For Immediate Release April 18, 2002 GAY & LESBIAN ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT RELEASES REPORT ON HATE INCIDENTS IN 2001
New York - Today, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP), released its annual report on violence against lesbians, gay men, transgender individuals, and bisexual people. The report contains information, narratives and data on hate-motivated incidents both nationwide and in New York City. The report was also released in eleven other locations across the country that participated in the production of the report.
There were 547 incidents reported to AVP in 2001, down 11% from 2000. There was also an 8% decrease in the number of victims reporting incidents and a 20% drop in offenders. "The continued decline in the number of offenders per incident suggests that New York's LGBT community might be experiencing a reprieve in being targeted for "right of passage" or "gang-initiation" incidents, typically committed by groups of young people," said Richard Haymes, AVP's executive director. "On the other hand, more incidents appear to have been committed by more resolutely anti-LGTB perpetrators of all ages," continued Haymes.
Despite the overall decrease in incidents last year in New York, the total number of New York assaults on LGTB people remained almost constant. There were 279 in 2001 and 280 in 2000, and assaults with weapons actually rose 20% from 74 to 89, led by a 20% increase in the use of firearms. 51% of anti-LGBT incidents in New York now involve assault. Consequently, the number of victims requiring hospitalization rose 10%, from 124 in 2000 to 134 in 2001. With respect to another closely-watched trend in New York, the number of anti-LGBT murders in the city continued to fall. Murders fell 40%, from 5 murders in 2000 to 3 in 2001.
In a trend suspected to have more to do with redeployment of law enforcement resources after the September 11 terrorist attacks rather than a change in police policies, offenses perpetrated by police (police entrapment, unjustified arrests and police raids), decreased 35% overall.
Also of note in the 2001 report was the fact that the number of victims identified as transgender continued to rise. People of transgender experience now represent 13% of victims reporting bias incidents to AVP. Additionally, while the proportion of victims reporting anti-LGBT incidents who identified as lesbian or gay fell from 86% to 80%, the number and proportion of those identifying as heterosexual continued to rise from 61 in 2000 to 94 in 2001, a 54% increase. "The continued rise in heterosexual victims points to a central tenet of anti-LGBT bias: victims are chosen on the basis of what the perpetrator believes the victim's sexual orientation to be," concluded Haymes.
Racially and ethnically, the largest category of victims were white (44%); latina/o victims made up the next largest group (26%), with African-Americans forming the next largest (20%). There was an almost equal distribution in the three largest categories of race for reported offenders: African-American, 29%, white, 22%, latina/o, 22%. Offenders were also most likely to be between the ages of 23 and 44. However, there was an 11% rise in those under 18, mirroring a rise in the number of victims in the same age
category. (from 147 to 163); this group now forms 18% of all known
offenders.
In what may prove to be a change in the complexion of many bias-related incidents, the relationship of offenders to their victims in 2001 showed significant rises in categories that indicate a preexisting relationship: employer or coworker (+58%), lover or partner (+25%), relative or family (+4%). Coupled with the rise in incidents occurring in homes and the workplace is an indication that there may be an increasing danger for LGBT people in "daily-life" situations, in environments in which most people would assume a guaranteed level of safety. This is contrary to the general belief and historical experience of attacks predominantly perpetrated by strangers at locations associated with gay social life such as outside gay bars, near community centers, in gay neighborhoods, etc. Thirty-one percent of all offenders are now someone the client more than likely already knew.
AVP's report also briefly describes the effect of the September 11 terrorist attack on the World trade Center and its aftermath on the agency and the city's LGBT community. Twenty-three LGBT people are known to have been killed in the attack, and AVP offered trauma counseling to many of their partners, friends and relatives. AVP also received reports from and provided assistance to 59 other LGBT people directly affected by the attack. Additionally, similar to national findings, New York showed a 14% decrease in average monthly reports of non-World Trade Center-related bias-related incidents between September and November 2001.
The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) is the nation's largest service agency for victims of bias crimes against the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected communities. For twenty years, AVP has provided counseling and advocacy for thousands of victims of bias-motivated violence as well as for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. AVP documents incidents of bias-motivated violence, educates the public about violence against or within our communities, and works to reform public policies impacting all lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected people.
AVP provides free and confidential assistance to crime victims through our 24-hour bilingual hotline (212-714-1141).
Please visit our Publications Section of our Website (www.avp.org) to download a copy of the report
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