Transsexual fears for safety
A transsexual woman and her 13-year-old daughter have been forced to move from their Sunshine Coast, Queensland home after a serious assault left them fearing for their safety.
The woman who wishes only to be known as Alice (not her real name) claims that when she was walking along the esplanade at Golden Beach with her daughter last week she was verbally abused by a young man aged 18-21 who yelled abuse such as, You fucking AIDS-carrying tranny fag.
Alice said when she held her phone up to record the abuse the young man proceeded to attack her.
I ran across the road leaving my daughter unprotect-ed, he chased me into a playground threatening to get me, she said.
I screamed to units above to call the police, I screamed at the families in the park to help me. Several men who are strangers to me came to my assistance, they tried to hold the offender back.
Then a car pulled up and two blokes jumped out of the car, one with a metal baseball bat who then started to chase me. A family in a four-wheel-drive let me in and drove me to the police station.
For the past 18 months, Alice, who has lived as a woman for the past 26 years, has been travelling around Australia with her daughter and a friend.
Whenever locals find out about Alice’s gender they are often run out of country towns.
We are leaving the Sunshine Coast because I am afraid to walk down the street. I don’t want to leave my room. I can’t understand why normal people act like this.
Police have charged a man with one count of public nuisance and two counts of common assault.
Thank you all for your kind words, life is still the same and trying to find acceptance is quite hard for me and my daughter but we are trying to get over the hurdles.
This straight girl was bought to tears by your story Alice, that s horrifying. To think that you could be a target, while out travelling with your daughter, (the two of you have every right to see each and every corner of the world, together and without fear of harrasment) however these thugs do not. The laws need to change, these people need to be seen as dangerous criminals for these are sertious crimes, not let off the hook by the far too many homophobic police officers in our fair country. If this happened to me in front of my children, i would be horrified but feel that the police would extend the full arm of the law to protect and prohibit, as they should.
I would also like to point out the problems with straightophobes, we are not all like that!
Hi Alice
I’m sorry to hear about your misfortune with some uneducated people that should take the time to go to school & learn about that there’s a lot of nice different people out there even if they are a bit different to them
I’m transgendered gurl about to go on that long journey & living on the Sunshine Coast for 21 years, myself i have never had any problems with anyone
Most of society is coming around to except people like us but you probably will find that there’s always going to be someone with a big mouth especially when they are with there friends
Best of luck to you Ellen
Dear Alice. It makes me sad that this has happened to you. It really upsets that some people have issues with our transness and judge us for what we are and not who we are. I think that our worst detractors tend to be those who have never met a transgender person and have no idea what gender identity is all about.
Fortunately I have never had this happen to me and living in Melbourne and in my 60’s I tend to fly under peoples radar most of the time. I hope this incident was the last and that you can get on with your life. Good Luck – Jayne
Hi my condolences….
I live in brisbane and don have many problems.
georgie
One of the advantages of living in a small town is that generally most people know each other so I feel it would be harder for a local resident to attack you as you can probably identify (word would probably get around town pretty quick) them to the police assuming they do something of course, however when your in a big city and get attacked I feel the chances of ever seeing the offender again or catching them is alot slimmer.
I’m really sorry to hear about you’re experience Alice – my heart does go for you and I hope you do find the peace that you deserve.
Unfortunately though, being GLBT will never be accepted 100% in small country towns, I don’t wish to dictate you’re life, but have you thought of moving to the main cities where GLBT people are more accepted in society, like Sydney? as by going by this article it sounds like you have moved from one town to another.
Dear Alice my same sex partner and I were also run out of a Queensland town.Queensland police detective Bond investigated the incident and reported to me he had no doubt my partner and I faced ‘Gross homophobic behaviour’yet was unable to charge the offenders.Alice we are only two of many.All the Rudd reforms amount to nothing unless laws already in place are enforced.GLBT people coming to this State should take care there is no protection here.