A report released last week examined the number and severity of hate crimes experienced by LGBT people in 2013. The numbers remained both high and grim. 2,001 separate attacks were reported, which is up approximately 3 percent from 2012. The number of assaults that involved physical or sexual assault was also up dramatically over the previous year. The number of homicides was down 28% year-over-year, but the number remains one of the highest on record.
LGBTQ people were 1.7 times more likely than others to experience harassment in the workplace. Transgender men were 1.5 times more likely to be injured in an attack and over 4 times more likely to experience harassment and violence in shelters.
The report found that only 45 percent of people reported their incident to the police and that just under a third of those that did reported having hostile interactions with law enforcement.
The reports recommendations included:
- Ending the root causes of anti-LGBTQ and HIV-affected violence through ending poverty and anti-LGBTQ and HIV-affected discrimination.
- Ending the homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic culture that fuels violence.
- Ending police profiling and police violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people.
- Collecting data and expanding research on LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities overall, particularly data and research on LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities’ experiences of violence.
- Increasing funding for LGBTQ and HIV-affected anti-violence support and prevention.
The full report can be read here.
