A female cleaner at a shopping mall stepped in and blocked a transgender woman from entering the women’s toilets before calling the security who ended up handcuffing the trans woman.
The incident occurred at Fisher’s Mall in Quezon City, Philippines, when 28-year-old Gretchen Custodio Diez attempted to use the ladies’ lavatories.
Before she could enter, however, female cleaner Chair Ganal blocked her path and argued she wasn’t allowed to pass, saying “You still have a penis, remember that.”
According to the reports, the Chair took Gretchen to an isolated room before calling the security guards who handcuffed the trans woman.
Following the incident, the mall filed a report against Gretchen but later dropped the case. As for Chair, she apologized to the transgender woman and admitted to making a mistake by not letting her pass into the women’s comfort room.
“I want to apologize to Gretchen. I hope with this apology she will give me a second chance. I am only human. It was not my intention to offend her. I am willing to study the rights of the LGBT. That is all. I am sorry,” Chair expressed in a letter.
According to the police, Gretchen was handcuffed and taken to the local police station before being transferred to the Anti-Cybercrime Division due to officers’ confusion on how to handle the case.
Speaking of the incident, Gretchen said:
“For me, it was like I was a shoplifter being dragged inside the mall, with people looking at me as I was being held.
“I could not understand how, in a supposedly gender-fair city, there is a person who would treat me like I committed crime.”
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