Report on cases of ordinary homotransphobia in Italy (April 2022 – March 2023)
Report compiled by Massimo Battaglio for homophobia.org*
This report, compiled in view of the World Day against Homotransphobia, photographs the homotransphobic phenomenon in the last year. The data refers to the period from April 2022 to March 2023. The last month was not taken into consideration as it is normal for some data to arrive a few days or even weeks late.
The list of homotransphobic incidents reported during this period includes 115 incidents, which affected 165 victims spread across 62 locations.
50 of the victims (equal to 30% of the total) who reported suffered single attacks. 32 were victims of group or couple attacks (19% of the total). There were 2 murders, 4 suicides (certainly the figure is an underestimate), 1 attempted suicide and 76 non-aggressive acts but still of serious criminal importance (which reach 46%).
We therefore note that the sum of victims of physical assault (single or multiple) and homicide reaches 50%, exceeding the average of the last ten years. The rate of violence is therefore growing. The percentage of suicides and attempted suicides remains stable, even if they decrease in number compared to previous years.
The overall number of victims appears to have been decreasing slightly for five years now (an extraordinary peak was recorded in 2018-2019, particularly evident in the election campaign period) but is still higher than the numbers recorded before the same period 2018-2019 .
If, in the 2017-2018 year, corresponding to the entry into force of the law on Civil Unions, there was a reversal of trend in the relationship between aggressive and non-aggressive acts, from 2021 onwards, the same relationship has reversed again in favor of physically violent acts. In particular, in the last two years, the number of violent acts recorded has increased despite the decrease in total episodes. In particular, there is a constant increase in attacks on individuals.
As always, even in the period 2022-2023, there is a summer surge in the phenomenon, perfectly understandable if we examine - as we will do later - the environments in which homophobic attacks occur most frequently, among which the street and, immediately after, the public places. Given that, in summer, we live more outdoors and frequent clubs more, it is "normal" to expect more homophobic episodes to occur.
In the last year, however, there has been a peak in the month of February, that is, the one in which there was a relentless disinformation campaign on surrogacy (disgustingly called "womb for rent") by the government forces and the media that support them . It is not the first time that the phenomenon of homotransphobia has been influenced by the political debate: very notable peaks were recorded in August 2020 and June 2021, on the occasion of the presentation of the Zan bill to the Chambers.
This confirms the idea that the use of homophobic violence is, for some, a form of political expression. The homophobe is ignorant; he doesn't know how to articulate concepts to express with words but, wanting to make his kind of opinion weigh, he resorts to his hands. It is therefore logical that he stands out especially when he hears about homosexuality around him. The idea is therefore also confirmed that the parties and movements that hinder the path to emancipation of LGBT+ people do nothing but arm the hands of homophobes.
Even in the last year, many more cisgender men have reported incidents of homophobia. However, it should be noted that the share of women cisgender it is increasing, both as a percentage (21% compared to an average of 18% in the last ten years) and in absolute value (there were 43 in the 2021-2022 period and 30 in the previous one).
This data can mean two things: the first is that a growing number of cisgender female victims are starting to report. The change is in fact too strong to think that there have actually been more homophobic incidents against women despite the slight overall decline. It is more likely that many episodes that occurred in previous years have been kept quiet while more recent ones are reported more frequently. This is a positive fact because homotransphobia can only be fought by reporting it.
On the other hand, the idea remains that the woman is a less attractive target for the homophobic male (most of the episodes have individuals of that species as authors), who, when he is able to recognize a lesbian woman ( which rarely happens because, for him, the woman is still a missed prey regardless of her sexual orientation), it disturbs him less. What bothers him is the male who deviates from the male stereotype. And in fact, the share of trans women is very high since the homophobe perceives the trans woman as a man who has deviated from the macho model to the maximum extent, to the point of denying the virility of his own body.
The calculation of the incidence of victims on the LGBT+ population contributes to confirming the previous hypotheses. If we assume the ISTAT data on the LGBT+ population provided with the 2012 research, which speak of 5% of homosexual or bisexual people out of the total Italian population, and 0.1% of transsexual people, we obtain the distribution depicted in the palogram a left: 1,452,505 male homosexual or bisexual people, 1,529,570 female, 29,050 female transgender people and 30,591 male.
