My close and dear on-line friend, Alexandra Young left me this email:
I wonder if you could place a link onto T-Central to the Hate Crime video by Central Regional Police in Scotland featuring my interview? I think there is a lot for others regardless of gender on there worth hearing. I will place it on my blog as well.
The video is about 15 minutes long and well worth watching.
Alex's experience brings to mind two very similar and unfortunate incidents that affected me. One resulted in a broken bone that still affects me, physically, today and one in genital molestation. Both happened while at school.
Thanks for posting the video here Calie.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is based in Scotland UK, I do think the issues raised very much transend into other countries and cultures.....all be it in many other countries, they have it way worse than we do in the UK.
I'm working very closely with the Central and Strathclyde Police Depts to try and combat Hate Crime, and although vastly improved from the days I faced my own abuse, we have a ways to go yet. The police have come on leaps and bounds in Scotland with regards to dealing with diversity issues, and that is something I'm taking advantage of to help others like ourselves.
Hopefully you will agree that I've got the message over as well as I'm capable of doing anyway, and that is goes some way to help raise awareness to help others in the future.
It is a pity about the harsh light in the video though, as I have to say it is the worst I've ever looked on camera, lol.
Alex. x
It's a great initiative. Also have a look at the piece down by fellow transwoman and friend of Alex, Allana at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/v/K99Ex1UfhHo&hl
All the videos are at
http://www.stophateincentralscotland.org.uk/page9.htm
Karen
Thank You Alex, for putting yourself out there, and standing up to Hate.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Girl, you look great in any kind of lighting!
ReplyDeleteWell done Alex.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds horribly familiar. For me, it was the mid-1980s. I was into the same kind of look. I wasn't in a situation where I normally had to hang around with tough blokes, but I was at a club with a friend. I went outside, and these guys purposely bumped into me. I was drunk enough to turn and flip them off. Then I turned away.
ReplyDeleteNext thing I knew, I was cold-cocked on the side of the head. They beat the shit out of me, although more on my face and head. I don't think I was kicked.
I didn't report it either. I can't even remember how I got home. And it really set me back. I stopped dressing like that. I let my hair go back from blond to its natural colour, and I had it cut less interestingly. I tried to conform more to what people expected.
Thanks for sharing your story, Alex.
And I never reported it either....
ReplyDeleteI think very few of us who faced abuse in varying degrees reported the incidents in the past. I would urge everone to do so now though if such abuse comes your way, because even if nothing comes of it, the official statistics will show how it really is for a change. At the moment, the stats show few of us having faced abuse (verbal and mental as well as physical), and we all know that is just not true. x
ReplyDelete