![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/vlcsnap-2026-07-16-17h33m09s759-1024x576.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nAn East Vancouver woman is speaking out after suffering what she calls a hate-motivated assault. She says nobody stepped in to help \u2013 and little has been done by authorities in the time since.<\/p>\n
Iris Houngbo says she was just trying to get home on public transit when a man started harassing her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to brush it off. I said, \u2018I don\u2019t care, have a good day.\u2019 I kept walking. And homophobic slurs followed, and he was calling me a bunch of names,\u201d said Houngbo.<\/p>\n
Houngbo, who is transgender, says she kept walking but the threatening behaviour continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was this close to me, and so I pushed him away, and then he said, \u2018You took the first swing,\u2019 so he punched me, he put me in a chokehold, and he threw me onto the floor, and he ripped the back of my shirt, and the bra that I was wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That shirt \u2013 which read \u201cDestroy White Supremacy\u201d \u2013 is evidently what provoked the man.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite being surrounded by people, Houngbo says nobody stepped in to assist her as she was being assaulted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Transit police confirmed they\u2019re investigating the incident, which took place at a bus stop on Broadway and Commercial in East Vancouver at around 7 p.m. on June 30.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police say they searched extensively for the suspect, but were unable to locate him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of language that gets used about safety, especially for the LGBT community, but there are not consequences for people who do things like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houngbo says she suffered a similar assault on a bus two years ago and says nothing was done about it when she reported it to authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She feels like the lack of accountability is allowing this kind of behaviour to continue. Something she worries could have dire consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this man felt this comfortable to do something like this in broad daylight, imagine what he would have done if it was nighttime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t want this to become a thing where it has to be fatal for the City of Vancouver to take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says she doesn\u2019t feel safe leaving her house anymore and taking public transit is off the table for the foreseeable future, with a local organization crowdfunding to help support her through this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter your gender, your sexuality, your race; we all have the right to walk out in the world and to not have to look over our shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tIris Houngbo talks about an assault while trying to get home on public transit. (CityNews Image) <\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
Add CityNews Vancouver as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778189171_473_google-trusted-badge.png\"){kind=icon}