Trans woman describes assault in Manchester’s Gay Village

A transgender woman has opened up about being the victim of an alleged assault by a group of men in Manchester’s Gay Village.

Andreyaa Hora, 42, had been enjoying her night out with some friends on Saturday night (2 December) in the city’s LGBTQ+ quarter, but unfortunately, the night ended with a trip to the police station.

Hora, who began transitioning in 2020, claims she was verbally abused by a group of men before one “snatched” her wig off her head and another hit her hard on the side of the face, knocking her to the ground.

The artist and illustrator says she left the Eva Lounge on Sackville Street at around 4am and had started walking down the street to get a taxi home when the group of men appeared and began to torment her.

“There was a group of guys coming over and they were clearly drunk,” she told the Manchester Evening News.

“They said transphobic slurs and I remember one of them snatching my wig off from behind. Another punched me to the side of my face and it completely knocked me onto the floor.

“Nobody tried to stop them. I got up on my own and by the time I did, they had gone. They came in my direction trying to antagonise me because they knew I was trans.”

When she eventually got back to her feet, Hora saw two police officers passing by and told them what had happened.

“I was sobbing so much I couldn’t even speak properly,” she told the local news publication.

Hora says she then went down to the police station, accompanied by one of her friends, and was interviewed by officers on Sunday morning (3 December).

When contacted, Greater Manchester Police confirmed to the news site that they had received reports of an assault and they were investigating.

Hora claims that she’s still waiting on a home visit from police officers.

In the meantime, she says, she has had lots of time to think about the alleged assault and, heart-breakingly, struggles not to blame herself.

“I keep replaying it over in my head because I’d had a drink. My self-sabotage is blaming myself for walking down that street,” she said.

Hora, who has lived in Manchester for 13 years, admits that she “never feels completely safe” when she’s out in the city.

“There are always looks when you go out or those little laughs or comments people make, it’s hard to explain. Sometimes you feel like you are in a freakshow,” she confessed.

“It’s always a mix of whether I should be confident or scared – but you don’t want to just put your head down and let people walk over you.”

While Hora is usually with friends when she goes out for a drink, she says that she has also gone out on her own before – but she doesn’t feel comfortable going out alone anymore. 

“When I go out to the Gay Village, I always meet my friends there and we go to the clubs; normally if my friends don’t go on a weekend I will go on my own – but it has made me think I shouldn’t be going out alone and walking by myself to get a taxi. 

“It could have been a lot worse.”