Comparing these data to the distribution of victims of homophobia by sex and gender identity, we obtain that 0.07% of male homosexuals and 0.02% of female homosexuals have reported an episode of homophobia of criminal relevance in the last ten years while transsexual male victims of homophobia are 0.08% of the total and females are even 0.59%.
3
In recent years, the complaints coming from the three Italian macro-regions went against the north, which seemed to be the most homophobic part of the country. Furthermore, if the episodes reported by tourists (i.e. by people with a culture different from that of the place where the events occurred) were deducted, the result was a particularly silent south. In the year 2022-2023 there is a reversal of the data: both in absolute value and in the relationship with the number of inhabitants, the most reporting macro-region is precisely the south. This supports the idea that, in the south, the presence of homophobia has always been very relevant and that it is now starting to emerge.
Central Italy, on the other hand, is confirmed as the macro-region with the highest rate of homophobia among the population. This is due to the strong imbalance between the city of Rome, very populous, highly attractive and consequently affected by episodes of homotransphobia, and the rest of the territory, sparsely populated.
The largest number of homophobic attacks has always occurred not so much in the most populous regions but in those in which there are large cities (Lazio, Campania, Lombardy). In 202-2023, however, he witnessed a significant drop in episodes reported in Lombardy and a decisive increase in Piedmont, which becomes the most homophobic region of Italy, both in absolute value and in relation to the population. And the most homophobic city always be Turin, where there were 23 victims, far exceeding the most populous Rome (18), Milan (10) and Naples (15). It seems that the myth of Turin friendly has definitively fallen.
It is clear, however, that the homophobic phenomenon has a greater impact in less populous localities, such as Tirrenia, Savelletri or Madonna di Sasso, where the few complainants still represent a significant share of the population.
As already mentioned, the majority of recorded incidents occurred on the street (66 or 40%). This is followed by places of leisure (40 equal to 24%), family (15 equal to 9%) and others. The percentages of the last year do not differ from those of the overall period of the last ten years, except for an increase in reports of incidents occurring in public places (leisure places, swimming pools, beaches) and a decrease in those relating to one's own family. The number of those reporting homophobic acts that occurred in the workplace increased slightly (10 compared to 5 the previous year and 8 in 2020-2021).
.
VICTIMS AND STORIES OF ORDINARY HOMOTRANSPHOBIA:
04/01/2022 Catanzaro Davide Sgro, already a victim of other episodes of homophobia, is fired from the hairdressing salon where he works, due to "unsuitable attitudes" and that is his homosexuality
04/02/2022 Corsico Young trans woman takes her own life
04/06/2022 Cagliari 28 year old approached by a foreigner while walking with a friend, insulted and stabbed
04/07/2022 Naples Boy turns to LGBT association to report continuous attacks "bordering on physical aggression" that he suffers in his own home from the doorman and his family
04/09/2022 Turin Trans boy asks for Confirmation. Traditionalist circles find out about it and unleash the media machine. No trace of the boy is lost
04/15/2022 Naples Sixty-year-old reports continuous homophobic harassment from neighbor
04/22/2022 Empoli Daniele Senesi, ambulance driver of the Compagnia della Misericordia, is forced to retire after various homophobic episodes
04/24/2022 Turin The road plaque in the garden dedicated to Ottavio Mai has been defaced with homophobic writings
05/06/2022 Alessandria Claudia, 53 years old, already harassed several times by her homophobic neighbor, is stopped on the stairs and savagely beaten for no reason
05/17/2022 Paola (CZ) 16 years old goes out with a rainbow bandana on her backpack. He is stopped by his uncle (warned by his father), who tells him: "We don't want rich people in our family" and gives him a first slap, then a punch and a series of kicks. Not happy, he calls three other men. Result: 4 broken ribs, deviated nasal septum, various injuries. His uncle puts him in the car, takes him home and: "Now die at home."
