The affair of the trans boy and his twin in Barcelona: a story of intolerance and harassment behind the drama

“They harassed them, surrounded them, beat them and told them things,” recalled a friend of the 12-year-old Argentinian twins who attends the Llobregat Institute in Sallent, Barcelona, ​​where they both attended.

His testimony was published by the site The casewhere the girl said that these situations occurred at recess and in full view of all teachers, which did nothing to stop these attacks. Moreover, he lamented that on many occasions they blamed the twins for standing up for themselves and they were the ones who ended up being punished.

According to them, the school bullying of which they were victims was never treated as such by the teachers of the establishment. “Since they came in, they have become the new ones”, REMARK. “Because they were Argentinian, they were always told to go back to their country. When she cut her hair, one of them started bothering her with things about her sexuality,” she said.

You may be interested: “A friend of the Argentinian twins recounted the ordeal they suffered at school: ‘They harassed, surrounded and beat them’

As the newspaper reports The country, The twin who died after throwing herself from the balcony of her house left a letter in which she says she was bullied at school and that she felt “misunderstood because of her gender identity”. She had cut her hair, changed to another type of clothing – more masculine – and asked to be called ” Ivan”; who drew ridicule from his classmates.

For her part, Leila, the teenager who survived, declared that he had decided to throw himself into the void in solidarity with his sister. The Spanish media maintained that there were two letters that the judiciary had in his possession and pointed out that in both they would separate the parents from the facts.

While justice investigates the alleged harassment they suffered at school for being Argentinian and for the choice of one of them to live their sexuality freely, campaigns to raise awareness of gender identity on social networks are multiplying.

In this sense, the Observatory against homophobia of Catalonia He spoke on Twitter on February 23 about what happened and then posted his profound message: “Heartbreaking news, a 12-year-old trans boy commits suicide in Sallent. A death marked by intolerance, bullying and transphobia. We send all the warmth to Iván’s environment and we make ourselves available in case psychosocial and legal support is requested.

The same position was taken by Catalan Association for the Prevention of Bullying (ACPAE), who also requested that bullying is classified as a crime in the Spanish penal code. “It is not considered a hate crime or a security breach,” said Joan Martínez, president of ACPAE. And he added: “It should be like this, because there are cases in which suicide attempts can occur or even be consummated”, given that on many occasions “it endangers mental security and physical appearance of the harassed person”, defined .

In Argentina, the presidential spokesperson, Gabriella Cerruti She also joined the initiative led by Spain’s Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, who urged the press that “no one else has to suffer for who she is”.

“Iván was the name one of the 12-year-old twins from Argentina who jumped off the balcony in Barcelona wanted to be called. Iván was another victim of bullying and transodio, transodio with which many media broke the news denying his identity “condemned Cerruti by sharing a video on his Twitter account with the hashtag #SeLlamabaIván.

In this shoot, which lasts 33 seconds, Cerruti says: “His name was Ivan”. And then a dozen Spanish activists, politicians and officials appear on the plane repeating the same phrase.

“Iván’s suicide, like that of so many trans people, is a social homicide. Transodium kills. Accepting, respecting and embracing trans childhoods saves lives,” Cerruti tweeted to raise awareness of what happened.

“Iván, to each person who wants to live their life as their desire dictates. We will repeat it again and again, and as many times as necessary until there is no more Ivan in this world. Until no one has to suffer to be who they are,” he said.

Continue reading: