NCJ Number
176195
Date Published
1997
Length
87 pages
Annotation
This report describes trends in violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) persons, based on information provided by participating programs that use the same intake forms, definitions, and criteria for documenting these incidents.
Abstract
The discussion notes that the 1995 report of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs predicted an increase in this kind of violence for 1996 based on the expectation of escalating anti-LGBT rhetoric during the election campaigns, the fervor surrounding the possibility of the legalization of same-sex marriages, and the possibility that the United States Supreme Court would decide on Colorado's Amendment 2. The analysis revealed that anti-LGBT violence increased nationally by 6 percent in 1996. The increase contrasts sharply with the decreases in all forms of violent crime in most localities. The intensity of the violence against LGBT peesons increased, as did the number of offenders. Twenty-five percent of the bias-related incidents occurred in public places, 22 percent occurred in or around a victim's private residence, and 13 percent occurred in the workplace. The rate of reporting incidents to the police increased to 40 percent in 1996, compared to an estimated reporting rate of 48 percent for all crime. Tables, footnotes, and appended background information and tables