Medicine student (18) goes out for the first time as Dragqueen, but is beaten on the street: « It has signed him » (Ghent)

It was with a head in the throat that the victim’s mom told her story. She was there when her then 18-year-old son at the Nachtclub AM Club was suddenly beaten up by an unknown in July 2023. The AM Club in the Schuerkkenstraat no longer exists. A new bar recently opened its doors there.

They had a lot to celebrate that evening, the mom told. They had come to Ghent to first go to the cinema and then pick a queer party in the night club near the Korenmarkt. The Ghent Festivities were also busy at the time, so there was a lot of life in the city, the mom said.

Drag

« My son was dressed in Drag, » she told the judge. « It was the first time he did that, but he beamed. He had passed medicine just before his entrance exam and had had a series of successful operations for his hare lip. We wanted to make it a blissful evening. »

The party in the AM Club was actually fun, the mom told. « It also felt safe, » she continued. « But for the club, outside, the atmosphere suddenly changed. »

« He was chatting with some friends, made up in Drag, » said his lawyer Marleen Meeus. « A young man came to him out of nowhere, pulled his wig off his head and knocked him in the face. »

The police and emergency services arrived. « There was a lot of blood and my son went to the ground, » she said. « After all those operations, his nose was completely broken again. That was not only physically, but also mentally very heavy. That evening was important for him: for the first time on the road as Dragqueen, but what happened there signed him. »

Hate

The incident chopped heavily in her son. He was deep and also struggled with dark thoughts. « If someone with whom you have not changed a word does something like that, I believe it was from hatred, » said his mum.

« We thought about every choice I make: what I am wearing, where I am going. I try to constantly bring myself to safety, » the victim testified in court. « I have lost part of myself. »

Lawyer Samuel Stevens denied that. He defended the aggressor. He talked about a discussion that got out of hand. « The facts are serious, » he acknowledged. « My client was drunk and had taken that wig as a joke. He shouldn’t have done that. » According to the lawyer, some pushing and pulling work followed and his client also got a push.

« Funny meant »

The judge also wanted to know from the man himself why he did that. He replied that he was shocked by himself. « Taking that wig was meant to be funny. I am Van Aalst and we belong to carnival, » he said. He had dealt that battle because he felt threatened, but certainly not hate.

The Public Prosecution Service asked for a suspension for the man. The verdict falls on June 20.