A 13-year-old teenager in Turin, Italy has been brutally attacked outside her school. The young girl, named Eva, was carrying a rainbow bag while reportedly wearing LGBTQ+ pride accessories.

Eva and her friends had left the school but were chased by a group of other school children who then attacked the teenager. The bullies delivered punches, kicks, and an elbow in the face that broke Eva’s nose while using homophobic insults against her.

“They called me a bitch. They told me I had to burn alive, me and my friends. They screamed at us that we are lousy lesbians and a lot of other things.”

The exit of the school is often where children from other schools would meet up. It’s reported that a few days prior to the assault, homophobic comments were used by a group of students in the area and that the same crowd had also been seen burning posters and rainbow flags in the street.

In a statement to Italian LGBTQ+ news and media site, gay.it, Alessandro Battaglia wished to express solidarity with Eva and her family on behalf of the Torino Pride Coordination.

“Less than a week after a young crowd demonstrated against hatred (against the LGBTQ+ community), here is they repeat facts we don’t want to talk about anymore. Our solidarity with Eva is with her mother Tiziana who courageously denounced a very serious fact. Eva’s nose will heal but the wound inflicted is on the school community and the whole city.

We always say that talking to boys and girls in schools is very important but we still hear the answer that certain things should not be talked about in order not to disturb the minds of boys and girls. We are full and full of anger but we know that the cultural work that will lead us to be a better and inclusive society is long and difficult.

For bullies and their parents, we hope they can begin a path of knowledge and information that makes them aware of the seriousness of some gestures. All is not lost and we are at your complete disposal.”

This assault has occurred at a time where Italy’s LGBTQ+ community continues to push for hate crime legislation to come into effect. Earlier this year, footage of two men suffering a homophobic attack as a result of them sharing a kiss in a Rome train station appeared online.

Italy’s lower House of Parliament approved the bill to protect minority groups against hate crime last November but the bill is taking time to be brought into law.