I saw this story on the local news last week and it has stuck in my mind for its brutality and the fact that the woman who was raped was chosen to be raped because she was a lesbian. In the wake of the passage of Prop 8 gay people are more at risk than ever.
On December 13th a 28-year old woman was gang-raped by four men in an assault which lasted more than an hour. Afterward she was stripped naked, her car was stolen and she was left in the street. No one knows that much about this woman, other than she lives in Richmond, a lower-income suburb of San Francisco in the East Bay.
What is known is that the woman was openly gay and lived with her partner. She displayed rainbow flag stickers on her car. Evidently in a society which feels it has the right to strip away the rights of GLBT people at the whims of the electorate this was enough for her attackers to decide that she was a target. While being raped the four attackers used "anti-gay language" which the police have used to classify the crime as a hate crime. In addition the TV report of the crime stated that the attackers used the nickname the victim's partner used to refer to her, indicating they had some familiarity when them or had planned the crime in advance.
SFGate
"The emotional impact has changed her life," said Lt. Mark Gagan of the Richmond Police Department. "It is an absolute nightmare for her to have gone through. For 45 minutes, four strangers brutalized her."
Yes, I bet it was an "absolute nightmare." Life for many gay and trans people in many parts of our country is also an "absolute nightmare" with many assaults going unreported because gay people feel their concerns will be ignored by the police department. Gay people and especially trans people are routinely targeted for rape, assault and murder because the message people are still getting from society is that we're lesser and when we stand up for ourselves, when we get "uppity" then we can expect a violent response in return - whether it's getting our heads bashed in, being gang-raped or shot to death in school.
This is a description of the attackers:
Police described the first suspect, believed to be the group leader, as a Latino man in his 30s, who stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 180 pounds, and has black hair, brown eyes and a mustache.
The second suspect is described as an African American man in his early 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He is known by the nickname "Blu," police said.
The third suspect is described as Latino, 18 to 20 years old, who is nicknamed "Pato." The fourth suspect is described only as a Latino man 18 to 20 years old.
"Everybody in our community has an interest in making sure these people are apprehended and brought to justice," said Gagan.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ysenia Rogers at (510) 672-1718
I hope we keep this woman in mind during this holiday season and as we light the first candle of Hanukkah tonight I know she'll be in my thoughts.