Murders of LGBT people increased a massive 86% in 2017
There's been a huge rise in anti-LGBT homicides since 2016
There has been a huge increase in the rate of LGBT+ homicides within the last year, a study has found.
A new report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) revealed that 52 LGBT+ people were killed in the United States last year.
This means there’s been an 86% increase compared to the 28 homicides in 2016, averaging out to around one LGBT+ murder a week.
However, the NCAVP’s report only counts single incidents and doesn’t include the Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 people in 2016.
According to Telesurtv, the report reveals a steadily rising number of homicides of transgender women of colour. Last year, 71% of the victims were people of colour: 31 (60%) were black, four (8%) were Latinx, two (4%) were Asian and one (2%) was Native.
Along with this, 12 (23%) of the victims were white and two victims’ racial and ethnic identity remains unknown to NCAVP.
The report, entitled ‘A Crisis of Hate’, found that 67% of the victims were aged 35 and under and that guns were used in over half (59%) of all homicides in 2017, including three people who were shot and killed by police.
Over half of the homicides occurred in just five states. New York and Texas saw the most anti-LGBT homicides, with seven and six victims. Georgia had five victims while both Louisiana and Florida had four victims.
According to the report, almost half of all cases were related to hooking up online or through personal ads, and almost half of all victims were killed by a stranger or “pick-up”.
The study also claimed there was a trend in cisgender men using social sites to target queer, bi or gay cisgender men.