workingclasshistory:

On this day, 4 March 1976, Antoni Ruiz, a Spanish teenager, was arrested in Valencia for homosexuality. He had recently come out to his family, and after his mother mentioned it at confession, a nun reported it to police (content note: sexual violence).
He was convicted under a law from the era of the right-wing dictatorship of general Francisco Franco and jailed for three months. He spent the bulk of his imprisonment at Badajoz prison, one of two specialist facilities for jailing LGBT+ people. In detention, he was raped by another prisoner who was encouraged by guards, who said: “He’s a homosexual, you can do whatever you want.”
After his release, he was exiled from his town and police ensured they informed any potential employers about his conviction, to prevent him from gaining paid employment.
Historians estimate that around 5000 LGBT+ people were convicted under the homophobic laws of the dictatorship, which were only eventually overturned in 1979. Many were subjected to repeated and brutal sexual violence, and almost none were later compensated along with other victims of Francoism.
We are currently working on a podcast episode about LGBT+ life in Spain after Franco. Subscribe today on your favourite podcast app by searching for “Working Class History” or go to https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast and subscribe to ensure you don’t miss it.
Pictured: Ruiz on a recent protest https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1664436600408150/?type=3