Non-binary person attacked in La Plata: "You were born a man, not a woman!"

Winfried Fallon, a 24-year-old non-binary person, recorded a video while being beaten by a group of people. They were yelling “fucking faggot” and “you were born a man, not a woman.”

September 9, 2021

Rosario Marina

On Tuesday, September 7, Winfried Fallon, a 24-year-old non-binary person, recorded a video while being attacked by a group of people. They yelled "fucking faggot," "you were born a man, not a woman," and told their mother she had to "give birth to them again." Meanwhile, they punched them in the face. Winfried also lives with Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism.

Winfried went with his mother, Susana, to move. Their relationship with the landlord was already strained; he had verbally abused her several times. The move was scheduled to begin at eight in the morning, but the moving truck was delayed by rain. The landlord then began intimidating Winfried and his mother, trying to force them out. First with insults, then with pepper spray, and finally with physical violence. At that point, Winfried started recording .

“My son is a highly intelligent autistic child with Asperger's syndrome. He is non-binary and doesn't identify with any labels. He is a free spirit. As we were leaving, they started attacking us, hitting me. He stepped in front of them to stop them from hitting me. They started attacking him because of his sexuality, because of the way he was,” his mother, Susana, Presentes

After that, Winfried went to the 16th police station in La Plata where he filed a report for violence. He presented himself using the name on his ID; he was afraid of discrimination.

According to the Hate Crimes Observatory of the Argentine LGBT Federation, of all the hate crimes registered last year, 43% (66) were injuries to the right to physical integrity, that is, physical violence that did not end in death.

“I’m shocked by what happened. Yesterday was a turning point, because for the first time I truly understand what people in the LGBTQ+ community say: ‘We’re alive today, but we don’t know about tomorrow.’ I was attacked because of my sexuality, my gender, and my disability,” Winfried told Presentes.

“There can’t be an attack that was about to kill him. They were telling him: I’ll kill you,” his mother said.

A person without violence

Joaquín Fernández is Winfried's classmate in journalism school. When he saw the video, he felt it was a hate-filled attack. “Personally, the video is horrible. My friend isn't a violent person; I can confirm that, and so can everyone who knows him. So, recording it must have been the only thing he could think to do. I know he must be under a lot of stress.”

Winfried, Joaquín said, often asks how to express himself about certain things or in certain situations, "since because of Asperger's he doesn't understand some social cues, but that makes him someone who is constantly attentive and who cares about others and how they feel."

“My mother raised me to say that things are not resolved with violence, but with peace,” she explained.

Winfried studied high school in the city of Necochea. Before that, he lived in Santa Cruz, and then he came to La Plata, where he studies journalism. He's already in his fourth year. Now, to protect his mother, he went to live with a guy who needed a roommate, and he left his apartment to Susana.

“My big goal is to become a great journalist, and a big mission I have is to work for the community, not only the LGBTIQ+ community, but also to help kids with disabilities,” he concluded.

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