Judge grants leniency to transgender women who beat up an abusive transphobe
Three transgender women have been let off with a curfew order after attacking a man who hurled racist and transphobic abuse at them.
Tamzin Lush, Tylah-Jo Bryan and Amarnih Lewis-Daniel admitted violent disorder against the 19-year-old man inside Leicester Square tube station during the June 2018 incident.
Camera footage showed that an altercation between the group of friends and the man turned violent after he began hurling obscene insults at them.
The man called one of the group a “Black c**t” and insisted they aren’t women because “you need a fanny to be a woman”, Inner London Crown Court heard.
Lush had “drop-kicked” him as the situation turned ugly, before women stamped on him.
Man hurled transphobic and racist abuse at transgender women
The women were granted leniency, the Mirror reports, because of the “offensive, transphobic and abusive” language that sparked the attack.
The trio were let off with a six-month curfew, while Tylah-Jo Bryan was handed an additional 12-month community order. Tylah’s sister Hannah Bryan, who is not transgender, was let off with a conditional discharge for the lesser offence of causing fear or provocation.
Sentencing them last month, judge Nigel Seed said: “Had it not been for the victim in this case, there probably would have been no incident.
“I accept that what happened to you in the beginning of this incident is entirely wrong, and people like you should not be subjected to that sort of abuse in public or anywhere.
“You are being punished for your overreaction to someone who has escaped punishment altogether.”
The victim in the attack refused to co-operate with police or make a statement, the judge noted, adding: “I do not in any way condone your behaviour but I accept that what happened to you at the beginning of the incident was entirely wrong and people like you should not be subject to that abuse in the public domain or anywhere.”
Women felt ‘instant regret’ over violent response to transphobe
Speaking to the Mirror, Tamzin Lush said: “My body just went into overdrive and I just couldn’t stop. If I could take it back, I would. It was too far.”
Tylah-Jo Bryan added: “You get people that make passing comments and by the time they’ve said anything, they’re gone – they keep walking. We were telling him to jog on and leave us alone.
“This guy was adamant to let us know his beliefs and it wasn’t just a passing comment.
“We got frustrated and it led to us going too far. It was an instant regret. I held my hands up straight away. We took it too far.
“We had too much to drink, if we hadn’t drunk so much we would have been able to defuse the situation.”
She added: “There’s been times before where people have been quite physical towards me. Hate crimes towards trans people have quadrupled in the last five years, which is just unreal.
“It makes you feel a little bit nervous and worried you could be on the receiving end of things.”