Tbilisi Pride, an organization for sexual minorities, has called on the country’s law enforcement agencies to “immeduately and effectively investigate” an incident on May 29 in which up to 30 men attacked five transgender women in the Chugureti district of Tbilisi.
The human rights organization appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to consider the motive of intolerance on the grounds of gender identity in the prosecution of alleged perpetrators as an aggravating circumstance in the alleged crime.
The organization suggested that the transgender women were attacked with bricks and stones in their rented appartemnet.
“This is not a single case of transphobic and gender-based attacks. Dealing with violence is part of the daily lives of transgender people,” Tbilisi Pride said, adding that “such attacks echo the impunity of the perpetrators and the government-sponsored violence against members of the LGBTQ + community.”
“The state still does not have a policy aimed at eliminating homophobia and transphobia, which makes it impossible to protect the rights of LGBTQ + people and enforce anti-discrimination legislation,” the statement said.
According to one transgender woman, the incident started after a man came to her appartment and requested sex services, but the refusal irritated him, verbally abused the women, threatened to kill her and called others who also came to the scene.
The transgender woman callled police to protect her and prevent complications.
Other transgender women who lived in the same house came to her to express support. However, the attacker met them along with dozens of other men, verbally abusing and throwing stones.
Police are looking into the incident.
