July 25, 2016
Transwoman activist Cherno Biko, a 24 year old male from Ohio, confessed to raping a female “transman” because he wanted to impregnate her and force her to bear his offspring. The confession was posted publicly on Medium.com and titled “Overcoming Sexual Assault”:
[NOTICE: Biko edited his post on July 26 after this article was published. Read his original unedited article here: https://maleviolence.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/overcoming-sexual-assault-e28094-medium.pdf]
Link to his now edited article: https://medium.com/@chernobiko/overcoming-sexual-assault-ca54293fea01#.mj3qdyfsr
See the changes Biko made to his confession here:
The whole piece reads as a long non-pology, quickly shifting focus from Biko’s act of rape to descriptions of his own childhood abuse, and a heroic account of his own activism in the transwoman community. He published the piece without consulting or notifying the victim.
An excerpt:
“Our relationship existed largely online and we bonded over all the little things only black trans folks can understand. After years of searching, I thought I found the second piece to the holy trinity I wanted to create, complete with a black trans man and our black non-binary baby.
I was wrong. He made it clear to me that some trans men do not wish to carry children and it’s not ok to fetishize them in that way. The first time we had sex I can barely remember, as it followed a night of drinking and smoking but I know that we broke two of the most important rules… consent and safe sex. When he told me that he felt used and violated, I immediately apologized and offered to support in whatever way I could.”
According to the victim, who responded publicly at length on twitter, the two of them barely knew each other. After messaging each other on social media they met in real life on March 26 of this year and agreed to have heterosexual intercourse. Suddenly in mid deed Cherno Biko whispered in the transman’s ear “I want you to have my babies”. He then reached down and pulled the condom off of his penis and proceeded to forcibly rape and ejaculate into the victim, attempting to cause an unwanted pregnancy.
Biko writes in his post:
“I was afraid that I had become the thing I feared the most, an abuser. And technically I did. I was filled with shame and guilt. In the days following I wanted to respond in all the ways my abuser didn’t. I listened more than I shared. I validated their feelings and answered all of the questions. I gave them space, read: “they blocked me on twitter.” But in April when their text messages became threatening and unhealthy I blocked their number, knowing that they would call me out on social media. After all it’s where we met but I was worried about the implications it would have on the movement. I didn’t want to become the ammunition for our enemies to keep framing folks like us as predators who need to be kept out of public bathrooms.”
The transman victim whom Biko raped and tried to forcibly impregnate posted screen caps of these supposedly “threatening and unhealthy” responses to being raped. They involved the perpetrator being confronted over his unwillingness to pay for the victim’s PEP [Post Exposure Prophylaxis] prescription to prevent HIV infection in the victim.
According to the CDC:
“PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) means taking antiretroviral medicines (ART) after being potentially exposed to HIV to prevent becoming infected.
PEP should be used only in emergency situations and must be started within 72 hours after a recent possible exposure to HIV.”
The screencaps show Biko telling his victim – who lives in a rural area- that she should travel to a major metropolitan area and try to locate a city clinic that provides the medication for free. Biko stated, “It’s not that I don’t care I just don’t have the coin right now.” The cost was $80.
Cherno Biko currently resides in Brooklyn where he serves as co-chair to the Young Women’s Advisory Board of the New York City Council.