Three transwomen booked

The No. 1 Tollgate police on Friday registered a case against three transwomen for alleged sexual assault of a transsexual boy.

According to the complaint given by the 14-year-old boy from Theni, Sathya and Aparna of Tollgate had met him at a bus stop in Dindigul a few days ago. In his complaint, the boy said, “They took my phone number and convinced me to live with them as they would fund my sex-reassignment surgery. On November 25, convinced by their promise, I went to their house in Tiruchi.”

The boy was allegedly forced to consume alcohol and was subjected to sexual assault and forced into prostitution. A day after, on information, Suji, another transwoman from Tiruchi, with the guidance of Gopi Shankar, a representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons, preferred a complaint with the Tollgate police but they refused to entertain it.

However, on Friday, following the intervention of Z. Annie Vijaya, Deputy Inspector-General, Tiruchi range, the police registered a case against Sathya, Aparna and Sonali under Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Reacting to the development, Mr. Gopi claimed that it was a rare case in which the Transgender Persons Act had been invoked in the country. This case should be a warning for people attempting to harm non-binary children, and for parents who ignore them.