Three crossdressers including a self-identified transgender person have been attacked by some men who invited them to a bar in Benin Republic.
According to the story from one of the victims, she was asked by her boyfriend to bring her friends along without realizing it was a setup.
She said:
“My man knew I was transgender and asked me to invite my transgender friends. When we arrived, he asked me to go outside. Once we managed to get outside to help our friend, they began attacking the three of us. There were about 200 men there, and they forced us to strip naked while they laughed and filmed up. It was humiliating.”
The men attacked the victims with bottles and ordered them to strip naked. The incident occurred on Saturday, May 1, at Sunset Bar in Cotonou, Benin.
A cell phone video of the violence uploaded on social media caught the attention of an LGBT+ advocacy group called Hirondelle Club Benin which intervened and provided shelter for the victims.
Hirondelle Club Benin has condemned the act and has been spreading awareness about violence against transgender persons in the country.
The advocacy group said in a social media statement:
“We have just denounced umpteenth aggression against people LGBTQi in Benin a few days before the celebration of May 17. We condemn these acts with the last rigor. We will come back for more details.”
