“I see the scene over and over again, I can hardly sleep…”: Paul, 17, beaten up because he is homosexual, confides

Paul, a 17-year-old young man from Tarn, was attacked because of his homosexuality in Mazamet in the Tarn, on Saturday, September 21, 2024. He confided in La Dépêche.

He is going to visit a friend in Mazamet, in the Tarn, on Saturday, September 21, 2024. With her, while they are crossing a public garden, when they meet a young girl, an acquaintance of Paul's friend who asks them if they are a couple, says La Dépêche. Paul replies that it is not possible because he is gay.

Head trauma, hematoma…

A wave of violence then descends on Paul, who is beaten up by about ten people aged 13 to 20, called by the young girl who first called out the victim and her friend. This Sunday, Stop Homophobie published a press release to give "its full support" to the victims and their families.

Paul agreed to tell La Dépêche what he experienced. The young man explains that he has a hematoma around his eye, difficulty chewing since the blows, back injuries and a head trauma.

“I have nightmares”

“Now, when I leave my house, I am careful not to be followed. I mistake most people on the street for my attackers. I can hardly sleep, I have nightmares, I see the scene over and over again", he confided to our colleagues.

The teenager wants to publicize his story because "there are too many people who experience what I experienced". Paul intends to denounce these facts so that it stops. "It is not possible that intolerance about differences still exists in 2024".