Violence linked to gay dating apps: calls for them to be treated as hate crimes
At least fifteen gay men from Buenos Aires have reported attacks during dates arranged through apps. This is a homophobic modus operandi that is spreading.
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. The LGBT+ community denounced the increasing number of systematic hate attacks against gay men through online dating apps.
The 2020 murder of sex worker Enzo Aguirre and the recent attempted murder of Pablo Delía are just a couple of the visible examples of this criminal phenomenon. Victims are contacted through Grindr or other apps, beaten and/or drugged until they are unconscious or dead, and then robbed. The group demands that these crimes be treated as hate crimes.
“Hello, I’m Pablo, but I’m also Sergio, I’m Juan, I’m Gustavo, I’m Marcos, I’m César, I’m Rodrigo, I’m Gustavo (yes, again, another Gustavo), I’m Carlos, I’m Esteban, and I’m also Luis. I’m more than 10 complaints filed at different police stations. Ten complaints on the desks of different prosecutors and courts in the Federal Capital and the province of Buenos Aires.”
This is how the document prepared by the victims of the same aggressor begins. Pablo Delía read it aloud last Monday at a rally in front of the Palace of Justice in Buenos Aires. They demanded the capture of the aggressor and his accomplices, as well as judicial reform that incorporates a gender and diversity perspective. They also demanded that the various cases be handled jointly and not separately.
The man sometimes acted alone; other times, with accomplices. He contacted his victims through Grindr. He offered to meet them for drinks. He carried a backpack or bag that allowed him to carry a bottle of vodka, cans of Speed, and Clonazepam drops.
In most cases, the victims, after ingesting no more than two sips, were left “in a state of unconsciousness or semi-consciousness.” Meanwhile, the attackers stole their belongings. This is how Delía remembers the more than 15 testimonies she received through her social media when she made her experience public.
An attack that was not isolated
On Sunday, September 4, in the early morning hours, 34-year-old Pablo Delía was attacked at his home, located near the intersection of Maipú Street and Corrientes Avenue in the San Nicolás neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Two men he had met through the dating app Grindr choked him, tried to drug him, and beat him.
Pablo shared what had happened to him on his social media and in various media outlets . Of the 15 testimonies from people who had gone through the same thing, at least 8 of them had filed reports at police stations or prosecutor's offices in the city and province of Buenos Aires.
In the document, the victims highlighted that one of the attacks was reported to Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 38 in the city of Buenos Aires. “The real shock came when we learned of the case reported on July 17 of this year, where the aggressor held a victim in his home while drugged for three days and stabbed her in the legs and stomach, waking her up every so often to demand money, security codes, and other belongings,” they recounted.
The assailant was arrested on September 4th, following the attack on Pablo Delía. Although the Buenos Aires City Police arrested the attackers that day, they were released less than 48 hours later. That same day, after his release, his profile reappeared on Grindr. After his face was circulated, he deleted his photo and then his account disappeared.
What the justice system doesn't see
A case similar to those described in these testimonies was the 2020 murder of dancer and sex worker Enzo Aguirre . A male couple contacted him through the website soytuyo.com . They tied him up, gagged him, beat him, and murdered him on Thursday, November 12, in his room in the Retiro neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He died from “mechanical asphyxiation due to obstruction of the upper airways.” They hid his body under a mattress.
The day before, this same duo, along with an accomplice, had used the same modus operandi against another victim who survived. Both victims were robbed. The Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA), the Association of Sex Workers of Argentina (AMMAR), and 100% Diversity and Rights demanded at the time that the Judiciary recognize it as a hate crime.
However, the sentence handed down last week to his killers (Jeremías Javier Negrini and Nicolás Adolfo Bernardez) did not take this into account. Judges Patricia Cusmanich, Ángel Nardiello, and Sergio Paduczak of the Oral Criminal and Correctional Court (TOC) 22 established sentences of 12 and 14 years for the crime of “aggravated robbery committed with an improper weapon, in conjunction with homicide during a robbery.”
“We want to address this issue as a global phenomenon.”
The case concerning the attack on Pablo Delía is being handled by Prosecutor's Office No. 10 of the City of Buenos Aires, and he is represented by attorney Luciana Sánchez. Due to the similarity with other cases that have been shared with her through social media, she is seeking to consolidate the cases.
“I’m about to expand my statement. We want to consolidate the complaints to somehow enter into a kind of joint case, or at least so that each of the victims can testify in the other’s complaint, thus increasing the charges,” Delía explained. The case went from “robbery” to “attempted robbery” and is currently “minor injuries”: “They lowered the price three times in three days,” Delía warned.
“Beyond the individual, we want to address this issue as a global phenomenon, as an expression of violence against gay bodies, primarily those who identify as queer. This criminal phenomenon is clearly a global modus operandi that must be addressed,” Greta Pena, Undersecretary of Diversity Policies at the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity of the Nation told Presentes .
In this regard, he argued that “it is necessary to deepen the diversity perspective within the judicial system. These types of cases should not be treated as mere thefts or viewed in a prejudiced way that focuses on the victim's characteristics or sexual orientation. Rather, they should be approached as a phenomenon of violence against dissident sexual orientations.”
Pena recommended that anyone experiencing an attack of this nature should contact the Undersecretariat for comprehensive psychological and legal support. This support can be requested by calling 144 or via WhatsApp at 1127716463, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Furthermore, she reported that her department is evaluating “preventive actions for the community itself.” “These are self-care actions, not based on a moralistic view or fear, but rather on a policy of prevention. We aim to provide a series of guidelines developed collectively,” Pena explained.
Attacks generated by hate speech
According to Flavia Massenzio, coordinator of the LGBT Ombudsman's Office , these attacks occurred within a context marked by the proliferation of hate speech. "In our opinion, this speech is the first link in a chain of violence that ends with hate crimes, with transfemicides or transhomicides."
In this regard, the Ombudsman's Office is advocating for the reform of the Anti-Discrimination Law (No. 23,592). Their aim is to "reverse the burden of proof," meaning that instead of the victim having to prove an act, the aggressor would have to prove they did not commit it or why they did. Furthermore, the reform would grant "diversity organizations or the Ombudsman standing to act as plaintiffs" in these cases.
“Today they apologized to me. This needs to be done for all victims, not just me. The justice system is failing. We have to fix something in the judicial system that renders gay men invisible. Violence between men is made invisible. Everything is dismissed as attempted robbery. We are gay people and we are targeted because of the app that should make us feel safe,” concluded Pablo Delía.
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