Transphobic Attack in Westmalle: Victim of Hate Crime

A 50-year-old transgender woman was physically assaulted in Westmalle, a town in Belgium’s Antwerp province, in what police have confirmed was a transphobic hate crime. The attack occurred Thursday evening as the victim, identified only as Ann, was visiting friends in the residential neighborhood.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the suspect — a 46-year-old local man — approached Ann and her friends as they sat in the front garden on Thursday evening. He began shouting transphobic slurs, calling Ann a “vuile trans” (“dirty trans”) and yelling at her friends, “What are you doing, letting such a crazy person sit with you?”

The Assault

Ann told the man to leave her alone, but the situation escalated rapidly. The suspect jumped over the garden fence and struck Ann twice with his fist. Ann recorded the incident on her phone, and a security camera at the residence also captured the assault.

“I immediately told him to leave me alone. That clearly rubbed him the wrong way,” Ann told HLN. “He started cursing and called me ‘dirty trans.’ Then he jumped over the fence and hit me.”

Police from zone Voorkempen arrived promptly at the scene. Spokesperson An Denis confirmed the transphobic motive to VRT NWS. “The woman stated that the man had hit her because she is a trans woman,” Denis said.

Ann sustained minor physical injuries, but police acknowledged the psychological toll. “Her injuries were relatively mild overall, but that doesn’t mean the mental impact on the woman is mild,” Denis added.

Suspect at Large

The 46-year-old suspect was not arrested at the scene and remains at large. A police report was filed for “aanzetten tot discriminatie” (incitement to discrimination), a criminal offense under Belgian hate crime legislation. Ann plans to officially file a formal complaint on Monday, July 20, and will be examined by a forensic doctor.

Ann told VRT NWS that she lives in fear following the attack. “I live in fear: what if he goes even further next time?” she said. “Luckily the police arrived quickly and it couldn’t escalate further.”

A Pattern of Harassment

This was not the first encounter between Ann and the suspect. She told reporters that the man had been following, staring at, and harassing her for months prior to the physical assault. “Every time he sees me, he stares at me and provokes me,” she said.

Ann completed her gender transition three years ago. While she said she has faced verbal harassment before, this marked the first time she was physically attacked because of her gender identity.

“I don’t expect everyone to understand me, but I really don’t understand why this is necessary,” Ann told HLN. “Just leave me alone.”

Broader Context: Rising Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence

The attack in Westmalle comes against a backdrop of rising anti-LGBTQ+ violence across Belgium. According to the 2025 annual report from ILGA-Europe published in February 2026, there was a significant increase in both physical and verbal violence against LGBTQIA+ persons in Belgium, as VRT NWS reported.

Key findings from the report include a rise in incidents both online and in physical spaces, perpetrators increasingly using dating apps to lure victims, and a troubling trend among young people. A study by the Flemish Youth Research Platform found that 1 in 5 students aged 16-18 consider an attack on a homosexual person acceptable in some cases — up from less than 1 in 10 in 2018.

Only 14 percent of hate crime victims report incidents to the police, according to the report, highlighting a significant underreporting problem. A national study by the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men found that trans and non-binary persons experience more violence and discrimination, and their quality of life is declining.

Community Response

The article about Ann’s attack became the most-read and most-shared story on HLN.be’s regional section, generating dozens of comments — overwhelmingly supportive of Ann and expressing outrage at the attack. Readers called for respect and tolerance, with one commenting: “If you use violence, both verbal and physical, then you are of the lowest kind.”

What’s Next

Ann will file her formal complaint on Monday and undergo a forensic medical examination. The case raises questions about police procedures in hate crime cases, particularly regarding the decision not to arrest the suspect at the scene. As Ann awaits justice, she has a simple message: “I don’t expect everyone to understand me, but I really don’t understand why this is necessary. Just leave me alone.”

The incident adds to growing calls for stronger enforcement of hate crime legislation in Belgium, where gender identity and gender expression are protected characteristics under the law.