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In the early hours of March 1, Franco Ruiz (40) was the victim of a homophobic attack in the city of Resistencia, Chaco province, where he was repeatedly beaten and whipped. He filed a report with the Second Metropolitan Police Station that same day and gave his statement to the Prosecutor's Office on March 3.

Franco and his partner, Nadir, attended the 15th birthday party of one of Nadir's coworkers' daughters at the Commercial Employees' Center. The evening passed without incident until Franco and Nadir went outside for a smoke around 1:00 a.m. There, a group of young men between the ages of 17 and 20 began harassing him with derogatory comments and taunts. "My partner and I decided not to react. I've experienced similar situations many times before because of my sexual orientation, so we decided to go back inside," Franco told Presentes.

[READ ALSO: Homophobic attack in Chaco: he was beaten almost unconscious ]

The young men took advantage of the receptionist's absence, around three in the morning, to sneak into the party, where they continued to harass Franco. "During the night, I went to the bathroom two or three times, and each time I was bothered by these guys," he continues. "They insulted me, they told me to 'suck my dick'."

As they left the party, one of them snatched a rosary from around Franco's neck. When Franco chased after him, he felt the impact of a tile thrown by the rest of the group at his back. As he fell to the ground, the attackers kicked him while yelling, "We're going to kill you, you fucking faggot." Finally, Franco was helped by his partner and the police. "I really thought that was the end of it," Franco told Presentes. The attackers fled when they saw the authorities arrive.

Police negligence and mistreatment

“I had to go to the prosecutor’s office twice because the first time I went, the police downplayed everything, dismissing it as an attempted robbery with minor injuries,” Franco explained. Franco’s lawyer, Paulo Pereyra, told Presentes that most cases involving discrimination against diverse gender identities and sexual orientations are not properly investigated. That’s why Franco had to return two days after filing the report, this time with the team from the Secretariat of Human Rights and Gender.

“Specifically, the filing in the prosecutor's office number 10, the digitization of the file, and the ratification and expansion of the victim's testimonial statement have to do with the fact that Franco is clearly putting his body on the process, and that we went from a public body of the executive branch to put pressure on him,” he said.

[READ ALSO: Journalistic mapping of hate crimes in Argentina ]

The security forces were also absent during the attack. As the young men fled, the police didn't even attempt to catch them, despite Nadir's explicit pleas. When they went to the police station on March 1st, the mistreatment continued.

When Franco explained that he had been attacked because of his sexual orientation, one of the officers covered his face to avoid laughing, while another made a joke when he saw him crying. “The police aren’t prepared for these things,” Franco told Presentes. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”

Pereyra explained that the complaint will be for "aggravated injuries due to hatred of sexual orientation, cruelty, treachery and the premeditated participation of more than two people."

State support

The Secretariat of Human Rights and Gender of the Province of Chaco will file a lawsuit tomorrow. “What Franco wants is for this to never happen to anyone again,” Ursula Sabarece, a trans activist and director of the Diversity, Sexual Dissidence, and Gender Identity area, explained to Presentes. “We are going to do everything necessary to set a precedent and ensure a punishment.”

Franco's case is the second homophobic attack in Chaco in the last year, following the robbery and assault of Franco Ramírez on January 8th of last year . The most recent data from the National Observatory of LGBT Hate Crimes reports 68 hate crimes in which victims were attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression during the first half of 2019. Of these, 31% targeted gay men. 72% of all cases involved physical assault, and more than half – 54% – were assaults perpetrated by strangers to the victim (51%).

“I want laws to be enforced that punish these crimes so that getting away with it after such a hateful, violent, and homophobic attack isn't an option,” Franco said. “I didn't do anything to anyone. I'm a very peaceful and friendly person. I don't understand the obsession with whether or not I'm a fucking faggot, as they called me while they were whipping me. I don't think even animals are as savage to each other as human beings are,” he lamented. Finally, he also emphasized the importance of instilling respect for diversity and the value of life within families and educational institutions.