An English woman and her girlfriend were brutally attacked on a London city bus on Wednesday, May 30, after being approached by a group of four men.
Melania Geymonat, a 28 year old woman, recounted a horrific attack that she and girlfriend Chris endured on a night bus to Camden town.
The men started in as soon as the two got on the bus:
Last Wednesday, I had a date with Chris. We got on the Night Bus, heading for her place in Camden Town, climbed upstairs and took the front seats. We must have kissed or something because these guys came after us. I don't remember if they were already there or if they got on after us. There were at least four of them. They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us 'lesbians' and describing sexual positions.
In an attempt to calm things down, I started making jokes. I thought this might make them go away. Chris even pretended she was sick, but they kept on harassing us, throwing us coins and becoming more enthusiastic about it.
"The next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the bus fighting with them."
The next thing I know is I'm being punched. I got dizzy at the sight of my blood and fell back. I don't remember whether or not I lost consciousness. Suddenly the bus had stopped, the police were there and I was bleeding all over. Our stuff was stolen as well.
Scotland Yard is reportedly investigating.
British officials have taken to Twitter to express their disgust at the violence against Geymonat and her girlfriend:
The Metropolitan Police have posted a plea for witnesses in an attempt to find more information about the assailants.
"What upsets me the most," continued Geymonat, "is that VIOLENCE HAS BECOME A COMMON THING, that sometimes it's necessary to see a woman bleeding after having been punched to feel some kind of impact."
"I'm tired of being taken as a SEXUAL OBJECT, of finding out that these situations are usual, of gay friends who were beaten up JUST BECAUSE. We have to endure verbal harassment AND CHAUVINIST, MISOGYNISTIC AND HOMOPHOBIC VIOLENCE because when you stand up for yourself sh*t like this happens. By the way, I am thankful to all the women and men in my life that understand that HAVING BALLS MEANS SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I just hope that in June, Pride Month, stuff like this can be spoken out loudly so they STOP HAPPENING!"
According to the BBC, There were 2,101 recorded hate crimes based on sexual orientation in London in March 2017-2018, up over 600 from 2014.
Across England and Wales, the number spiked to 11,638.
Pride month commemorates the pride and pain of LGBTQ+ people around the world.
And as we celebrate, we must remember the stories like Melania and Chris' that are literally still happening right under our noses.