The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has a new report: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-Affected Hate Violence in 2013.
The report says that 55% of LGBTQ and HIV+ people are assault survivors.
Out of all groups surveyed by NCAVP transgender women (especially transgender women of color) are most likely to be homicide victims. Transgender women and transgender people of color are also the most likely to be victims of police brutality. Transgender women and transgender people of color are six times more likely to experience physical violence from police officers as a general LGBTQ person.
Only 24% of hate violence incidents reported by LGBTQ people were classified by police as bias crimes in 2013. In 2012 77% of hate violence incidents report by LGBTQ people were classified as bias crimes by police.
Immigration status is also an important factor. Immigrant LGBTQ and HIV+ survivors were 3.4 times as likely to experience sexual violence.
In the nation's capital Michael Phillips, 36, of Fairmount Heights, MD, who pleaded guilty in March to assault with a deadly weapon with hate crime enhancement, has been sentenced.
On January 27 Phillips encountered a transgender woman and her friends in a NE Washington convenience store. He objected to the transgender woman's expression of her gender, so he made some derogatory remarks about her, which generated a verbal battle before he took out his handgun and and struck the victim several times in the face (which is called "pistol whipping"). On Monday Phillips was sentenced to 28 months in prison. In addition Judge Robert I. Richter sentenced Phillips to three years of supervised probation upon his release from prison.
Upon seeing the victim and her friends walk into the store, Phillips stated words to the effect of, "Let me see who’s the real bitch here." He then pointed at the victim and made a derogatory remark about her sexuality. When the victim told Phillips to leave her alone, Phillips stated words to the effect of "Well you wasn’t born no female."
--US Attorney's office report
In 2013
there were 12 bias-related crimes based on gender identity in DC and 31 bias-related crimes based on sexual orientation. As on May 31 the totals this year are 4 and 14.
And we have an update to the story out of Anaheim. Investigators into the suspicious death of transgender activist Zoraida Reyes, whose body was found behind a Dairy Queen in Anaheim, say the body was likely moved to that site post-mortem. Cause of death has yet to be determined.
It is likely she didn’t pass away where she was found. Until we find out what the cause of death was we won’t know for certain what it means.
--Lt. Bob Dunn, spokesman for the Anaheim Police department
One final thing. As Horace noted this morning,
Terror from the Right: LA Transgender Pride theater evacuated due to bomb threat, someone objected to a festival of transgender films in Los Angeles during Trans Pride 2014. Because Freedom of Assembly is an actual
human right and...you know...