17/05/2022 Treviso The story of Laura emerges, a young trans woman who has an already formalized job offer rejected after her employers discover her identity
05/17/2022 Not specified Antonio, 50 years old, trans, talks about his history of violence in the workplace
05/18/2022 Turin 12-year-old girl asks for Confirmation. She is extorted to sign a paper in which she declares that she is not a lesbian and does not share the "gender culture"
20/05/2022 Venice Venetian boy living in London returns because he was invited to a hen party. He is hit by repeated homophobic insults and attempts at physical aggression
05/21/2022 Catania Piero Fiore Cantone, a young gay activist, is reached by a car from which a man gets out and, accompanied by homophobic insults, tries to impale him with a screwdriver. He reacts with a punch, runs away, calls the police and recounts the episode on Instagram
05/22/2022 Sassari Alessandra Garau, artistic photographer, organizes a project on Sardinian folklore in which genres mix. She is threatened with death.
05/23/2022 Castellammare Boy physically attacked after various verbal attacks in via Ripuaria, is admitted to the emergency room and files a complaint
05/26/2022 Unspecified 12-year-old girl, after coming out to a friend, ends up in a vortex of insults, harassment and jokes in very poor taste (for example "faggot" written on her backpack)
05/27/2022 Not specified The same 12-year-old girl referred to in the previous episode confesses to having begun to engage in serious self-harm practices
05/29/2022 Milan Boy chased, slapped and insulted on the street with homophobic epithets. A chain is also torn off
05/31/2022 Not specified Young LGBT activist posts a photo of friends kissing on Instagram. He receives a barrage of insults and threats.
06/05/2022 Sarzana Camilla, trans, killed in her car. The body was found in a stream on June 9th
06/07/2022 Naples Rejected house for rent to lesbian couple: "only rented to heterosexual couples"
06/08/2022 Catania Fifteen-year-old trans F>M throws himself from the sixth floor, oppressed by not being able to express his gender identity
06/09/2022 Palermo Girl stopped on the street, covered in homophobic insults, thrown to the ground and kicked and punched
10/06/2022 Turin Girl horribly beaten in a nightclub for defending her boyfriend from homophobic insults
11/06/2022 Auronzo Cloe, the former trans physics teacher who had had problems at school for presenting herself as a female in 2015, now writes a farewell letter and sets fire to the camper where she lives.
12/06/2022 Turin Marco and Darren leave a nightclub. They are approached by a group of thugs from whom they receive insults and credible threats.
06/13/2022 Palermo Marco Agnello, candidate for the centre-left in the municipal elections, gay, suffers defamation: the rumor spreads that he is suffering from monkeypox
06/14/2022 Lecce The director Giuseppe Sciarra, author of a short film on homophobia, receives an anonymous threatening letter: "AIDS crack, filthy ass"
06/14/2022 Pavia Attack on the “Coming-out” center with glass breaking. The president and vice president try to chase the criminals and are hit with homophobic insults.
15/06/2022 Tirrenia Two boys kiss on the beach. A group of people, three families with children, wives and husbands, attack them and threaten to kick them if they don't leave because "there are children"
16/06/2022 Treviso The municipal theater of Treviso cancels Paolo Camilli's show because it talks about homophobia: "it is not in our audience's heart"
06/16/2022 Milan Niko & Teo take part in a photographic work that involves a kiss in the square. While they pose, passers-by film them, insult them and order them to leave
06/17/2022 Cagliari On the S. Elia seafront, a 40-year-old gay man is approached by a stranger who invites him to leave but it's a trap: four others reach him, massacre him and abandon him stunned on the asphalt.
18/06/2022 Foligno At the Quintana procession, the extra Massimo Fiordiponti is welcomed by homophobic chants
06/19/2022 Cagliari An attack similar to that of 06/17/2022 is repeated. The same culprits are suspected
06/19/2022 Turin Upon returning from pride, 4 girls on the subway are insulted and spat on until they have to get off, by a group of brats
20/06/2022 Ravenna The fifteen-year history of discrimination of a now forty-year-old woman comes to an end, harassed in the workplace at Lidl, mobbed, forced to work long periods at night, repeatedly insulted in public, subjected to sexual harassment, because lesbian. The company will have to compensate €30,000
06/21/2022 Turin The singer Giorgi reports serious injuries caused to him, after a concert near Porta Susa, by three young spectators, with homophobic motivations
06/22/2022 Savelletri N., in a restaurant, asks to use anti-mosquito spray but the manager snatches it from his hand saying: "I don't want to give it to people like you", alluding to his homosexuality. His friends, offended like him, take him out of the club.
