A gay man, who has not been identified, was assaulted in a brutal homophobic attack at the NRG Energy Disco Club based in the seaside town of Cesenatico in Italy. 

The attack, which occurred inside the disco, happened while the victim was dancing with friends. From what was reported in the Corriere Romagna newspaper, he was confronted by a group of individuals who then surrounded him to prevent any escape. They proceeded to beat him until he was left with a head injury, a fractured nose and internal bleeding. He was then taken to hospital and was operated on immediately.

The incident happened several days prior but only now did the gay man who suffered the brutal attack choose to speak up about the assault rather than stay silent.

The town of Cesenatico is not known for being being a hotspot for LGBT+ activity. On the contrary, the holiday destination website Cluey has noted some LGBT+ concerns do exist within the area. Lonely Planet, a travel guide book publisher, also does not mention Cesenatico on its list of recommendations for LGBT+ travellers.

Italy itself has seen LGBT+ rights as a topic of contention in recent years. Despite passing a bill that allowed civil unions between same-sex couples back in 2016, with Italy being the only country in Western Europe to not recognise same-sex partnerships at that point, the country’s adoption of a regressive far-right government has resulted in what many people see as the country stepping back on LGBT+ rights. This was seen with comments from former Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, who referred to gay parents as “unnatural” and the government’s watering down of the civil unions’ bill that scrapped same-sex parenting and adoption. Hate crime in Italy has also increased in recent years.

Italy currently does not have any legislation that prohibits against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, with current hate crimes laws not mentioning either in their code of criminal conduct.