[:it]Bologna, May 16, 2018 – As every year, on the occasion of May 17th, the international day against homo-lesbian-bi-transphobia, Arcigay, through its press office, spreads the report of homophobic episodes reported by the mass media in the last 12 months. The report, by its very nature, is qualitative rather than quantitative, providing a snapshot of the ways and forms through which the phenomenon manifests itself in the lives of LGBTI people. A total of 119 cases were recorded, fewer than last year, when the radicalization of the debate on civil unions had sparked unprecedented media coverage of these phenomena. But while media attention has understandably waned, homotransphobia still has very alarming connotations. "Looking at the stories that make up our report," comments Gabriele Piazzoni, national secretary of Arcigay, "several elements deserve to be highlighted: first of all, among the 119 stories, there are four murders, three of very young people, all attributable to a homophobic motive. These three bloody events are the culmination of a daily bulletin that describes a relentless oppression. And here comes the second aspect that clearly emerges from the report we are delivering to the public: while attention in recent years has shifted to the phenomenon of haters online, certainly worrying, homotransphobia is still today, and perhaps increasingly, a phenomenon that concretely impacts people's real lives, their family and neighbor relationships, the places they frequent or from which they are removed or barred. It is therefore shocking to read this chilling succession of sons and daughters removed from their homes, of individuals and couples insulted and beaten in the street, of posters, banners, Signs and graffiti on walls that violently mark the places we pass through. Pizzerias, nightclubs, beach clubs, medical clinics, and schools become minefields where a relentless form of oppression takes shape, often leading to physical violence. A report like this must be read through the lens of empathetic intelligence, that is, with a willingness to walk in other people's shoes: what kind of experience is it to walk through places and relationships where a message of contempt and marginalization is reiterated? What is left for the people who feel they are the recipients of these messages? The much-requested, yet never-obtained, law against homotransphobia is designed to place an aggravating factor on violent perpetrators who attack with this motive. But the phenomenon is much more complex; it is both social and cultural, and requires collective responsibility. Because only in this way can real change be brought about—over the years, and many will be needed. Those who don't experience these phenomena firsthand tend to ignore them, and this disinterest is part of the problem. We're not talking about privileges to be granted to a "Lobbyists," we're not entrepreneurs chasing our flat tax. This is about the minimum conditions of serenity and well-being that allow a person to legitimately desire happiness. Two more considerations: the first concerns suicides, which are a highly sensitive issue that cannot be recorded through these monitoring measures without forcing them beyond our means of addressing the problem. But suicides do exist, and scientific research is circulating around the world that highlights their alarming frequency within the LGBTI community. Each of these events represents a failure of society. Finally, it's necessary to return to the issue of families, those who kick their sons and daughters out of their homes, those who beat them, those who attempt to disfigure them with acid, those who seek to punish them in every way. These events are pure madness, and we should all be outraged, react, and denounce them. Instead, the hell unleashed in those families is directly linked to homophobic political propaganda that seems to be aiming directly at these outcomes. Let these preachers know, then, that They are playing with people's lives, compromising the future of so many young people in the name of their ideological whims. Like every year, on May 17th, many words will be spent on homotransphobia. They are useful, but they prove utterly ineffective. We need facts, but for those facts to arrive, we first need awareness: this bulletin of stories deserves to be read, to be experienced firsthand. This is the hope with which we are making it public, reiterating with the same stubbornness as always the call for tools, primarily legislative, to address this phenomenon once and for all,“ concludes Piazzoni.
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