The Civil Police of Pernambuco are investigating a case of homophobia after offensive messages were sent to a passenger on a transport app. The incident was recorded on November 7, when financial coordinator Paulo Lamenha, 35, was the target of insults shortly after requesting a race.
The complaint gained repercussion when the victim shared what happened on social media this Tuesday (12). According to the police, the case is treated as “racism due to homotransphobia” by the 22nd Circuit Police Station, in accordance with legislation that equates crimes of homophobia and transphobia with racial slurs.
In an interview with CNN Lamenha explained that the homophobic treatment by the driver began two days earlier, on November 5, when he, who is gay, requested a ride with the driver identified only as Matheus.
Although, according to him, the trip was uneventful, the victim reported that the driver demonstrated harsh behavior during the journey. “He didn’t respond to my good morning, he was looking at me the whole time with a frown. When I got out of the car, at my destination, I wished him a good day and a good job, and he simply pulled the door violently and left. I was silent the entire trip,” he said.
Two days later, on November 7, Lamenha requested a new race in the same location, in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, in the metropolitan region of Recife. To his surprise, the same driver accepted the ride.
When he realized it was the same passenger from the previous trip, the driver sent offensive messages via the 99 app. “You are nothing more than a piece of trash on earth. Parasite, becomes a man”, said one of the messages, which was read by Paulo shortly after the race was accepted.
On the same day, Paulo registered a police report with the Civil Police, which began investigating the case. “I hope other people don’t go through what I went through,” lamented the victim.
Brazilian legislation, according to a decision by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined, in 2023, that acts of homophobia and transphobia be classified as racial slurs, guaranteeing stricter punishments for perpetrators.
Complaint
After the case, in addition to registering the incident with the police, Paulo Lamenha also used platform 99 to report the driver’s behavior.
In a note sent to CNN the company regretted what happened and stated that it had already taken action. “99 vehemently repudiates any form of discrimination. As soon as the report was registered, a team was mobilized for internal investigations and blocked the driver and contacted the passenger to offer all the necessary support and reception.”
99 also highlighted that it “continuously invests in the training and awareness of its driver partners” and stated that it is available to the authorities to collaborate with investigations.
This content was originally published in “Vira Homem”: passenger reports homophobic message sent by app driver on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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