NEW YORK -- Hate crimes against LGBT people are down in the U.S., but the 22 murders are the second-highest annual total over a 10-year period.

Details are documented in “Hate Violence Against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Communities in the United States in 2009,” a report released Tuesday by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Of the 22 murders in 2009, half of those were transgender women.

The number of hate crimes reported were 1,556 in 2009, compared to 1,670 in 2008, a decrease of 7 percent.

The number of survivors and victims were 2,181 in 2009, compared to 2,465 in 2008, a decrease of 12 percent.

The number of hate-crime offenders were 1,623 in 2009, compared to 2,550 in 2008, a decrease of 38 percent.

In 2009, the highest monthly incident rate was in October, when the federal hate crimes law was expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.

Though the total reported injuries in 2009 declined, 51 percent (179) of those injuries were reported to be “serious,” up from 46 percent in 2008.

The report also found that firearms were used in 19 percent of 2009 incidents, up from 14 percent in 2008.

Who were the offenders? Strangers made up 40 percent of the attackers, comparable to the year before. Employers and co-workers (12 percent), law enforcement officers (6 percent) and service providers (4 percent) were the other major offenders in 2009.

Recommendations for policymakers

1. Increase local, state and federal funding for anti-violence work; maintain and enhance private donor support for community-led initiatives

1.1. Increase governmental support for community-based, LGBTQ-focused anti-violence solutions and strategies

1.2. Include LGBTQ people as “under-served populations” in all local, state and federal anti-violence funding streams

1.3. Maintain and enhance private funding for LGBTQ community-led anti-violence work

2. Expand the efficacy of the criminal legal system; support restorative justice strategies

2.1. Provide rehabilitation & alternatives to incarceration, including restorative justice

2.2. Prohibit the “gay” and “trans panic” defenses

2.3. Increase meaningful police training for response to LGBTQ-specific violence; deter and remedy police violence against LGBTQ
communities

2.4. Reform sexual assault laws to end silence and stigma around LGBTQ sexual assault

3. Pass preventative federal legislation and regulations

3.1. Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; ensure full inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity

3.2. Implement standards for the Prison Rape Elimination Act; enhance protections for incarcerated LGBTQ people

4. Create a climate of respect that shuns violence

4.1. Foster public awareness of the rights of LGBTQ people to safety and well-being

4.2. Support school-based LGBTQ initiatives and LGBTQ-inclusive curricula

4.3. Provide institutional support for proactive prevention and de-escalation strategies in community-based settings

5. Enhance governmental and institutional support for researching and reporting anti-LGBTQ hate violence and include LGBTQ people in on-going research

5.1. Fund comprehensive research to document the prevalence and impact of anti-LGBTQ violence in the U.S. and examine intervention and prevention strategies

Recommendations for survivors and victims, service providers and community organizers

1. Organize communities to respond to and prevent hate violence

1.1. Consider, explore and practice emerging community-based response models that do not engage with law enforcement, including transformative justice

1.2. Utilize the Community Rapid Incident Response Guide

1.3. Work to develop funding strategies based in the needs of LGBTQ community stakeholders

2. Build cross-movement alliances

2.1. Engage with diverse community groups to broaden analyses, deepen tactics and strengthen movements around intersectional experiences and connections

3. Create safe and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ survivors and victims,
especially traditionally marginalized community members

3.1. Create LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs

3.2. Expand the competency of non-LGBTQ specific anti-violence programs to address LGBTQ-specific victim and survivor needs through training, education and technical assistance

3.3. Reassess conventional definitions of “safety” and recognize the negative impacts of prisons and policing

4. Expand the range of services, options and leadership positions available to
survivors

4.1. Make non-traditional direct service models available to LGBTQ
people

4.2. Utilize creative and expansive advocacy tactics

4.3. Promote the leadership of LGBTQ survivors of violence

About this report

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) authored this report in order to document, analyze and challenge the pervasive and consistent pattern of hate-related violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in 2009. This annual report is the most comprehensive compilation of data and narratives of LGBTQ survivors and victims of hate violence in the United States. Drawing upon member expertise, this report advances strategies for education and prevention as well as recommendations for accountability and safety in responding to violence. In coalition, NCAVP members develop the education and response tools best suited to their local and regional needs and settings. Collectively, NCAVP has evolved a set of programs and campaigns designed to work toward our goal of ending violence against LGBTQ people. Many of these tactics and recommendations are contained within the body of this report; others take the form of the broad spectrum of direct services, community organizing and legislative advocacy employed by NCAVP‟s membership.