Lilia Cherchari Cherchari 1

Professor Raymond Smith Race & Ethnicity in American Politics 21 April 2015

LGBT Violence

Keywords: .

Hate Crime, Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia, Intimate Partner Violence, Police Violence.

Thesis: .

Over 8 million adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), making up approximately 3.5% of the population. While anti-LGBT violence has decreased in the past year, those who fall within this minority are continually subjected to higher rates of violence than the general population.

Key Points: .

According to the FBI, there were fewer instances of anti-LGBT violence in 2013 than in previous years.

LGBT individuals are more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts.

There has been an alarming rise in violence against trans people (and especially trans people of color) in the first four months of 2015.

The 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) contains protections for LGBT victims of domestic violence.

30 states have passed legislation designating violence based on sexual orientation as a hate crime. Only 15 of these states and the District of Columbia include gender identity as a hate crime category.

LGBT victims of hate crimes are more likely to be subjected to police violence than non-LGBT individuals.

Brief: .

Anti-LGBT violence represents a standout issue in the discourse over marginalized

groups and their treatment in the United States. Indeed, the persistence of violence against those

who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender highlights the shortcomings of what many

see as an overall “trend towards equality” in the treatment of minority groups. Pervasive,

palpable, and pressing, anti-LGBT violence reflects the endurance of deep-seated prejudices

towards those who fall outside heterosexual and/or cisgender parameters.

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Instances of anti-LGBT hate crimes decreased modestly in 2014, but figures for such offenses

are still alarming. Indeed, the most recent FBI Hate Crimes Statistics Report (released in late

2014) identifies 1,402 instances of hate crimes based on sexual orientation. In fact, 20.8% of hate

crimes perpetrated in 2013 were based on sexual orientation, while 0.5% were motivated by the

gender identity of the victim.1 More troubling still, hate crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual

orientation or gender identity tend to be more violent than those driven by other demographic

factors.2 LGBT violence is exacerbated by the problem of poverty among LGBT individuals.

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a systematic lack of access to housing,

healthcare, and employment, in addition to an absence of “LGBT-friendly safety net services like

rape crisis centers and shelters” has left the LGBT community particularly vulnerable to acts of

violence.3

Alarmingly, the first four months of 2015 have seen a steep rise in violence perpetrated

against trans people—especially trans women of color. With nine trans people having been

murdered as of mid-April, LGBT leaders are questioning the progress that has been otherwise

made with respect to the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals.

Indeed, the Anti-Violence Project, in its 2013 Hate Violence Report, expressed that the rise in

such anti-trans homicides “demonstrate[s] that while legislative change is an indicator of

1 2013 FBI Hate Crimes Statistics Report. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dec 2014. FBI. Web. 17 Feb 2015. <http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/december/latest-hate-crime-statistics-report-released/latest- hate-crime-statistics-report-released>.2

Stotzer, Rebecca. "Comparison of Hate Crime Rates Across Protected and Unprotected Groups – An Update." Williams Institute. UCLA Law School, May 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. <http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/violence-crime/comparison-hate-crime-rates- update/#sthash.52erJG9U.dpuf>.

3 Sherouse, Beth. Epidemic of Anti-LGBT Violence Continues with Murder of Ohio Youth. 16 Feb 2015. Human Rights Campaign. HRC. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. < http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/epidemic-of-anti-lgbt- violence-continues-with-murder-of-ohio-youth>.

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progress on national level, the fundamental lived realities of some of the most marginalized

individuals in LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities remains mired in violence and hate.” 4

Goddess Edwards, 20Louisville, KY

January 9

Lamia Beard, 30Norfolk, VAJanuary 17

Ty Underwood, 24Tyler, TX

January 26

Yazmin Payne, 33Los Angeles

l

January 31

Taja DeJesus, 33San Francisco

February 1

Penny Proud New OrleansFebruary 10

Bri Golec, 22Akron, OH

February 13

Kristina ReinwaldMiami

February 15

Mya Hall, 27BaltimoreMarch 30

Pictured here are the nine trans women

killed in America in

the first four months of

2015.L

l

While the statistics mentioned thus far have largely addressed external threats to the LGBT

individuals, any substantive discussion on this topic would be incomplete without addressing the

prominence of intimate partner violence within the LGBT community. Indeed, a 2011 National

Violence Against Women (NVAW) survey found that 21.5 percent of men and 35.4 percent of

women living with a same-sex partner had reported instances of physical abuse in their lifetimes

(average figures for men and women are 10 and 25 percent, respectively).5 Transgender 4 Ahmed, Osman, and Chai Jindasurat. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Hate Violence in 2013. New York: New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 2014. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Web. 29 Feb. 2015. <http://www.avp.org/storage/documents/2013_ncavp_hvreport_final.pdf>.

