Trans woman attacked on night out in Belfast

A trans woman named Anna Montgomery, 20, was left with facial injuries after she was attacked in a bar in Belfast, Northern Ireland. According to a post Montgomery shared on Facebook after the incident, she was at Bootleggers bar with her boyfriend when she was hit in the face. Her attacker has not yet been publicly identified.

She wrote that she was having an enjoyable night until the unprovoked attack, continuing: “I have never felt more humiliated in my whole life. It ruined my whole night. It was completely unexpected and uncalled for. I hope no one has to go through what I went through last night.” She also commented on the widespread violence against the trans community, saying “It’s just so sad; it’s the year 2020 and I am a trans woman getting assaulted for just being me.” Local police told Belfast Live they are continuing to investigate the incident which is being treated as a hate crime.

The Human Rights Campaign says violence against the trans community has increased within the last year. It estimates 30 trans people have been killed in the US alone, which is greater than the total number murdered in all of 2019; the majority were black trans women who the HCR says “did not deserve to have their lives taken from them”.