Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ+ People Are the Highest in a Decade

Hate crimes have risen in the last year according to a study released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The nonpartisan research and policy institution said that in 2018, hate crimes rose 9%in major U.S. cities that they studied. And this change comes while crime overall in major cities has declined.

This latest increase is the fifth consecutive increase in hate crimes year over year in the United States. According to the study "the most common victims for hate crimes reported to police in major cities in 2018 were African Americans, Jews, and Gays, but Whites and Jews experienced the biggest percentage increase.

To combat this, 47 states as well as other U.S. territories like the Virgin Islands, D.C., and Puerto Rico all have hate crime laws. That said, of those states, less than 36 apply to LGBTQ+ people specifically. And this is important.

This year alone, 12 Black trans women have been murdered. Of this number, 10 of the women were killed with a gun.

Preliminary numbers for 2019 show increases with the partial data that is available. That said, according to the report, those increases will likely erode by the end of the year.

The report also says that "for the first time, a slight majority of hate crime victims now report to the police." In the past, victims may not have reported due to fear of rejection, and of being ignored, or even out of fear that they themselves may be questioned and in some way accosted by police. While this still continues, there have been some efforts made that have allowed victims to feel more comfortable in reporting crimes to authorities.