Hate violence targeting LGBT people is on the rise nationally, according to a newly-released report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). Crimes in San Diego, by contrast, remain relatively unchanged.
NCAVP released its annual Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010 report last week. The coalition collected data from 17 anti-violence programs in 15 states across the country including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin. San Diego was not part of their statistics.
NCAVP documented a 13 percent increase in hate violence in the past year, as well as a much greater increase in the severity of violence. There were 27 murders in 2010, the second highest yearly total ever recorded.
“This increase in murders signals a pattern of severe, ongoing violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities,” said Jake Finney from L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
“Transgender individuals and people of color face multiple forms of discrimination on the basis of race, gender identity and other factors, which can make them more vulnerable to severe violence,” said Maria Carolina Morales from Community United Against Violence in San Francisco, Calif.
By comparison, local figures obtained from the San Diego Police Dept. show an increase from 47 hate crimes in 2009 to 49 in 2010. Of those, the percentage of crimes based on sexual orientation changed from 36 percent in 2009 (17 incidents) to 40 percent in 2010 (20 incidents). Those figures are down from 2008, which had 58 hate crimes reported.
San Diego Officer Daniel Meyer, LGBT liaison to the chief’s office, said it is difficult to compare data to national studies because San Diego is considered one of the safest cities in the U.S. The two other California cities included in the NCAVP study were San Francisco, which reported 213 crimes in 2010 (65 percent increase from 2009), and Los Angeles, which reported 644 crimes in 2010 (13 percent increase from 2009).
“In this city, I think we are at the forefront in this country of dealing with hate crimes, listening to the public and their concerns and doing a lot of education with the public to help the public understand what a hate crime is. We aggressively investigate and prosecute those hate crimes,” Meyer said. “For some of those reasons, you’re probably seeing a lot (of hate crimes) elsewhere.”
The key to evaluating hate violence in San Diego, Meyer said, is to have victims report the crimes. Some residents are afraid to talk to the police.
“We’re really trying to encourage the public to come forward with these crimes and report them so we can investigate them,” Meyer said. “Our officers are well trained. We have diversity training. We are sensitive to people and their feelings.”
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities. To review the complete report, log on to avp.org.
