Gay teen writes heartbreaking letter begging neighbours to save him from violent dad
A gay teenager from Jataí, Brazil wrote a letter to his neighbours begging to be saved from his homophobic dad. (Envato Elements)
A gay teenager wrote a heartbreaking letter begging his neighbours to save him from his allegedly homophobic dad, prompting them to call the police.
Brazilian media outlet G1 GO reported the 14-year-old lives in the city of Jataí, a municipality in the southern Goiás state of Brazil. The teen pleaded with his neighbours to help him. He wrote: “Have you ever felt you’re not good for anyone?
“I’m feeling it. It hurts a lot here.”
The teenager added that he “cannot take it anymore” and that he is in the “greatest despair of my life”.
After receiving the letter, neighbours also witnessed the father beat his son and sent a recording of the violent incident to the police. The man was reportedly heard threatening to “kill” his son in the recording.
“I’m tired of telling you. Didn’t I already tell you to change?” the father reportedly shouts at his son. “You have to change. Do you know why? Because if you don’t change, I will kill you. I will blow you up.”
Police later attended the scene in Jataí, Brazil and confirmed the teen had abrasions on his body. Paula Daniela Ruza, a police spokesperson, said the father told police he “doesn’t care” that his son is gay, and said the incident happened because he caught his son “accessing pornographic videos on his cell phone”.
But the boy’s mother reportedly told police that she was aware of the father’s aggression towards their son, which she said was because the teen “has a tendency to homosexuality”.
A neighbour told G1 that she always heard the teen “screaming” and “asking for help”. She admitted: “It is difficult for people who are mothers to see a situation like this.”
According to the outlet, the teen was taken to an aunt’s house and will undergo counselling. An investigation was launched into the incident, and the police will be gathering information from neighbours and analysing the letter.
In 2019, the Supreme Court of Brazil voted to criminalise LGBT+ discrimination, making homophobic and transphobic crimes legally equivalent to racism. However, discrimination and violence against Brazil’s LGBT+ communities are widespread.
At least 175 trans people were murdered last year, according to the advocacy group National Association of Travestis and Transexuals of Brazil (ANTRA). ANTRA said it saw a 29 per cent surge in violence in 2020 compared to the 124 deaths recorded in 2019. This made 2020 one of the deadliest years for the trans community in Brazil since the group began recording such incidents.
