A transgender woman was brutally beaten on Champlain Street in the Village in Montreal on August 24. Today she is a witness to this unfounded aggression.
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Kymia Dutremble was attacked on her way home by a man armed with an iron bar.
TVA News
The man allegedly came out of an alley and hit him about ten times.
“I was immediately afraid,” says the woman.
Ms Dutremble allegedly fled before being caught and beaten again by her attacker.
The situation could have escalated greatly because the man told the woman that he was also armed with a knife.
TVA News
“I was stunned, so I didn’t really see the knife,” she says.
“I started running about a kilometer home so I could call the police and emergency services again,” she continues, “I was in shock.”
The Village in Montreal aims to be a safe place for people in the LGBTQ+ community.
That attacks like the one Kymia experienced are happening in the village “sends a worrying message,” says Rafaël Provost, general director of the Ensemble pour le respect de la diversité.
“Once is once too many,” adds Mr. Provost.
The activist explains that “the hatred that can be found on social networks is now spreading to the streets. “Such hateful comments – transphobic, homophobic – unfortunately we are hearing them more and more often.”
Mr. Provost is dismayed that stories like this can arise in this neighborhood, which he describes as a “home” for people full of diversity.
Kymia Dutremble is now traumatized by this event and no longer feels safe when she goes for a walk alone in the evening.