Transgender Woman Sexually Assaulted At Historic LGBT Greenwich Village Bar
New York police detectives are searching for a man who allegedly assaulted a transgender woman at the historic Stonewall Inn, the site of the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement in the U.S., on Monday, the New York Times is reporting.
The woman told investigators that she was drinking at the bar around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday when she went upstairs to the unisex bathroom. While she was washing her hands, a man entered and touched her without permission before sodomizing her.
The Greenwich Village bar has a historic reputation for kicking off the Gay Rights Movement in 1969 after patrons fought against police raids. Recently, the bar attained landmark status and is also on the National register of Historic places. Legislators are working to turn it into a national park as a tribute to LGBT history.
The women behind the Stonewall Riots #internationalwomensday pic.twitter.com/4rToqekZXV
— LGBTQIAP PoC Beauty (@LGBTQIAPoC) March 8, 2016
The woman said she did not struggle, as she feared being hurt. The man left the bathroom and returned again to grope the woman before leaving a second time. Surveillance cameras confirmed both people in the unisex bathroom for eight minutes, allegedly the period of the first assault. The suspect is described as a Hispanic man, weighing 250 pounds, and in his 30s or 40s. He was wearing a gray suit and is about five feet, 10 inches tall. The victim called 911 around 1 a.m. Sunday and was treated at the Greenwich Village hospital. Police say the suspect is a regular at the Greenwich Village bar and hope to make an arrest in a few days.
Police have released photos of the suspect in an alleged sexual assault at Stonewall Inn. https://t.co/65TsS9stcs pic.twitter.com/tWM9OFYOvZ
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) March 28, 2016
Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed the assault, saying, “It’s a very disturbing incident taking place in a site that’s very important historically, where something good happened in terms of creating more opportunity for people to live their lives, and to see a violent incident like this is very troubling.”
The bar also released a statement Monday, saying they were working closely with police authorities.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of an allegation of sexual assault against a member of our community. That violence like this has allegedly happened even in a safe place like Stonewall Inn is upsetting and we are working closely with police to investigate this alleged isolated incident at Stonewall, as we continue to work with the greater LGBTQ community to increase visibility, safety and acceptance for all transgender people and all members of our community.”
The number of gender-neutral bathrooms has spiked over the years and can easily be found on college campuses, workplaces, and city-run facilities. There are over 150 schools in the U.S. with gender-neutral bathrooms. Some people have hailed this development because it provides an all-inclusive environment for people to use restroom facilities, irrespective of gender.
But safety concerns still remain a huge factor, according to the Huffington Post. The Transgender Law Center has banned transgender students from using toilet facilities at their schools after reports of harassment and attacks. Sasha Burchert, the staff attorney for the Transgender Law Center, pointed out that “[t]rans and gender non-conforming students should be focusing on their education or getting their job done well, and not about which bathroom they can use.” She argued that forcing non-binary or trans students to utilize gendered restrooms make them stick out like sore thumbs, making them easy targets for persecution and stigmatization, which would deny them crucial peer experiences that would help them mold their lives.
Activists say the unisex bathrooms are not meant for only trans or non-binary people, but to be encompassing and accommodating for everyone. People with disabilities have supported gender-neutral bathrooms, however, they are also clamoring for single lockable stall units to make it easy for people with disabilities to access rather than relying on help from people particularly if not of a matching gender. The incident at the Stonewall Inn raises questions about how safe unisex facilities can be and if transgender people are actually better protected from those who are capable of assaulting them.
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
