NCJ Number
214705
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 323-337
Date Published
June 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This review of 1,538 hate crimes committed in Los Angeles County, CA, compared the characteristics of such crimes against gays and lesbians with those committed against other victim categories.
Abstract
The findings show that of the 1,538 hate crimes cases reported to the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, 551 (35.8 percent) were classified as motivated by bias toward homosexuals; 52.7 percent were classified as based in racial/ethnic bias; and 11.1 percent were motivated by religious bias. Gay men were victims of 30 percent of hate crimes committed between 1994 and the end of 1995. Offenses against homosexuals involved assault, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking. The severity of violence involved was greater for homosexual victims than other victims of hate crimes, and the impairment to the victim's functioning was greater. When more violent forms of aggression were involved, gay and lesbian victims tended not to report the crime to police. Being a female and of a minority race/ethnicity were also related to not reporting the crime to police among homosexual victims. Having multiple minority characteristics placed individuals at greater risk of both the frequency and severity of hate crime victimization. Victims of racial/ethnic and religiously motivated hate crime reported the offense to police rather than an advocacy community-based organization in nearly all cases. The comparatively low percentage of hate crimes against homosexuals reported to police suggests that police must do more to establish their credibility with community support groups for homosexuals. The study included 1,538 hate crimes reported to the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission for the years 1994 and 1995. Each case was coded for victim and offender demographic information and reporting to police, the impact of the offense on the daily functioning of the victim, and the severity of the crime. 4 tables and 26 references