Italy: Transgender Woman Survives Valentine's Day Beating

A 22-year-old transgender woman is in critical condition after being brutally beaten in Catania, Italy outside of a pub on Valentine's Day.

Michelle Santamaria was attacked by about a dozen young people while she was dancing, according to a translated article in La Sicilia. Santamaria, from Licata, said no one in the pub came to her defense, including the pub's owner. Eventually, she escaped her attackers, but she was chased out of the establishment by people armed with knives. She eventually reached a police station, where she filed a complaint. Santamaria was then rushed to a nearby emergency room, where doctors diagnosed her with a fractured thoracic vertebrae, a head injury, and other injuries.