From Chuck Currie:

On April 26, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released a report documenting an 8 percent increase of violent attacks against people who were perceived to be gay or lesbian from 2003 to 2004.

The NCAVP report is derived from victim-assistance groups in just eleven localities. NCAVP says… (emphasis is mine):

Each year, the FBI publishes its own report on hate crimes, which includes anti-LGBT incidents, but it consistently contains information on far fewer cases than the NCAVP publication because it relies on law enforcement reports of such crimes rather than victim service organization data.

Overall, NCAVP’s report noted an 8% increase in reported incidents of anti-LGBT violence. Such incidents rose from 1,720 in 2003 to 1,792 in 2004. Included in rise in incidents for the year, was an 11% increase in anti-LGBT murders, which rose from 18 in 2003 to 20 in 2004. During 2004, the total number of victims rose 4%, from 2,042 in 2003 to 2,131 in 2004. Of the eleven locations included in the report, eight reported increases in incidents. According to the report, the number of anti-LGBT violence offenders rose also rose, by 7%, from 2,467 to 2,637.

NCAVP says the rise in violence is occurring amid a rising backlash against equal rights for gay people, and it his happening at the same time that local, state and federal support for antiviolence programs is diminishing.

I perceive a problem with the data, however, beyond small sample size and underreporting: The press release fails to compare antigay crime rates with each locality’s overall crime rates.

If someone has time to read the full report (PDF files), I welcome feedback. Specifically: How do antigay crime rates compare to overall crime rates in each reporting locality?

Categorized in: