By: Tt

While i was surprised by such a high sentence for teenagers, which would not happen in other European countries, it seems like it also reflects the intention of the judge to deter transphobic crimes within the current transphobic climate in the UK. And it might well have that effect and prevent lesser transphobic crimes, specifically among teenagers. It might also have been that high to deter from copycat crimes. By viewing society or the state as monolithic, this nuance of the judge's intention gets lost. Here is a judge who is trying to make a difference within her capabilities. Society, even the state, is always the amalgamum of many actions and opposing striving. Importantly, she also publicly stressed that one of the motives was transphobia, something that the police denied. What was invisible from the case because the main perpetrator was female, was a common psychological or sexual aspect of transphobic crime, i.e. the fact that many trans women are attacked or killed by someone who is also attracted to them. The female perpetrator talked about being attracted to Brianna in a weird way. If she would have been a boy, this would have been a focus of the trial, but it was illegible to the public because she is a girl, possibly even to herself. I'm still waiting for society and feminism to grapple with this sexualized aspect of transphobia, both for male, and in this case female perpetrators.