The women who were attacked on a bus and fought back: ‘We have a profound bond’

‘Honestly, the worst thing about it has been the media coverage,” says 30-year-old Chris, an American living in London. In May, Chris – whose surname she prefers to withhold – was on a date with Melania Geymonat Ramirez, now aged 29, when they were the victims of a homophobic attack on a London bus. You will have seen the photo of the two, bloodied and in shock; it made headlines around the world. But for Chris, the worst was still to follow.

“It became such a sensationalised story,” she says. Chris wrote a piece for the Guardian in June, in an attempt to correct some of the errors – such as how the headlines about them being a lesbian couple were wrong, because she is bisexual. It was of little use. “The narrative became pretty distorted of what actually happened.”

Because of the media attention, the police rolled out a red carpet for both women. “As soon as it hit the news, I had two police officers showing up at my door,” Chris says. A high-profile court case followed. Watching the footage of their assault gave some solace. “It was shocking to watch,” remembers Ramirez. “The adrenaline had caused me to block out some of the memories. There were moments I hadn’t remembered. When I saw it on CCTV, I felt angry.” But it also felt affirming. “I’d been doubting myself – did I remember things right? Did it really happen that way? But when I saw the CCTV, I accepted the fact that moment happened.”

Watching the CCTV, Chris was glad to see that she had asserted herself. “One of the biggest distortions of this story was that they walked up to us and said: ‘Kiss’ and we said: ‘No’, and they punched us. I’m glad the CCTV shows that I stood up and physically asserted myself. We weren’t just sitting there being helpless victims.” Ramirez agrees. “I’m so glad we fought back. It’s not so common that women stand up for themselves in the way we did.”

Three teenage boys pleaded guilty to threatening words or behaviour. One claimed the incident was not homophobic, but the judge found that he was motivated by hostility towards the women’s sexuality.

For both women, the experience of being a victim of a hate crime was an awakening. “A lot of people reached out who were victims of hate crimes,” Chris says. “It has been sobering to know how many of my friends have experienced this also.” Now, Ramirez wants to set up a platform where people can share their stories of being victimised, and have a voice, a sort of Everyday Sexism for homophobic hate crime.

The women will not be drawn on whether they are still romantically involved, although they were not a long-term couple, as was widely reported. “We have a profound bond” is all Ramirez will say. She lives in Barcelona, and Chris in London, but they remain in contact.

I ask Chris if the court case felt like closure. A long pause. “I guess so. A lot of people say you can move on with your life. It’s a frustrating refrain. It’s hard to explain what it’s like to be the subject of a photo that goes globally viral.” Ramirez doesn’t want her attackers to be punished. “For kids of 15 or 16 to do this, there’s a problem with their education. I think instead of punishing them, it would be better to educate them instead.”