In 1566 Bartholomé Tecia, a 15-year-old student in Switzerland was found guilty of being a homosexual after he was reported for making advances towards two of his fellow students.
He was sentenced to death and drowned in the Rover Rhone in the centre of Geneva. His story was unearthed centuries later from the official government archives, and playwright Jean-Claude Humbert brought his story to life in a play that was first staged in 2008.
In 2013, on the anniversary of his death, a plaque was placed on the banks of the river. At the time of the unvieling of the plaque, Marcia V.J. Kran Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the United Nation’s Human Rights Office reflected on the power of Tecia’s story.
“In 1566, as Bartholomé was led to his death, no one stood, as we stand today, to decry the State-sanctioned killing of a child on suspicion of homosexuality,” Kran said. “No-one was prepared, as we are today, to challenge homophobic prejudice, to insist on the equal worth and equal rights of every person, irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
“It would be beautiful to think that out of this one sad, lonely death in the Rhone, more than four centuries ago, might come some good; that passers-by who see this plaque will pause and reflect on the folly of homophobia; and that we can all draw from Bartholomé’s story the strength to continue our modern day struggle to achieve equality for LGBT people everywhere,”
Homosexuality was decriminalised in Switzerland in 1942, but remains a crime in 71 countries around the globe.
OIP Staff, this story was first published in 2022 and has been updated.
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