Woman assaulted by Uber driver after queer party in Amsterdam

An Uber driver assaulted a woman in Amsterdam Centrum early on Saturday morning. The victim and her girlfriend suspect the attack was due to their sexual orientation. The police confirmed the incident but do not yet label it as anti-LGBTQIA+ violence, Parool reports.

Sophie, 23, and her girlfriend attended a queer party at Pllek in Amsterdam Noord on Friday night. Afterward, they took an Uber home. According to Sophie, the atmosphere quickly got “weird” during the ride. “I wasn’t feeling well, so I kind of hung out of the window. But I didn’t throw up,” she said to the newspaper. “I also kissed my date in the back seat.”

Things escalated when they got out at her date’s house in the city center. The driver accused Sophie of spitting in his car, she said. According to the two women, they did no such thing. “We quickly suspected that it was actually about the kiss we gave each other,” she said.

The women tried to get into the apartment, but the driver blocked the doorway, she said. “Then he grabbed me and pushed me outside,” Sophie said. She fell with her head against a steel railing and lost consciousness.

Her date said the driver quickly ran off when he saw Sophie lying unconscious on the stairs. “I immediately called the ambulance,” she said. “The police were already on their way because the driver had called them because he thought we had spit on his car.” Once the police arrived, she started feeling safe again. “They were very nice and helpful. I was sitting there alone on the stairs with Sophie lying unconscious next to me.”

Sophie needed five stitches for a cut to her head. Part of her head is still numb. On Wednesday, she will go file charges of assault, Sophie said to the newspaper.

The police confirmed that there was an incident between two women and an Uber driver in the city center early on Saturday morning. “But we are reluctant to label it as an LGBTQIA+ incident,” a spokesperson said to the newspaper. “It is very upsetting for this woman, but there are two sides to a story. After her report, we will investigate and may be able to say more about it.”

Uber also launched an investigation. “The safety of all our app users is a top priority, which is why this incident needs to be thoroughly investigated. We have offered our assistance to the police in their investigation,” a spokesperson said to Parool. She added that the driver in question won’t be able to perform Uber rides while the investigation is ongoing.