There is always a concern that usually remains with lighter things: having fun with friends, flirting and experiencing intense party days. Unfortunately, not everything is rosy and some unpleasant surprises can ruin your celebration. In this week's article I will give you some tips on how to act if you experience homophobia at the club.
As incredible as it may seem, nightclubs aimed at gay audiences can be the scene of violence, whether motivated by homophobia or not. It is common for customers to be victims of aggression and abuse of power by the site's security team, who are often poorly trained.
In January 2013, the case of makeup artist Guilherme Nutti (28) became famous, who was attacked by the bartender at Augusta because he complained that his drink dose was incomplete. The bartender swore, grabbed his neck and punched the victim in the face. Luckily, the victim of the attack was rescued by the owner of the establishment and the bartender was fired.
Regardless of whether you count on the help of the manager or the owner of the house, first of all, ensure your physical integrity. If you have suffered a physical attack, ask a friend to call an employee, as they should bring someone to offer you first aid – this could be the firefighter on duty at the establishment. If no one helps you, call the emergency numbers 192 or 191, report what happened and ask for help.
If your physical integrity is not in danger, ensure that the attacker is identified. If it was an employee at the club, find out his name. If it was another patron, look for an employee at the club and ask them to stop your attacker. If even the security team doesn't resolve it, call 191. This will help in the future, if you want to file a claim for compensation for material and/or moral damages.
If you can't identify it, no problem. Your lawyer can use a different legal strategy to hold only the party responsible, who had a duty to guarantee your physical integrity. At a later date, if she is convicted, you will be able to obtain compensation from the aggressor for the compensation that was paid to you.
After that, get the contact details of some witnesses, they can help you by providing information at the police station or, later on, at the forum, when you file your compensation claim against the nightclub and/or the attacker. Depending on the nightclub's lawyer or the attacker, a homophobic attack could end up being reduced to a simple drunken argument, in which no one is right. As we don't want that, the more proof the better.
Finally, in the case of a physical attack, be sure to take a forensic examination. It may take six, ten, twelve hours, but be sure to take this exam. With it, you will have in your hands the word of a state doctor confirming the attack. Without this, you may have a very believable story, but the judge will have little idea of the extent of the damage you suffered.
What if, after these tips, you immediately become afraid of confrontation and are unable to do any of this? No problem. Your case may be a little more difficult, but lawyers are there for that. There are other ways of obtaining evidence, such as internal security circuit recordings. And even if the nightclub refuses to hand over the recordings, there are legal means to force them to do so.
Despite the headaches involved in a civil repair case, never forget that you will also have the application of the Consumer Protection Code, which makes life easier for those who suffer from poor service. Furthermore, when applying the law, judges tend to be more sensitive to consumer law cases.
However, you can't be too careful. Even if you are right, avoid losing it and this is easy when we are wronged – and even easier when we consume alcohol. Therefore, try to be accompanied by another friend, avoid provoking the attacker or the owner of the establishment and let the police intervene when they arrive at the scene of the attack. Otherwise, you could end up in a situation similar to that of the guy who had his compensation reduced from R$30 to R$10 thousand. In the appeal no. 0071138-81.2010.8.26.0000, the judge understood that:
"It is known that, unfortunately, many nightclub security guards are subjected to grueling routines, which involve double shifts, and are not prepared to deal with the public. Therefore, sometimes, they end up exceeding the limits of their duties, acting with discourtesy and even with violence. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for nightclub goers, impaired by drinking alcohol, to get involved in arguments that culminate in bodily harm. For all of this, the author's thesis cannot be rejected, nor can it be rejected. the defendant's allegations."
The path to obtaining compensation can be long (in the case above, it was four years), but the psychological costs of compensation are even greater, as something remains unresolved in our minds. It's that latent feeling of injustice. Therefore, the recommendation is that, regardless of whether you have followed the tips in this article, look for a lawyer, but do not let an attack – whether homophobic or not – go unnoticed. Otherwise, they will continue to happen.
Thales Coimbra is a lawyer specializing in LGBT law (OAB/SP 346.804); graduated from the Faculty of Law at USP, where he is currently pursuing a master's degree in the area of legal philosophy on homophobic hate speech; he also founded and currently coordinates Geds – Study Group on Law and Sexuality also at the USP Law School; and writes biweekly about Rights on the portals A Capa and Gay Brasil. www.rosancoimbra.com.br/direitolgbt
