Trans woman trapped at home for months after threats of having acid hurled in her face
Ajda Ender, a trans woman, has been forced out of her home and unable to work due to threats of transphobic violence against her. (Twitter)
Terrified to leave her home in Istanbul, Turkey, a trans woman has pleaded for justice after months of being trapped in her residence due to escalating violence against her, including a threat of having acid thrown in her face.
Since 2005, Ajda Ender has faced a daily torrent of abuse from Şişli locals on here way picking up groceries or commuting to work. Abuse that “turned physically violent”, she wrote on Twitter that she filed a criminal complaint.
But the transphobic abusers only upped their attacks, however, threatening to beat Ender with clubs and scratched her door, DuvaR reported.
Ajda Ender told by police violence happens to her ‘because of her appearance’.
“The violence came in small steps,” she explained.
“They would say: ‘You’re a tranny, you’re involved in prostitution.’
“They even complained about my perfume and insulted me. Last March, after receiving threats, I filed a criminal complaint for the first time, and the situation turned physically violent.”
Trans kadın olduğum için 2005 yılından bugüne bana karşı işlenen suçları ölüm tehditlerini nefret suçlarını apartmanıma evime alınmadığımı psikolojik fiziksel şiddetleri duyuran duyurmaya devam eden bana destek olan basın mensuplarına gazetecilere televizyonculara teşekkürler
— AJDA_ENDER_ (@AjdaEnder) January 11, 2020
“Going to the police is already a task in itself. When I went to file the complaint I was humiliated and discriminated against.
“They narrowly accepted my criminal complaint but when writing it up they said: ‘The reason these things happen is because of your appearance.'”
Lawyer threatens to throw acid in trans woman’s face.
Neighbours of Ajda Ender, who lives with her mother, were forced to call the local authorities after transphobes increased their threats. But the neighbours didn’t call it on them, instead, they threatened her in front of the police when the cops arrived.
Moreover, she claimed a lawyer hired by her neighbours threatened to kill her by hurling acid in her face. As a result, she filed a complaint against the lawyer to the Istanbul Bar Association
“I was forced to leave my home. On my street and around my apartment there are always men wandering around,” Ender said.
“I’m staying at my friend’s house. I can’t go out on the streets alone
Because I am a trans woman, they are trying to silence me, render me helpless, and isolate me. They’ve taken away my right to live.
“I represent LGBTQ people. This violence is actually committed against all women and trans people.
“I don’t bother anyone in society, and try to be an example, because I am a representative of trans women.
“They slandered me by saying that I am engaging in prostitution, but I do not, though I would never condemn those who do.
“In our country, trans women face difficulties in terms of employment, even if they are university graduates, they can’t find work in their fields and they are forced to become prostitutes. I’m lucky, I was able to have my own work,” Ender said.
Threats of trans violence force woman to flog clothing for a living.
The threats have also snarled her small-scale textile business, being that her materials are in her home. Forcing her to flog her clothing on social media.
“They know that I won’t back down. I’m scared but, if I die, this is an incident of violence against women, and it is clear who will be responsible. I issued all of my complaints.
“The responsibility for my death would lie with those who committed crimes against me and those who didn’t do what they were supposed to. The authorities who didn’t do what they were supposed to do are responsible for what has happened to me,” Ender said.
