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VIOLENT HOMOPHOBIC ATTACK IN THE PROVINCE OF CATANZARO
Last Saturday afternoon, our councilor Bruno Giordano received an instant message informing him of a physical attack on a woman in the Catanzaro area because she was a lesbian.
As the Arcigay "I Due Mari" Committee, we have decided to proceed with extreme caution and discretion, above all with full respect for the privacy of the injured party and avoiding any possible further harassment towards them.
Silvana – this is the woman's name – lives in Vallefiorita (CZ), a town with around 1,500 inhabitants.
In such a small country, it's not hard to imagine that news leaks out quickly.
But, perhaps due to what we would euphemistically call excessive zeal, to date no fellow citizen has checked on Silvana's physical and mental state. Everyone knows, but no one is taking action.
Our Councilor, subsequently contacted by telephone directly by the attacked woman, acting on our behalf, reached our friend in Vallefiorita yesterday.
He finds her with a swollen face, a noticeable dressing on her nose, a trembling voice and the state of mind of someone who is damned scared.
Silvana recounts the shocking incident: on the evening of Thursday, May 20th, while she was smoking a cigarette on her balcony, she was repeatedly and vehemently insulted by her neighbor—who lives on the lower floors and was also on the balcony—with the unmistakable intent of instilling fear: "You disgusting lesbian whore! They should kill you! I'm talking to you, you disgusting lesbian!" Having endured this barrage of insults, the woman goes downstairs to her tormentor's apartment (who had previously engaged in intimidating behavior), expressing her understandable disappointment at the insults she had received. Faced with our Silvana, the neighbor persists in revealing his homophobia and delivers a vicious headbutt directly to the bridge of her nose. The attack occurs with the complicity of the neighbor's wife and two other adults, who restrain Silvana and steal her phone. Once she managed to free herself and get her smartphone back, the woman called the emergency number 112 and was reached by a Carabinieri patrol.
Subsequently, the woman was forced to go to the emergency medical service first and then to the Catanzaro emergency room to undergo tests.
All this happened while Silvana's cell phone was engaged in a conversation with the woman's girlfriend, who does not live in Calabria, who clearly heard her partner's insults and pleas for help during the attack.
Silvana is obviously still in shock, as well as in severe pain from the blow. We have reason to believe she also suffered damage to her dental arch: her trusted dentist had to intervene to relieve the discomfort resulting from the assault.
The individuals in question are already known to law enforcement and the Mayor of Vallefiorita. We appeal to them to do everything possible to protect Silvana: now more than ever, she needs the support of all those responsible for upholding the provisions of our Constitution, pending the final approval of the Zan Bill. In this regard, we find yet another case in which the bill in question would have been crucial in addressing these serious human rights violations.
The Arcigay "I Due Mari" Committee of Reggio Calabria will continue to closely monitor all developments in the matter. We will support Silvana in this battle with all possible means for the recognition of her rights as a citizen, a woman, and a lesbian.[:]
