just out ▼ aprii 1902 ▼ 9
national news
THE
PET
Homophobic hate SET
crime
report
Grim data documents a rising tide of homophobic hate crimes
by Katrin Snow
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ay and lesbian organizations around and lesbian individuals,” said Kane. “They rely
the country released grim data re on stereotypes of us which therefore lead people
cently documenting a rising tide of to believe we should be hated and also therefore
homophobic hate crimes. According we should be attacked.”
Donna Red Wing, executive director of the
to Robin Kane, Public Information
Lesbian
Manager of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Community Project, charged the Oregon
Force Policy Institute, antigay violence around Citizens Alliance with fueling hate crimes in the
the nation went up 31 percent in 1991. “As the gay state by mounting a ballot measure campaign that
and lesbian community becomes more politically would declare homosexuality perverse and ab
active, which is necessary in order to gain civil normal under the Oregon Constitution.
rights, ” Kane said, “it also becomes a more v isible
“If you believe a person is a danger to your
children, it’s easy to hurt that person,” said Red
target for those who hate us.”
The task force released information on a total Wing. “If you believe a person carries disease and
of 1,812 incidents of violence in Five large U.S. pestilence, it’s easy to deny him [or her]. And if
cities-New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/ you believe a person is perverse and abnormal,
St. Paul, and San Francisco. Kane says the rise it’s easy to ignore their pain.”
According to the police bureau and some
doesn’t reflect just higher reporting rates. Al
though statistics often jump when new antivio- hotline workers, most perpetrators of hate vio
lence programs open, those five cities operate lence are individuals, not organized bigots. But
well-established programs. Minneapolis/St Paul Scot Nakagawa, program coordinator for the
endured the sharpest rise, a 202 percent increase Coalition for Human Dignity, said white suprema
in homophobic violence.
cists are responsible for a small, violent, and
Portland’s Lesbian Community Project (LCP) influential number of hate crimes. “Organized
installed the Homophobic Violence Reporting white supremacists become significant because
Lineiast July and in six weeks logged as many they use homophobia to recruit members,” said
incidents of homophobic violence as the state of Nakagawa. “Their extreme acts of violence give
Oregon reported for the entire year in 1990. The the green light to others with bigoted sentiments.”
Homophobic Violence Reporting Line and Docu
Red Wing estimated 75 percent of people
mentation Project is an effort to document antigay reporting to LCP won’t ever report to the police.
and antilesbian crimes that generally have not “I think a lot of that has to do with OCA stuff,” she
been reported to the police, largely because of the said. “People don’t want their name on a report
long-standing mistrust between the police and the that shows they’re queer.” Fear of being labeled
gay community.
“gay” in police files, fear they’ll become victims
Both Portland’s gay community and its police a second time if employers or others find out
department say the Homophobic Violence Re they’re gay, and a history of police disrespect
porting Line is helping improve relations between squelch the voices of lesbian and gay crime vic
them and will present a more accurate picture to tims. Gays and lesbians are probably the most
the public of antigay violence. The numbers frequent targets of hate crime perpetrators, ac
indicate that the level of violence in Portland is a cording to a 1987 Justice Department report, but
little more than half that in Boston and Chicago. gay-bias crimes, while rapidly rising in numbers,
From July through December, there were 83 inci are still vastly underreported nationwide. The
dents targeting 114 individuals. Eleven of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force annual
perpetrators were women, 80 were men.
survey of gay-bias crimes in six major cities
Of victims who identified their sexual orienta found a 42 percent increase in 1990over 1989 and
tion, there were 48 lesbians, 24 gay men, one six times the number of reports to gay victim
bisexual, and one straight woman. Nationwide, assistance organizations as to police.
Captain Roberta Webber, who heads the Port
of the 2,117 victims of homophobic attacks, 77
percent were men, 21 percent were women, and 2 land Police Bureau’s bias crimes unit, said she
knew some people who report to the hotline will
percent were gender unknown.
LCP’s report includes descriptions of the not report to police and are afraid of what police
will do with the information, but said she’s en
crimes. A sample:
>A white man on a bus started talking about couraged by the number who do. “One day alone
“faggots,” how they “could learn a lot from the a couple of weeks ago, I got two phone calls from
OCA,” and “I ain’t scared of no fucking faggot." people who had just reported to the hotline and
>Two lesbians were harassed by four drunk, called to report to the police bureau, and that’s
loud heterosexual men, who said, “You look like very encouraging.”
Webber said general information from the
a big fucking dyke to me, you make me sick, you
fucking dyke,” and loudly talked about their pe- hotline can be helpful to police, even without
nises. One grabbed his penis and pissed on the having a victim report, by letting them know if
areas of town become frequent locations of antigay
sidewalk.
>Two gay men were accosted by two hetero attacks. The report includes eight charges of inad
sexual men who said, “You’re fags, aren’t you?” equate police response and one incident of verbal
and then began hitting them, knocking one to the abuse by a police officer. Webber said the charges
would be investigated.
ground.
Lesbian and gay activists said fighting the
>A woman riding a bike was harassed by four
heterosexual men in a car. “Is that a man or a violence means that politicians have to speak out
dyke? Does she have tits and a pussy? Let’s see!” in support of civil rights statutes and hate crimes
Two of the men then got out of the car and chased laws including sexual orientation. Currently,
qply five states and 90 cities or counties include
her until she lost them by going into a park.
Kane said antigay political campaigns and sexual orientation in civil rights statutes. Twenty
homophobia in the nation’s culture fuel hate states, including Oregon, and about 11 cities or
crimes. "What they do is, they rely on stereotypes counties now cover sexual orientation in hate
of gay and lesbian people, not true images of gay crimes statutes.
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