There’s an epidemic of LGBTQ hate violence. Here's how you can curb it.
When it comes to hate violence impacting the LGBTQ community in 2016, there's little good news. But there are ways you can have an impact moving forward.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released its annual report on Monday detailing what the last year looked like for the safety and well-being of LGBTQ and HIV-affected people. The results are jarring—and an essential call-to-action.
Unfortunately, 2016 was the deadliest year on record for the LGBTQ community in the 20 years the report has existed.
A total of 77 homicides of LGBTQ and HIV-affected were reported in 2016, including the mostly Latinx LGBTQ people killed in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in June 2016. LGBTQ people of color, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people made up the majority of homicides within the community.
The report was released on the one year mark of the Pulse shooting—the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history— which added 49 deaths to 2016's homicide toll. Even excluding deaths associated with the Pulse massacre, there was a 17 percent increase in homicides of LGBTQ people from 2015.
The three main forms of violence encountered by LGBTQ people in 2016 were verbal harassment (20 percent), threats and intimidation (17 percent), and online or mobile harassment (13 percent). The majority of hate violence survivors surveyed—a sizeable 60 percent—identified as LGBTQ people of color.
Notably, of the LGBTQ people who interacted with the police in 2016, 66 percent said that police were indifferent or hostile toward them. Though many inferred their LGBTQ identity played a role in the tense interactions, many queer people reporting tense interactions were black LGBTQ individuals, following along with the current critique of racism in law enforcement.
"We want people to move beyond the numbers of violence and start taking action."
The uptick in violence toward LGBTQ people is perhaps not a surprise, given the dramatic shift in the social and political climate of the U.S. in 2016. NCAVP says that the organization has seen an increase in people reaching out for support and resources since the candidacy and election of President Donald Trump, a man who was elected on a platform rampant with hateful rhetoric.
"Many LGBTQ people are fearful that people who hold bias beliefs will feel legitimized by seeing their beliefs being enacted into policies and political actions at the highest levels of our government," said Emily Waters, senior manager of national research and policy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. "Efforts to pass discriminatory legislation and actions that would decrease the rights of LGBTQ people in housing, healthcare, education, and public accommodations target the exact places where LGBTQ people are reporting experiencing violence."
An essential part of the report is a call to action by NCAVP to mobilize around LGBTQ rights and acceptance, which is the only way to shift the tide. In the report, the organization includes suggested tweets that people can use to bring attention to especially notable statistics as well as shareable graphics to amplify the report's findings.
"Hate crimes legislation alone will not address the many ways homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and other forms of oppression play out in our communities, in our workplaces, schools, and homes every day," Waters said. "We want people to move beyond the numbers of violence and start taking action."
Here's a few ways NCAVP suggests taking action against LGBTQ hate violence:
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Topics LGBTQ Social Good
Katie Dupere was a Social Good reporter at Mashable from May 2015 to July 2017, covering activism, identities and social impact. Prior to her work with Mashable, Katie penned pieces about queerness, body positivity, sex and relationships for Gurl. She also previously contributed LGBTQ news coverage to PinkNews.
