Lesbian Couple Assaulted And Robbed By Homophobic Teens On London Bus

Despite efforts by outreach groups and some government, homophobia is still a prevalent problem worldwide. The Trump Administration has actively attacked protections for the LGBTQ community and Brazil’s newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro is notorious for previous homophobic statements.

But two commuters in London felt it first hand while on a bus ride home.

Melania Geymonata and her partner Chris were taking a bus home after a night out when they were confronted by four teenagers. The group saw the women kissing and began harassing them, yelling at them to keep kissing. The verbal berating continued until the four boys assaulted and robbed the women.

Geymonata described the assault in a Facebook post, describing what happened in English and Spanish.

“They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us 'lesbians' and describing sexual positions,” she wrote. Geymonata said she tried to defuse the situation with jokes, but to no avail.

London’s Metropolitan Police announced that the four teens, ages 15 to 18, had been arrested on charges of robbery and causing grievous bodily harm.

“Lots of people will understandably be outraged by this attack,” Detective Superintendent Andy Cox said in a statement. He continued, “Our efforts to trace all the suspects involved and bring them in for questioning will be relentless.”

“This was a sickening attack and my thoughts are with the couple affected,” Prime Minister Theresa May said, condemning the attack. London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined May, condemning the assault on Twitter.