Nonbinary Activist Says They Were Drugged and Sexually Assaulted

Australian nonbinary multi-hyphenate Deni Todorovič claimed they were sexually assaulted after a night out with friends in a Melbourne suburb last weekend.

The 36-year-old activist, content creator, and former Cosmopolitan fashion editor described their memories of the attack in an interview with The Herald Sun. Todorovič said they were walking home along a pedestrian path shortly after 4 a.m. on Friday, July 14, after a night out with friends in Fitzroy when they were attacked.

Todorovič said they believed their drink was spiked, and they say it’s not the first time it’s happened. They’ve reported the incident to Victoria police but asked them to not investigate the case.

“I have asked them to not [investigate] because what is the point? It happened on the street in a place that I have no desire to go back to and investigate,” Todorovič told the Herald Sun. “They are never going to find these people. I would just like to move on from this moment. It is not the first time it has happened to me. I am both a victim and a survivor.”

In a subsequent post to social media, Todorovič warned that “Drink spiking is on the rise” in the “Queer community” and called out specific venues in the Smith Street district saying they needed to “do better” in preventing the practice.

“Drink spiking occurs EVERYWHERE,” Todorovič wrote in the post. “But LGBTQIA+ people should not be assaulted on their way home, after having had their drink spiked (plural).”

Todorovič made headlines earlier this year as an ambassador for Australian swimwear brand Seafolly. More recently at the Afterpay Australia Fashion Week, they made a “political” fashion statement by flashing their genitals to journalists at the event.

In their post to Instagram, Todorovič kept everything in perspective and had a message for their alleged attacker.

“To the douche bag that violated my body, you ruined my favourite ‘Emily In Paris’ Louboutins on their very first wear!” Todorovič wrote. “Good thing they’re just a pair of shoes.”