Homophobic neighbors brutally attack gay couple in Belgium

Mauro Padovani: «My husband has Alzheimer's. Hitting a person like him is like hitting a child »

GAYLES.TV.- Mauro padovani (46 years old) emigrated to Belgium five years ago for love. Her husband Tom Freeman (59 years old) is Belgian and suffers Alzheimer. They moved together into a building on the outskirts of Ghent and the neighborhood welcomed them warmly. Until a couple arrived in the neighborhood who made life impossible for them. He Bulgarian, she Croatian. They were not in their thirties and when they went to introduce themselves the first thing they said was “we hate gays”. The violence, both physical and verbal, continued: “bricks were thrown at us once. When they saw us they always yelled at us. We went to the police several times. But they never listened to us«.

Last Monday they were going to celebrate the birthday of Tom with some friends. They had just gotten into the car when the neighbor came over and spat on the glass. "They spat in our faces. They insulted us. And then they started hitting us on the head, on the back, on the legs. Everywhere. And all this just because we are gay. I love Belgium. We get married here. But now I don't feel safe anymore" Explain Mauro.

«I met Tom hace 12 años", He says Padovani. “We fell in love right away. At first it was a long distance story. Then five years ago we got married and I left Liguria a Flanders. There has not been a happier time in my life. A year later, my husband got sick. He has Alzheimer's. And that's what hurt me the most on Monday. Look at him on the ground crying. Hitting a person like him is like hitting a child ». After the attack they were left on the ground bleeding. The next day he decided to report the aggression on social media. «I want justice to be done«, He claims.

Aggressions that do not stop

This august the aggressions have not stopped either en Barcelona. At the beginning of the month a 33-year-old man was detained by the Mossos d'Esquadra as the alleged perpetrator of a homophobic assault on a couple he hit with an iron bar in the district of Nou Barris. The victims were transferred by the Medical Emergency System to a hospital, where they were treated for their wounds.

El Observatory against homophobia (OCH) He states that between August 10 and 14, he has treated 10 people who claimed to have been victims of discrimination and assault on the grounds of their gender or sexual orientation, according to a report by technicians from the entity. Of the ten incidents, 4 have taken place in Barcelona (reported by three gay men and a trans woman) and another 6 in the rest of the Catalan territory (five were men identified as homosexual, one heterosexual woman and another woman who identified as lesbian). During the first half of 2020 the AND has registered 115 assaults LGTBIphobic.

"The fight against discrimination cannot be done by the government alone"

El Departament de Treball, Afers Socials i Famílies full Generalitat de Catalunya This summer has promoted a new campaign to raise awareness about equal treatment and non-discrimination. Under the slogan “We defend the obvious“, The campaign wants to sensitize citizens of the right and the obligation to fight against any type of discrimination and to offer equal treatment and opportunities to the different groups that comprise it.

The Minister of Treball, Afers Socials i Famílies, Chakir the Homrani, states that "The fight against discrimination cannot be done by the government alone, we have to do it with all of society, everyone must help. We have to do this together. A firm attitude from each of us towards discrimination and in defense of equal treatment is essential to reduce inequalities".

Profile of the aggressor according to the Madrid Observatory Against LGTBphobia

According to the report on incidents of Hate for LGTBphobia in the Community of Madrid of the Madrid Observatory Against LGTBphobia, who are "the profile of the aggressor is a young, Spanish male. The youth of the aggressor continues to be highlighted, which is why we extract that the educational measures are still not adequate, because they are people who were in educational centers 4-5 years ago and who left them with notable prejudices that make them believe that they have the right to behave in a violent way against the LGTBI collective. The victim profile that is repeated the most is a gay man (or perceived as such) reaching 70% of the cases, he is also under 30 years old and suffers insults or physical attacks on the street, especially on weekends in leisure time, mainly on the street«.