Kerala trans women attacked for resisting man’s demand for sex

Rana VS, a first-year college student, and her adoptive mother Sajana Shaji were talking to their sex worker friends when a man approached them for a sexual favour.

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Transgender women Rana VS and her adoptive mother Sajana Shaji were on their way to grab some dinner on Friday night. They stopped their two-wheeler at Palaravittom in Ernakulam when they saw some friends on the way. That little detour would soon result in an attack and put one of them in hospital. First, a man, who saw them talking, attacked them. He was later joined by other men.

Rana, a first-year degree student at Maharajas College, and Sajana filed a complaint with the Palarivattom police station on Saturday. “A case has been filed against the attackers on the charges of physical assault and causing damage to their vehicle, under the sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 427 (whoever causes mischief and thereby causes loss or damage),” the station Sub-Inspector tells TNM.

Speaking to TNM, Sajana says, “They hurt Rana and broke our two-wheeler in which we were riding. She was hospitalised that night with a neck injury.”

Recounting the events from Friday night, Sajana says, “The friends, to whom we were talking, are sex workers. A man, who appeared to be about 50-years-old, approached us and asked my daughter Rana what her rate was. I said she is not here for that and that we were just talking to our friends. Suddenly, he grabbed her and said he would give her Rs 500. I told him again that she is not for sale and asked him to leave her. He then turned abusive and started hitting our vehicle with a stone, breaking the indicators and causing other damages.”

One of their friends, who tried to intervene, was also attacked, Sajana says.

“He then ran away, but we chased him, demanding him to give us the money to fix our vehicle. Later, some men joined to support him. What followed was a lot of verbal abuse. One of them threatened that they will not let us go out in the daylight and tore one of our clothes. One even tore Rana’s clothes and grabbed her breasts. Since she had her surgery done, it really hurt her,” Sajana says.

Their biggest disappointment came when the police reached the spot. “The police asked the man who attacked us if he had a case against us. When he said no, I told the police that I want to file a case, as our vehicle was damaged and our people were abused. I informed him that the man was drunk and showed our bike and the damage he caused. The police, however, said that if the man had a complaint, we would be taken to the station; but, if we had a complaint, we could go to the station the next day and register it. Don’t we have the same rights?” Sajana asks.

While the FIR was eventually registered, Sajana says no action has been taken against the men.