5 "Get the Facts and Figures." National Domestic Violence Hotline. National Domestic Violence Hotline, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics/>.

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respondents had a likewise troubling incidence of IPV, with 34.6 percent of respondents

indicating they had been victimized. 6 According to the GLBT Domestic Violence Coalition,

LGBT domestic violence is encouraged by a “lack of mainstream visibility” of non-heterosexual

relationships as well as an internalized homo/bi/transphobia.7

Violence against members of the LGBT community persists despite a certain legal

architecture aimed at their protection. Notably, the February 2013 reauthorization of the

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) included new protections for LGBT people, as well as

Native Americans, and undocumented victims of domestic violence. Following the 2009 passage

of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, “VAWA [represents]

the nation's second LGBT-inclusive federal law.”8 On the state level, the bag is certainly mixed

as far as LGBT protections go. The Human Rights Campaign’s State Equality Index (SEI) details

the existing legislation aimed at protecting LGBT individuals from violence. According to HRC,

it offers “a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and

policies that affect LGBT people and their families”9 The most recent report, published in early

2015, identifies only fifteen states and the District of Columbia as having adopted laws that

6 Glass, JD. “Two Studies that Prove Domestic Violence is an LGBT Issue.” The Advocate. 04 Sept 2015. The Advocate. Web. 18 Apr 2015. <http://www.advocate.com/crime/2014/09/04/2-studies-prove-domestic- violence-lgbt-issue>.

7 Cruz Roman, Shakira, and Tre'Andre Valentine. "Intimate Partner Abuse Screening Tool for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Relationships." National Center for Victims of Crime 2012 National Conference. New Orleans, LA. 20 Sept. 2012. Lecture. <https://www.victimsofcrime.org/docs/Toolkit%20Bulletins/screening_tnlr-compatibility-mode-.pdf?sfvrsn=0>.

8 Brydum, Sunnivie. "Advocacy Orgs. Applaud House Passage of LGBT-Inclusive Violence Against Women Act."

Advocate.com. Here Media, Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. <http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/02/28/ advocacy-orgs-applaud-house-passage-lgbt-inclusive-violence-against-women-act>.

9 2014 State Equality Index: A Review of State Legislation Affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community and a Look Ahead in 2015. Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2015. Human Rights Campaign, Web. 27 Feb 2015. <http://issuu.com/humanrightscampaign/docs/hrc-sei-2014-reportrev4?e=1357809/11205745>.

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explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as a hate crime category.10 Moreover, the

most recent SEI report also names fifteen states with a law on record that addresses hate or bias

crimes based on sexual orientation alone—notably neglecting to include those crimes perpetrated

on the basis of gender identity.11

What happens when the state is the perpetrator of violence against the LGBT population?

Indeed, the skeletal anti-hate and anti-bias legal protections listed above do not adequately

safeguard individuals from violence. According to the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-

Violence Project, there exists a pattern of anti-LGBTQ police violence on a local level. The

situation is particularly troublesome for transgendered individuals, with trans women hate crime

survivors being “3.7 times more likely to experience police violence compared to cisgender

survivors and victims.”12 While campaigns—including the “Know Your Rights” campaign

organized by NCAVP BreakOUT! and the Colorado Anti-Violence Program—have the express

goal of combatting this antagonistic relationship between the LGBT community and law

enforcement, the problem continues to pose a threat to a community that faces persistent

violence both within and without the existing legal framework.

Summarily, LGBT individuals are at an increased threat of violence from a number of

sources. Hate crimes, together with intimate partner and police violence, threaten the lives of

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals on a daily basis The record 14 homicides that

10

States with law addressing hate/bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, MD, MA, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, OR, VT, WA + DC 11

States with law addressing hate/bias based on sexual orientation (and not gender identity): AZ, FL, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, NE, NH, NY, RI, TN, TX, WI

12 Chesnut, Shelby, Chai Jindasurat and Preeti Varathan. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV- Affected Intimate Partner Violence in 2012. New York: New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 2013. Page 9. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://avp.org/storage/documents/ncavp_2012_ipvreport.final.pdf>.

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have claimed the lives of LGBT people in the first quarter of 2015 highlight the progress that is

still to be made in curbing violence against members of the LGBT community.13

13 Shapiro, Lila. "Record Number of Reported LGBT Homicides So Far in 2015." Huffington Post 2 Apr. 2015. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/02/lgbt-homicides_n_6993484.html>.