Call For Fundraising To Support Victim Of Hate Crimes 78er Titi Chartay

Sydney activist and 78er Titi Chartay, has been hospitalised after two alleged assaults at her Glebe public housing home. She says she sustained serious injuries and that her dog was also injured during one of the incidents. However it hasn’t stopped there, and a fundraiser has been put into place to raise money to help move Titi to a new place and to pay for her and her dog’s medical bills.

“I try to be strong and I try to be upbeat, but I have been threatened by them again. Seriously threatened,” Chartay told Star Observer.

The 68-year-old said she was first physically attacked in February last year when she was targeted in her backyard. “They’ve come up behind me and hit me on the head, knocked me out and kicked the crap out of me,” she said.

Chartay said her dog Harpo intervened during the attack. “Harpo obviously heard something, which would have been them kicking me. He laid on top of me to protect me, and that’s when he got stabbed.”

She said the aftermath left her fearful of returning home. “After I got out of hospital I was terrified of going back and terrified for Harpo.”

She also described a second incident in October last year, saying it resulted in severe injuries. She said it left her with “six broken ribs, extensive damage to my kidneys, severe concussion and all the rest”. “The actual physical impact of what was done to me with the second assault, I was black and blue, my entire body,” she said. “I almost died.”

She says that she contemplated an AVO, but worried it would only escalate the issue.

Actor and fundraiser organiser Zoe Terakes said Chartay was “in need of our support”. “This is someone who has done so much for the community and has now just been tossed aside,” they said. “She’s just consistently advocated and put herself on the line for this community.”

“She’s pretty tough, she’s not a whinger,” “We’re so fortunate to have the ’78ers, they fought for our rights as queer people to not be living in fear.”

At publication, more than $14,000 has been raised to support Chartay and her dog Harpo following the attacks. Chartay spent approximately five months in hospital care and was discharged in March after treatment at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Balmain Hospital. Her dog Harpo, a five-year-old German Shepherd, survived the incident and has been living elsewhere while she seeks new housing arrangements.

Chartay says she has been waiting for a year and four months to be moved to a new, safer home, where she can finally be reunited with Harpo. It’s currently too dangerous to have him back home, as her attackers have threatened her dog too. She’s also battled with Homes NSW about the state of the property, along with the safety, especially after her attackers ruined her back fence and doors.

“I’m a five foot tall, let’s face it, elderly dyke, who is actually disabled, so I’m kind of vulnerable,” she explains. However, Chartay also makes a point that she isn’t backing down despite the fear.

“I am terrified. I am worried. But put it this way, they nearly killed me once. I did nearly die. But I’m a tough little Dutch dyke. And I will not give in. I will not give in to fascists.”

You can donate to the GoFundMe here.