November 19, 2007
FBI RELEASES DATA SHOWING 18% INCREASE IN ANTI-LGB HATE CRIMES
Data Released as Anti-Violence Project Prepares to Hold 11th Annual Courage Awards
New York – As
staff, volunteers, community members, and supporters of the New York City Gay
and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project prepare to spend the evening honoring the work
of some of those who have made a significant impact on the lives of lesbian,
gay, transgender and bisexual people in New York and beyond, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation today released its annual statistics on hate crimes across the
nation.
The FBI data contains
information on 7,722 hate crimes submitted by local law enforcement agencies
across the nation, and includes information on 1,195 incidents in which the
perpetrators’ motivating factor was the victims’ actual or perceived sexual
orientation an 18% increase in such incidents from the FBI's 2005
report.
As in years past, the FBI
statistics on anti-lesbian, gay and bisexual incidents (the FBI does not collect
statistics on anti-transgender violence) continue to fall far short of the
number of incidents tracked by the Anti-Violence Project or its national
coalition, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), which
recorded 1,393 incidents in only twelve regions across the nation – more than
half of which involved criminal offenses. The Anti-Violence Project
recorded 486 in the New York Metropolitan Area in 2006, while the FBI reported
only 86 incidents in all of New York State.
Clarence Patton,
Executive Director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project
stated, "It appears that some improvement has been made in some areas of law
enforcement collection of hate crime data and reporting that data to the FBI;
however, we are concerned, particularly when looking at the dramatic increase in
the number of anti-lesbian, gay and bisexual incidents reported - though the
overall number of reports captured by the FBI rose only 8%, the number of
reports impacting our communities rose at more than twice that
rate."
"We are also continually
disappointed in the overall lack of real data on hate violence and hate crimes,"
continued Patton. "Obviously, we and our sister programs across the
country have far fewer resources than the federal government, but year after
year we consistently report more, and more detailed information on hate crimes
against LGBT people. It is essential that all of us - community advocates,
service providers, and law enforcement - work together to address this issue; we
can start by requiring that all law enforcement agencies submit data on hate
crimes. None of us even have a solid picture of the scope of the problem,
but we can all agree that it's much worse than what's borne out in either our
statistics or certainly the FBI's data," added Patton.
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The Courage Awards are the Anti-Violence Project's annual awards dinner
honoring those who have made a significant impact on the lives of lesbian, gay,
transgender and bisexual people. It is the organization's largest
fundraising vehicle and this year's event has 350 confirmed attendees, and is
being held tonight, November 11, 2007 at Gotham Hall in
Manhattan.
The 2007 Courage Awards recipients
are:
New York State
Assembly Member Daniel J. O’Donnell who is receiving an award for his dedication
to addressing issues of violence as they affect lesbian, gay, transgender,
bisexual and HIV-affected individuals around the State of New York. His
remarkable endeavors have made a lasting impact on both the organization and the
community at-large.
Ms. Verna
Eggleston, Former Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources
Administration and Executive Director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, now with
the Bloomberg Family Foundation will also be honored. Throughout her career she
has created and expanded programs and funding that have served to improve the
lives of people in New York, particularly LGTB and HIV-affected and at-risk
young people.
In addition, the
Anti-Violence Project will pay tribute to Sundance Channel, which through
innovative and inclusive programming, has expanded the visibility of the LGTB
community and sought to broaden the scope of positive images of LGTB people on
network television.
___________
In 2006, the Anti-Violence Project served over 2,000 victims of violence. The Anti-Violence Project's Safe Dating and Internet Safe Dating Tips, as well as annual reports on hate and domestic violence can be accessed online at http://www.avp.org/ or by calling 212-714-1184.
The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project is the nation's largest service agency for victims of bias crimes against the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected communities. Since 1980, the Anti-Violence Project has provided counseling and advocacy for tens of thousands of survivors of bias-motivated and domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. The Anti-Violence Project 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.
The Anti-Violence Project provides free and confidential assistance to crime victims through its 24-hour bilingual hotline (212-714-1141).
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