Today I will post 2 articles on the same topic. What are the
similarities and differences in the way that these stories are told by the two
different newspapers?
Female
couple in their 20s battered by four men after they refused to kiss 'for
entertainment'
7
JUNE 2019 • 11:35AM
Afemale couple were battered by a gang of four men after they refused to
kiss "for their entertainment" on a London night bus.
Four arrests
have been made in relation to the attack, the Met Police said in a statement.
The males,
aged between 15-18, were taken into custody on suspicion of robbery and
aggravated GBH.
Melania
Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris had been on a date in the capital last
Wednesday and were heading home on the top deck of the bus when the men started
abusing them.
When they
refused to kiss at the demand of the gang, they were viciously attacked. They
were also later robbed of a phone and a handbag.
Prime
Minister Theresa May has condemned the assault. She said:
"This was a sickening attack and my thoughts are with the couple affected.
"Nobody
should ever have to hide who they are or who they love and we must work
together to eradicate unacceptable violence towards the LGBT community."
In a post on
Facebook, Ms Geymonat - who worked recently as a Ryanair air hostess and is
originally from Uruguay - said: "I’m tired of being taken as a sexual
object, of finding out that these situations are usual, of gay friends who were
beaten up just because.
"We
have to endure verbal harassment and chauvinist, misogynistic and homophobic
violence because when you stand up for yourself s--- like this happens.
"By the
way, I am thankful to all the women and men in my life that understand that
having balls means something completely different.
" I
just hope that in June, Pride Month, stuff like this can be spoken out loudly
so they stop happening."
Describing
how the attack unfolded, she wrote: "Last Wednesday, I had a date with
Chris. We got on the night bus, heading for her place in Camden Town, climbed
upstairs and took the front seats.
"We
must have kissed or something because these guys came after us. I don’t
remember if they were already there or if they got on after us. There were at
least four of them.
"They
started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we kissed so they could enjoy
watching, calling us 'lesbians' and describing sexual positions. I don’t
remember the whole episode, but the word 'scissors' stuck in my mind.
"It was
only them and us there. In an attempt to calm things down, I started making
jokes. I thought this might make" them go away.
"Chris
even pretended she was sick, but they kept on harassing us, throwing us coins
and becoming more enthusiastic about it.
"The
next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the bus fighting with them.
On an impulse, I went over there only to find her face bleeding and three of
them beating her up.
"The
next thing I know is I'm being punched. I got dizzy at the sight of my blood
and fell back. I don’t remember whether or not I lost consciousness.
"Suddenly
the bus had stopped, the police were there and I was bleeding all over. Our
stuff was stolen as well.
"I
don’t know yet if my nose is broken, and I haven’t been able to go back to
work, but what upsets me the most is that violence has become a common thing,
that sometimes it’s necessary to see a woman bleeding after having been punched
to feel some kind of impact."
She is still
waiting to find out if her nose is broken, and is off work due to the attack.
London Mayor
Mr Khan is among those to have expressed his anger at the attack, and he
tweeted: "This was a disgusting, misogynistic attack. Hate crimes against
LGBT+ people will not be tolerated in London. The Metropolitan Police are
investigating. If you have any information about this call 101 to report it.
The MP for
the constituency in which the attack occurred, Tulip Siddiq, tweeted:
"Horrified to see this homophobic attack against two women simply trying
to enjoy a night out in West Hampstead. There can be no excuses, no space, for
such obscene behaviour. My full solidarity is with these women and the UK's
LGBT community."
Defence Secretary
Penny Mordaunt added: "Appalled to see this kind of homophobic violence in
the U.K., there’s no place for this kind of vile behaviour in our society.
Please contact @MetCC if you have any
information."
Detective
Superintendent Andy Cox said: “This was a disgusting attack on two women who
appear to have been picked out and targeted by a group of youths. The suspects
have made a number of homophobic comments towards the couple before throwing
coins at them. When the women tried to reason with the group, the attack
escalated to an assault.
“CCTV
footage from the attack is being reviewed by detectives. We continue to appeal
for information from the public, particularly those who were present on the bus
before or after the attack to come forward and tell police what they saw.
“A number of
active enquires are in hand to trace other individuals suspected to have been
involved in the incident. Lots of people will understandably be outraged by
this attack. Our efforts to trace all the suspects involved and bring them in
for questioning will be relentless.
“Attacks of
this nature on London buses are rare. I would like to reassure those heading
out over the weekend that extra uniformed and plain clothes Safer Transport
officers will be out on patrol working to keep them safe and prevent
crime.”
Compare this
article to the following article:
London bus attack: fifth
arrest after homophobic assault
Couple say they will not be frightened into hiding
their sexuality after the attack
A fifth arrest has been made in connection with the
homophobic attack of a couple on a London bus.
Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend, Chris, had
been travelling on a bus in north London, and say they were attacked after
refusing to kiss each other on demand for a group of young men. The attack is
being treated as a hate crime by the Metropolitan police.
The assault – during which a phone and a bag were
stolen – happened in the early hours of 30 May.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of
robbery and aggravated burglary on Saturday morning, Scotland Yard said.
Four other men between the ages of 15 and 18 have
already been arrested on suspicion of robbery and aggravated grievous bodily
harm and are being questioned separately.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday, the couple said that
they would not be frightened into hiding their sexuality after the attack.
“I was and still am angry. It was scary, but this
is not a novel situation,” said Chris. “I’m not scared about being visibly
queer. If anything, you should do it more.
“A lot of people’s rights and basic safety are at
risk. I want people to feel emboldened to stand up to the same people who feel
emboldened by the rightwing populism that is, I feel, responsible for the
escalation in hate crimes. I want people to take away from this that they
should stand up for themselves and each other.”
Geymonat added: “The violence is not only because
we are women which are dating each other. It’s also because we are women."
Describing the incident in a Facebook post on
Friday, Geymonat said she and her girlfriend were subjected to homophobic abuse
while being beaten up. “They started behaving like hooligans, demanding that we
kissed so they could enjoy watching, calling us ‘lesbians’ and describing
sexual positions … The next thing I know is that Chris is in the middle of the
bus fighting with them.
“The next thing I know is I’m being punched. I got
dizzy at the sight of my blood and fell back. I don’t remember whether or not I
lost consciousness.”
After a photograph of the couple’s bloodied faces
went viral on Friday, politicians condemned the attack.
Theresa May said: “This was a sickening attack and
my thoughts are with the couple affected. Nobody should ever have to hide who
they are or who they love and we must work together to eradicate unacceptable
violence towards the LGBT community.”
The Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said: “We
must not, and will not, accept this homophobic and misogynist violence in our
society. Solidarity to Melania and Chris, and to all in the LGBT+ community for
everything they endure for simply being who they are.”