06/23/2022 Misano Adriatico Homophobic intimidation against Davide Piccioni, former president of Arcigay Riccione, now manager of a swimming pool: a gazebo of the structure is set on fire
06/29/2022 Milan Surrounded boy, covered in homophobic insults and threatened, manages to escape riding a rented bike but is chased
01/07/2022 Naples Upon returning from the pride, two twenty-year-olds are attacked, insulted and belted by bullies
02/07/2022 Rimini Upon returning from a sleepless night, a very young man is recognized as gay, insulted and hit with a beer bottle
07/03/2022 Bari The day after the pride, two non-binary kids (a 19-year-old from Abruzzo and a 23-year-old girl) are at the park with friends. They are attacked first with homophobic insults, then with kicks and punches and finally with the throwing of a stone
07/06/2022 Milan Trans beaten and disfigured by false client who enters house by deception
07/08/2022 M. del Sasso Homophobic writings throughout the country against the mayor, "guilty" of having approved a resolution against all discrimination
07/16/2022 Cremona Two individuals make an appointment for an evening of sex with an escort. When they realize that she is a trans woman, they beat her to death and rob her
07/17/2022 Naples Old nun bursts into the photo set where photos of a lesbian kiss are being taken, forcibly separates the two models and plants a forty-two
07/18/2022 Bologna Boy receives homophobic insults and sexual harassment due to "excessively feminine" clothing
07/19/2022 Turin In Parco Dora, a trans woman resting on the lawn is attacked by a stranger, who chases her to a bar where she takes shelter. The bartender calls the police and the culprit is arrested
07/25/2022 Gallipoli In the disco, the TikToker Lorenzo Sabato first receives homophobic insults, then spitting and then blind beatings
07/29/2022 Turin In via Po, a group of twenty-year-olds chased, insulted, harassed, threatened with a knife and punched by gangs of homophobes
30/07/2022 Bisceglie Trans woman, in a bar, is slapped by a drunk, who is sent away and takes revenge by throwing a chair and a table at her and damaging her car with the woman's disabled mother on board
07/30/2022 R. Calabria About twenty thugs chase and lynch a boy by making homophobic insults and throwing bar chairs at him
07/31/2022 Tirrenia Another gay couple removed from a bathing establishment because "these things" (a kiss) "you can go and do them at the public beach"
07/31/2022 Pavia New assault on the "Coming-out" center with glass breaking. A volunteer is present
06/08/2022 Salerno Father stabs his daughter and her partner because he does not accept their relationship
10/08/2022 Lodi thirty-year-old gay finds his car defaced with homophobic graffiti
11/08/2022 Salerno Nurse publicly mocked by the head doctor and the head nurse. “the rich man must go away”, he files a complaint. It's not the first episode
14/08/2022 Todi The writer Jonathan Bazzi and his partner are pointed at and insulted in public by two gentlemen with children, who invite other passers-by to do the same
08/15/2022 Sperlonga, a 34-year-old lesbian and her partner receive heavy praise and homophobic insults because they walk hand in hand. Shoved, one is thrown to the ground and injured.
