Lesbian attacked on street, badly beaten by three men

A lesbian couple was attacked and severely assaulted by three men in Groningen during the early hours of Sunday morning. An open letter posted on Facebook by one of the couple's friends took the internet by storm. Janet hopes that her story will make people aware that homophobia exists, even in the Netherlands.

The couple was walking were walking down a Groningen street, arm in arm, around 6:00 a.m. on Sunday when three men walked by and insulted them. It turned into a confrontation and the men attacked them. "If you look like a man, you have to fight like a man", one of them said.

Both women sustained injuries in the fight. One can hardly talk due to injuries in the face, the other has a black eye and a torn earlobe.

"The Netherlands is not a 'gay paradise'. There are still people who are very intolerant. You can see by the reactions that they are shocked that such a violent incident occurred here, but they are surprised that we lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constantly adapt ourselves in public, for fear of being rejected, discriminate against or physically abused. I want to make that clear in my story". Janet writes on Facebook.

The entire letter can be read here in Dutch.