New York –
Today, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) participated in the release of an annual report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) 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 the New York region.
There were 648 incidents reported to AVP in 2003, up 26% from 2002. There were also startling increases of 29% and 23% in victims and offenders. In addition, the number of anti-LGBT homicides rose 80%, from 5 in 2002 to 9 in 2003.
Despite the sizeable annual increases charted by the agency, more significant and troubling according to AVP representatives was a 43% increase in anti-LGBT incidents and a 53% increase in victims of hate violence in the final six months of the year when compared with the same period the prior year. "Clearly, this community came under siege at unprecedented levels in the last half of 2003," said Richard Haymes, AVP's Executive Director.
"At the end of June when the US Supreme Court rendered its decision striking down sodomy laws across the country, we predicted that it would be an alarm bell for the bigots that perpetrate violence against this community; however, even we could not have predicted the extent to which LGBT people would be targeted," continued Haymes. "Beyond the court decision, LGBT people were visible to an extent not seen before both on popular television shows and in the nation's news reports as the fight over same-sex marriage began, and it is a certainty that increased visibility for our community means increased risk for violence," said Haymes.
The report also offers information on the demographics of victims and offenders, crimes and offenses, police response and general location of incidents. African-Americans were the group with the largest increase in numbers in 2003, with 63 additional victims from that demographic group – a 49% increase. Latino/a victims also showed a sharp increase of 16%, or 25 more victims than in 2002. With respect to offenders, Latinos/as led in increases with 75 additional perpetrators – a 51% increase, followed closely by a rise of 67 African-American offenders, or 26%. AVP representatives noted that increases in both categories of offender were fairly consistent with the rises seen in victims from those same groups.
Almost all categories of crimes and offenses tracked by the agency showed substantial increases. Some of the most closely watched categories beyond murder included assault (+13%), sexual assault or rape (+16%), and harassment (+24%). Additionally, weapons use rose 8%, led by a 50% increase in the use of firearms and a 47% increase in the use of bats, clubs or other blunt objects.
The numbers of victims who chose to report incidents to the police rose 17%; and positively, the number of arrests made by police in response to those reports rose 24%, and the number of incidents classified as being bias-related – a long-standing area of contention between AVP and the NYPD, rose 53%. One very troubling finding in the report's police response information was the slight (from 3 to 9) rise in physical abuse suffered by victims at the hands of law enforcement personnel, and the 11% increase in police attitudes characterized as 'indifferent' by victims.
"Clearly, there is still much work to be done between our community and the NYPD generally, however, our relationship with the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is remarkably improved, particularly given some of the historical problems we've had," said Basil Lucas, AVP's Hate Violence Program Coordinator. "There is almost daily communication, and I believe that not only is our staff's level of confidence in the work and commitment of the HCTF higher, but our clients are finally seeing and benefiting from some of the efforts at improving police response to hate violence survivors," said Lucas.
With the exception of Staten Island, there were increases in all of the five boroughs. Incidents increased 75% in The Bronx (from 36 to 63), 37% in Brooklyn (from 90 to 123), 18% in Manhattan (from 265 to 315), and 28% in Queens (from 50 to 64). Reports of incidents on Staten Island remained steady at 13 for the year, but rose 100% in the year's final six months.
AVP is planning a number of community forums with community leaders and organizations that focus on anti-LGBT violence around the City in the coming months, the first of which is to be held in Harlem later this spring. PDFs of the NCAVP Hate Violence Report with detailed information on anti-LGBT violence in the New York region and nationally is available at www.avp.org, or by calling 212-714-1184, x55.
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 nearly twenty-five years, AVP has provided counseling and advocacy for thousands of victims of bias-motivated violence as well as for survivors of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. AVP documents incidents of violence against and within LGTB communities, educates the public about the effects of 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).