08/24/2022 Not specified Porpora Marcasciano, trans activist, is insulted and threatened with knives on the beach
08/26/2022 Torre Annunziata During a Salvini rally, two lesbian girls attacked by a local trader. The worst is avoided by the Forces of the Order which distance the individual
08/28/2022 Pompeii Gay couple of tourists welcomed by operator of the archaeological area with "the rich people are coming"
08/29/2022 Cologno, 43 year old, harasses a trans woman: he gropes her, undoes his trousers and attacks her
08/30/2022 Cisterna Thomas, an 18-year-old trans, is insulted by boys from a microcar, who then throw a stone at him, hitting him in the face
08/30/2022 Rome Alessandro Cecchi Paone announces his engagement with Simone Antolini. Rain of homophobic insults and threats to the young man on social media
08/30/2022 Rome Simone Antolini's parents kick their son out of the house because of his engagement with Alessandro Cecchi Paone
08/31/2022 Terracina In a bar, five thugs insult a boy who is having breakfast, then beat him with the help of a metal ashtray
08/31/2022 Rosignano Sendi Signorini and Jonathan Giaconi, entrepreneurs from Prato, denounce homophobic acts suffered during the holidays: threatening letters delivered to the residence where they are staying and to their mother's condominium, bullying, defamatory complaints at the beach facilities
04/09/2022 Milan Woman calls the police to report two men kissing: "come immediately, two dirty faces are standing under my window without education or decency"
05/09/2022 Ostia Marco Spano and his partner, candidates in the elections for the Gay Party, are attacked in the street amidst the indifference of passers-by
11/09/2022 Turin Three boys, in Piazza Vittorio, are attacked because of their "faggot" clothing and hit with bottles. One is injured
13/09/2022 Gioia del Colle Thomas Nanna, 18 years old, walking with friends in the centre. Bullies approach him and insult him. He reacts verbally. They massacre him. Spine bruises.
09/29/2022 Not specified Milena Di Vairo and Angela Di Benedetto receive threats via Tik Tok against their son: "we will take him away from you"
01/10/2022 Castiglion Fiorentino (AR) In a bar, a 24-year-old intervenes to stop a homophobic discussion. He receives a blow to the back from a bottle. 5 day prognosis. Two of his companions are equally beaten.
03/10/2022 Rome Goes to the police station to report lost documents. Five officers mistreat him, pull him, seize his cell phone: "be thankful we don't hogtie you, you fucking faggot"
05/10/2022 Ardea 47-year-old trans woman is found dead in a hotel room. The police admit that it was a homotransphobic murder
10/16/2022 Naples On the subway, two girls kiss. A gentleman causes a commotion. Many passengers defend the girls.
20/10/2022 Not specified, 17-year-old activist of the Gay Party is repeatedly threatened with death via the web, with clearly fascist insults
10/22/2022 Dronero Leaving a club, two boys are holding hands. A car stops and insults them. They reply: “we are in 2022”. The others get out and beat.
23/10/2022 Agrigento Ambra, a 40-year-old trans woman, in a club, is first teased and then, having responded to the provocations, pulled and dragged out of the club, where she receives kicks and punches
10/24/2022 Naples Chiara, 19-year-old trans, commits suicide in her mother's house while she is absent
25/10/2022 Naples A man enters the Arcigay office under the pretext of an HIV test, threatens and insults the two volunteers present. He refuses to come out until the operators call 112
10/26/2022 Caserta 23-year-old Moroccan boy finds work in a circus. His homosexuality discovered, he is kept under kidnapping. He manages to contact Arcigay and is found by the police thanks to geolocation with a cell phone
10/30/2022 Rome Gay couple reports ongoing stalking by a neighbor who slipped pornographic magazines and CDs into the couple's mailbox, smeared the walls with paint, threw talcum powder on their carpet, went to buzz them in full night, he beat on the wall with the broom
04/11/2022 Pavia Boy beaten at school by his classmates, who shower him with homophobic insults
08/11/2022 Pisa Upon leaving school, a student surrounded and mocked with homophobic epithets calls 112. The bullies snatch his phone and throw it to the ground
08/11/2022 Rome At the Cavour high school, a trans girl delivers a class assignment signed with her chosen name. The teacher rejects him, loudly proclaiming: “you are a man, not a woman”.
