from her injuries but is “very scared.” She has already filed a police report and hopes to identify her attackers using security camera footage from the area.  

Marisol had left her house in Villa Hipódromo to go to the municipal cemetery. Until she was attacked, she followed the same routine every Sunday. She would wake up early, get ready, and go out to take flowers to her mother, her father, and her husband. It was the only outing she made during the week because, generally, she preferred to stay home.

Sometimes she visits her siblings, who live on the same block, or her friend and sister Betiana Miño, another trans woman who survived alongside her the violence that this community experiences under military governments and in democracy. In fact, both Marisol and Betiana are part of the group of eight trans people receiving historical reparations as survivors of the last civic-military dictatorship in Santa Fe.

[READ ALSO Trans historical reparation: “We, the survivors, remain” ]

Last Sunday, Marisol was walking along Blas Parera Avenue toward the cemetery when she stopped to buy flowers to take to her relatives' graves. She walked another block and saw a white car pull up beside her. Two men got out and forced her inside. The driver then sped off and headed west. They let her out in an open field by the Salado River. There, they tried to force her to perform oral sex on them.

The 66-year-old trans woman fought as best she could and managed to break free, but the only way out she saw was to jump into the river. The water tossed her around and slammed her against the bank until she could muster enough strength to hold on to the embankment of the Santa Fe-Rosario highway. But she was out of breath and lost consciousness. That's when a man passing by on a bicycle saw her and called the police, thinking she was dead. But when they arrived and found she was still breathing, they took her to the José María Cullen Hospital.

Hypothermia and trauma

Marisol arrived with hypothermia and several injuries, but after routine tests, she was discharged. However, she is still very shaken by everything she experienced and doesn't want to speak to the press. Therefore, Betiana, who accompanied her from the very beginning at the hospital and has been her friend for over 40 years, recounted the details of her ordeal to Presentes.

[READ ALSO: Santa Fe: Police officers arrested for torturing a gay couple at the police station ]

“Many things were said that aren’t true. The bruises she has are from jumping into the water; she wasn’t beaten. It’s also not true that she was leaving a party,” Betiana Miño clarifies. “Today she was feeling a little better, but she doesn’t want to give interviews or see anyone. She was very frightened by what happened to her,” she adds.

Now Marisol and her family hope that security cameras—from the area where she was kidnapped and at the city exit where she was taken out to be abused—can provide clues about the people who attacked her. 

Survivors

Violence against the trans and travesti community remains a debt of democracy. This is especially true considering that the life expectancy of this community is below 40 years. “We are survivors of the dictatorship and of prostitution. It’s terrible, but even today there are always some sexist men who persecute us or do these kinds of things,” says Betiana Miño.

In Santa Fe, according to the Survey on the Vulnerability of the Trans Population, conducted by IPEC (Provincial Institute of Statistics and Censuses) and the Undersecretariat of Sexual Diversity, 41.8% of trans or transvestite people surveyed suffered harassment and 23.6%, abuse. Furthermore, 38.1% experienced situations of physical aggression or mistreatment.

The attack Marisol suffered revived fears in her and her companion that they had left behind. Those who survived the last civic-military dictatorship and have, in recent years, received historic financial reparations in the province of Santa Fe, are now planning life projects that will allow them to rest and enjoy life.

“Marisol was happy because she had received her historical reparation. She had decided to close her little kiosk because she was very tired. I insisted that she at least keep selling some ice cream and juice so she wouldn't get bored, and now she was considering doing that,” Betiana says, adding: “Now we have to give her time to recover, but, as always, I'm going to be there for her because she's my sister and because we've always been together through all the bad times we've faced.”