'Transphobic' attack at trans conference in Sweden

Two trans women were attacked at a transgender conference in Sweden last night.

The women, who were attending the third European Transgender Council in Malmo, received minor injuries in what police are treating as a transphobic assault.

Event organisers have not released their names but they are understood to be from Turkey.

The women said they were were attacked after visiting a restaurant in the Bergsgarten area of Malmo.

As they entered the restaurant, a couple of men started shouting transphobic abuse at them.

By the time they left, a group of six of seven men had gathered and the abuse turned from verbal to physical. The two women were pelted with eggs and received minor injuries which were later treated in the local hospital.

The matter was reported to local police, who registered it as a hate crime. The assault is also being treated as potentially racist.

A British delegate at the conference, Natacha Kennedy, expressed her shock at the incident.

She said: “Delegates are upset – but so too are the locals.

“Sweden has a very positive reputation when it comes to tolerance on transgender issues – so we were very surprised at this incident, and so too were people attending this conference from Sweden.

“The hope now is that this is atypical and that the rest of the weekend will now proceed without further incident.”

The Transgender Council is a meeting of Transgender Europe, which describes its mission as “fighting for transgender people all over Europe”. It works to improve legislation and raise awareness of trans people and issues.