11/16/2022 Bolzano General practitioner denies therapy and tests to transgender patient, communicating via email: "in my opinion they are harmful to health"
20/11/2022 Not specified The evangelical pastor Luigi Carollo incites his followers against Emma Msrrone via social media and compares the children of gays to "excrement to be defecated". A chorus of defamatory insults and threats against the singer is unleashed
03/12/2022 Rome Lazio fans display a homophobic rant against Damiano from Maneskin: "I support Roma and I'm proud of it, thong and high heels, Damiano fuck off"
05/12/2022 Bergamo Filippo Bianchi, municipal councilor of FdI, institutionally offends the violinist Emma Pia Castriota, trans, who performed in concert on November 29, defining her as "disconcerting, questionable level, drag performer and strictly compliant with the LGBT ideology"
12/14/2022 Milan The city councilor Marco Mazzei, in the street, having scolded the owner of a car parked in the second row, is insulted and threatened with homophobic epithets
12/17/2022 Viterbo Trans insulted, threatened and attacked in a self-service laundry
12/18/2022 Not specified Tiktoker gabriele Gentile publishes photos with a skirt. Homophobic reactions were immediate with insults and threats
12/19/2022 Milan Couple of Egyptian parents are condemned for repeated violence against their 15-year-old gay son, which lasts from the day of his coming out until the moment of conviction
20/12/2022 Rozzano (MI) The writer Jonhatan Bazzi denounces yet another homophobic act: finding himself with his partner, he is surrounded by bullies who throw artificial snow and cans
31/12/2022 Turin Belgian tourist suffers homophobic attack by three "bodyguards" outside a club. He requires surgery which will keep him in the city until at least January 10th. The police treat him with disdain
17/01/2023 Ortona Gang of bullies captured who, for months, had been shouting homophobic insults and threatening the manager of an amusement arcade. Lately they had also come to blows
01/23/2023 Not specified The journalist Luigi Mascheroni on "Il Giornale" ridicules the director of RAI Coletta due to his sexual orientation
02/01/2023 Milan 25-year-old waiter, after being stalked for months by a customer due to his sexual orientation, is waited outside the bar and beaten to death
02/02/2023 Naples Threatening writings in various places against Antonello Sannino, president of Arcigay Antinoo
02/03/2023 Naples The son of a Camorra boss meets a girl. When he discovers that she is following a transition path, he beats her up and abandons her half naked in the street
11/02/2023 S. Damiano d'Asti Couple of women already victims of homophobia in Baldichieri, are attacked outside their house by strangers who ring the intercom and convince them to come down with the excuse of collecting a postal package
02/15/2023 Frosinone 20-year-old overwhelmed by spitting, slaps and insults from her mother because she is a lesbian: "I would prefer a dead daughter"
18/02/2023 Cuneo «Is your name Cinderella?». «No, I'm Snow White». "I knew he was rich." «Yes, I'm rich, why is there a problem?». "You are not a man." From the jokes to the hands on each other, the pushing and the aggression, one boy ends up on the ground and the other kicks him in the back.
02/28/2023 Lajatico Forza Nuova spreads homophobic leaflets against the Mayor: “Lajatico needs children, not homosexuals. Mayor resign"
03/08/2023 Ventimiglia Homophobic memes against mayoral candidate Gaetano Scullino: "don't vote for him because he's a f***"
03/09/2023 50-year-old Messina lets himself be seduced in chat with a scammer who repeatedly extorts sums of money from him: "if you don't give me the money, I'll tell everyone you're gay"
03/17/2023 Rome Three young people arrested for organizing violence and robberies accompanied by homophobic epithets against at least 11 gay boys, using an LGBT+ dating chat between February and March
03/22/2023 Bari Three boys and girls in front of a bar were subjected to homophobic insults and objects were thrown, including a lit cigarette
03/26/2023 Rimini 24 year old beaten outside the nightclub for kissing a friend. Nasal septum rupture
INFO> Chronicles of ordinary homotransphobia. Data and stories
Vigils2023> Vigils for overcoming the violence of homotransphobia 2023
* The Omophobia.org Project “Chronicles of Ordinary Homophobia” aims to raise awareness around the serious phenomenon of homotransphobia and mobilize civil society against it by collecting the numbers and stories relating to this form of violence. Born in 2013, it is carried out on the initiative of Massimo Battaglio and other volunteers belonging to various associations. In 2020 a group of LGBT Catholic volunteers decided to create homophobia.org to better present data and analyzes in a more engaging and usable form, thanks to the commitment ofLa Tenda di Gionata with the help of volunteers from the groups:the Ford, The Youth of the Ford,The LGBT Young Christian Project,Cascina San Boezio, coordinated by Massimo Battaglio.
