For Immediate Release July 31, 2001 NATIONAL COALITION OF ANTI-VIOLENCE PROGRAMS RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
New York - The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) today released its fifth annual report on domestic violence in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) relationships. The report contained information compiled from 12 agencies serving LGBT and HIV-affected victims of domestic violence in nine regions around the country. There were 4,048 cases of domestic violence documented in the 2000 report, which represented a 29.7% increase from the 3,120 cases recorded in 1999.
Representatives attributed the increase largely to expanded capacity for outreach and service provision at some of the participant agencies. The regions and organizations contributing data to this report include Los Angeles, CA - LA Gay & Lesbian Center STOP Partner Abuse Program; San Francisco, CA - Community United Against Violence, WOMAN, Inc, and Asian Woman's Shelter; Colorado - The Colorado Anti-Violence Program; Chicago, IL - Horizons Anti-Violence Program; Boston, MA - The Violence Recovery Program of Fenway Community Health and The Network/La Red; Minnesota - OutFront Minnesota; New York City - The NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project; Cleveland, OH - The Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center of Greater Cleveland; and Columbus, OH - Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization. The national and local reports were released at these sites today.
Of the victims in the 4,048 cases documented by NCAVP, 47.9% were male and 46.8% were female (the gender of 2.3% of survivors was unspecified). Less than 3% of victims identified as transgender, although NCAVP representatives noted that it is possible that some people who may identify as transgender were included in the male and female categories. The racial/ethnic breakdown of the victims in the cases recorded was, 43.7% white, 15.1% Latino(a), 11.1% African-American, 2.9% Asian/Pacific Islander, and the categories of Arab/Middle Eastern, multiracial, Native American and Jewish each contained <1%-2% of the total.
"These numbers show that while some agencies are able to place greater resources and more successfully reach communities of color and non-English speaking communities, there are still challenges in serving the full diversity of the LGBTH community. This challenge is of particular import to smaller, less resourced agencies serving the community," said Richard Haymes, an NCAVP Board member.
"Clearly this report underscores the need for additional resources to be channeled to agencies serving LGTBH communities across the country," said Rachel Baum, NCAVP's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault National Program Coordinator. "All participating programs are aware that there is an almost unlimited capacity of victims that could be served and with additional resources, both community-specific and mainstream agencies could ensure that services are available to victims in our community," concluded Baum.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) addresses the pervasive problem of violence committed against and within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and HIV-positive communities. NCAVP is a coalition of programs that document and advocate for victims of anti-LGBT and anti-HIV/AIDS violence/harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, police misconduct and other forms of victimization. |
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