Today, 4th August 2016, the Associazione Transessuale di Napoli (ATN) and Arcigay held a protest against Transphobia and Homophobia in healthcare in front of the hospital S.Giovanni Bosco in Naples, Italy. This protest was in support of Nunzia, and for all those trans persons that even today are faced by hate and transphobic slurs within healthcare settings.
Photo by KontroLab – http://kontrolab.photoshelter.com/index/G00003FW6kqQEJzQ
Nunzia, a trans woman from Naples was in hospital after problems with her heart. At the S.Giovanni Bosco di Napoli Hospital where she was recovered she faced transphobic comments from both health care workers and patients. While waiting to be placed in a ward she heard the nurses saying “and now where should we put this one?”
Nunzia told her experience to fanpage.it , saying
“Stop! This discrimination needs to stop. I was discriminated against, in a public place – in a hospital. When I heard the nurses talking to each other and saying ‘where should we put this one?’ I wanted to die. I refused to stay in that transphobic ward, but I now have a fear of going to any hospital.
Health has no sex, no gender – they shouldn’t discriminate on these grounds!
They don’t treat us, trans, as human beings, but worse than beasts. We are freaks to them – they do not know what it means to be spat at in the face.”
Loredana Rossi from the Associazione Trans Napoli has also shared other similar experiences that she has faced in her years as part of the organisation.
“it is really severe that this is still happening even now. This organisation has been around for 11 years, and I cannot tell you how many trans women who had to go to hospital call me and tell me ‘Loredana, please run, they have put me in a male ward’. In these 11 years there have been so many of these cases. I have had to run to hospitals so many times to speak to with the person in charge to sensitize them on the issue.”
Watch the video in Italian here, a transcript in English is found below.
Video Transcript
Nunzia: I’m sorry [crying].
Stop – this discrimination needs to stop. It needs to end.
Caption: “I, trans, offended and humiliated in hospital.” Filmed by Gaia Bozza
Nunzia: Look, [showing paper from hospital] I had an infarct, and I was discriminated against. In a public place, in a hospital. Do you understand? What would this have meant if I returned home and then died on my stairs? Only because I wasn’t accepted for who I was. I am MTF, and the state has recognised me as a woman, I have all the social rights.
Caption: Naples
Caption: Nunzia recognised as a woman 25 years ago
Caption: Nunzia had a heart attack and was taken to the San Giovanni Bosco hospital
Caption: But here she was insulted and mocked by the nurses because she is trans
Nunzia: The doctor asks the nurses to check if there was bed free for me. The female nurse said to the male nurse “and now where should we put this one?”
I wanted to die [when I heard that], it would have been better if I were dead.
Health has no sex, no gender, they shouldn’t make these discriminations.
Interviewer: And then what happened?
Nunzia: What happened is that I needed to sign myself out of that ward. Because that was a transphobic ward.
Caption: Nunzia was also insulted by two other patients
Nunzia: I also heard two patients say “And who is this? A man or a woman? Where do they put this one”
I am married.
It had also happened to another trans woman, they stripped her in front of everyone. Without any respect, [looking at her] with these ironic smiles, this wickedness. They’re meant to be health workers, not some random person [on the street].
Caption: Because of the discrimination she faced, Nunzia refused to stay in the hospital and returned home
My husband wanted to die from the shame. Because he is a civilized person, we are civilized persons. Before being trans, we are civilized persons.
Right now I should be in hospital, in intensive care, in the cardiological ward. My husband and Loredana Rossi from Associazione Trans Napoli tell me “Nunzia we will accompany you, we will take you to another hospital”. But now I have fear, fear of going to hospital. Because they don’t treat you as a human being, they treat you worse than beasts.
Especially us transsexuals. For them we are just phenomena, we are freaks,
We’re talking about a infarct to the heart, we aren’t talking about a common cold. The doctor from the emergency, a very kind person, told me “Signora, do you want some advice? It is better if you are in another hospital.” Because they know they have some precedents on this. That they discriminate against transsexuals. They look at us and they say “oh it’s female”.
Who needs this? I have every right to be cared for, like every other human being.
Loredana Rossi from Associazione Trans Napoli (ATN): it is really severe that this is still happening even now. This organisation has been around for 11 years, and I cannot tell you how many trans women who had to go to hospital call me and tell me “Loredana, please run, they have put me in a male ward”. In these 11 years there have been so many of these cases. I have had to run to hospitals so many times to speak to with the person in charge to sensitize them on the issue. And it happened again today at San Giovanni Bosco (hospital) with Nunzia.
It is really severe, because it takes away the dignity and the access to health for a person.
We are going to file a complaint together with the president of ATN to the authorities so that we can find out who is responsible for allowing this to happen. It is really shameful, whoever these people are – they should be really ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.
They are the ones who have to be ashamed to be human beings.
Nunzia: I had been on the street for 20 years, I prostituted myself for 20 years. Then I got married, look at my wedding photo here, and for all this I don’t need to thank anyone. I need to only thank myself.
And until I have the strength to, these things should not happen anymore.
We are human beings, damn them – they do not know what it means to be spat at in the face. To be treated worse than animals.
END
The translation while done with the greatest care, does not claim to be completely accurate, any errors found can be sent to mina@tgeu.org