November 23, 2020
Trans Teen Calls Out Attackers After Day of Remembrance Beating
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A 19-year-old who was attacked and beaten on the Transgender Day of Remembrance took to social media to post photos of her bloodied face and call out her assailants.
The victim, Eva Vildosola, had stepped out of her apartment building in Barcelona this past Friday, Nov. 20, when multiple people started hurling jeers and insults, reports local newspaper La Vanguardia.
"I had just left the building and hadn't even gone a block when they started yelling" slurs at her, calling her a "monster," Eva wrote in an Instagram post.
The situation quickly escalated. Eva wrote that the assailants "grabbed me and punched me twice in the face, and also kicked and struck me in the body."
Eva spoke out passionately, posting: "I am a normal 19-year-old girl, I am a transsexual, yes, but that does not make me less normal, it does not make me a monster, it does not make me less...
"I have all the rights that everyone should have, I have spent my entire life trying to be what I am," she added.
Eva wrote that she had moved to Barcelona "looking for peace, to enjoy myself because I need it, not to be humiliated, attacked and made to feel like a monster."
"I DO NOT DESERVE THIS," Eva added. "And from here I denounce it publicly."
The teenager addressed the attackers directly in her post, writing, "I hope you will NEVER be parents."
Eva went on to take note that such attacks against trans people are not uncommon, and to call for an end to anti-trans violence.
"This is what happened to me, but unfortunately it happens to a lot of trans people and it could have ended worse," she posted, going on to demand, "No more transphobia," and adding, "I don't want to die tomorrow."
Eva followed up with an uplifting message in a subsequent post, the newspaper reported. She wrote: "Although there are stones on the road, you do not know what a beautiful path you are traveling. Good luck and enjoy your identity, the one you deserve and that represents you."
Police are looking into the attack as a hate crime, the newspaper reported.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed around the world each Nov. 20 as a memoriam to transgender people who have been murdered.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
