Justice

Woman Was Brutally Attacked for Allegedly Looking Like A 'Dike'

May 15th 2016

A woman in Paintsville, Kentucky, said she was assaulted by a man this week for looking like a "dike," according to a Facebook post that's been shared more than 13,600 times, and has now been set to private.

According to a May 11 statement, Brittany Nicole Wallace was viciously assaulted because of her appearance. He apparently told her that he would "beat me like the man I want to be," and that "people like me make him hate the world."

brittany-nicole-wallaceFacebook/Brittany Nicole Wallace - facebook.com

"Anyone that knows me knows that I tried my best to fight back. The truth is he was bigger and stronger than me," she wrote."...This has not only physically but mentally and emotionally damaged me."

Wallace's post posits that if she donned a more "feminine" appearance, others would have stepped in and the attack might have not happened at all.

A Paintsville police spokesperson told ATTN: that the assailant had been arrested and jailed following the incident. Wallace, the spokesperson said, was taken to a nearby medical center.

ATTN: reached out to Wallace for comment, and will update this story accordingly.

LGBT Flag

The post appears to highlight a persistent problem of hate-motivated violence directed at LGBT people.

According to a report last year from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs — an organization that tracks violence against the LGBT community — even though violent incidents had dropped by 32 percent in 2014, violence against LGBT people was likely still widespread. There was a 11 percent jump in anti-LGBT homicides, and the group said that a lack of high profile incidents — "and, therefore, decreased public awareness about violence and reporting" — could explain lower numbers of people reporting violence.

Wallace's alleged attack is just the latest case of violence against LGBT individuals. In March, a sleeping gay couple allegedly had boiling water poured on them, and earlier this month, a Washington woman was charged with a hate crime after allegedly attacking her gay roommate while shouting homophobic slurs.

Wallace ended the post with a simple request. "All I ask if you read this is to please stop the hate, and help people when you see them getting hurt verbally, emotionally and physically!"

Update: 5/14 12:45 p.m. PST: This story was updated to include that this Facebook post has since been set to private.

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