What happened then?
During the third european trans conference in Malmö in the autumn of 2010, three Turkish trans women were the victims of a hate crime.
The day before the conference, a meet-and-greet was arranged for the participants. Three of them decided to continue to Babel, a night club. By the end of the evening they were hungry, and went to a local kebab restaurant. Once there, a group of young men start making threatening faces and gestures towards the women, who decide to return to their hotel, located only a few hundred meters away. However, outside the restaurant, the young men attack them with harsh words, and throw eggs at them. Police are called to the location and the assault is reported, but the case is not filed as a hate crime.
The actual investigation only makes the situation worse for the three women. During the police's inquiries, several questions are asked which are irrelevant to the case. For example, the police asked why they dressed up the way they did, what gender they had and what they were doing in Malmö. The police also refused to use their chosen names and only used the names stated in passports and other forms of ID. The police officers handled the situation very bad, and the women only felt more exposed and violated.
The three of them went out again a few days later. This time, they went to the night club Crown, where they were abused by other guests and later thrown out by the club's security personnel.
Having no faith in the Swedish police or legal system, the women had to be convinced to file a report. Only two of them still had the strength to do so.
Because of how the police in Malmö acted, focus has moved from the initial crime committed by the egg-throwing young men, to the police and their treatment of the report and inquiries.
What happens now?
The case has still not been solved, and we can only wait and see.
The police in Malmö has received an ironic award for their treatment of this case. During Istanbul Pride this year, votes on a transphobic award were cast. The police in Malmö won by a landslide, as being the most transphobic police department in the world.