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 Study: Anti-Gay Hate Crimes Widespread
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 29, 2007 - 12:00 pm ET
(Davis, California) Nearly four in 10 gay men and about one in eight lesbians and
bisexuals in the United States have been the target of violence or a property
crime because of their sexual orientation, according to a new study.
"This is the most reliable estimate
to date of the prevalence of anti-gay victimization in the United States,"
said University of California, Davis, psychology professor Gregory Herek who conducted
the study.
"The data demonstrate that crimes against sexual minority
adults, especially gay men, are disturbingly widespread."
Herek's findings were based on a survey
he conducted in the fall of 2005 with a nationally representative sample of 662
self-identified gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. The study will be published in
a future issue of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Overall, 21 percent of the people in the
survey reported being the victim of violence or a property crime -- including
physical assault, sexual assault, theft and vandalism -- because of their sexual
orientation.
In addition, 49 percent said they had been verbally abused because
of their sexual orientation, 23 percent reported being threatened with violence,
12.5 percent reported having objects thrown at them, and 11 percent reported
housing or job discrimination.
The total exceeds 100 percent because some
individuals reported being the target of multiple attacks.
"These data highlight the
continuing need for criminal justice programs to prevent and deter anti-gay
crimes, as well as the need for victim services that will help to alleviate the
physical, economic, social and psychological consequences of such crimes,"
Herek said.
The study found significantly different
rates of victimization among gay men, lesbians and bisexuals.
More than a third
of the gay men said they had experienced violence or property crime because of
their sexual orientation, or about three times the proportion of lesbians and
bisexuals.
Gay men also reported the highest rates of harassment and verbal
abuse. And gay men and lesbians reported two to four times more housing and job
discrimination than bisexuals.
The disparities persisted after Herek controlled
statistically for age, race, ethnicity and education he said.
"Men are generally more likely than
women to be the targets of most kinds of violent crime, and this pattern seems
to hold in anti-gay hate crimes as well," Herek said.
"The gay men and
lesbians in the study were much more likely than the bisexual men and women to
be open about their sexual orientation. Their greater visibility probably also
makes them easier targets for discrimination than bisexuals."
Survey respondents were randomly
selected from a panel of more than 40,000 U.S. households maintained by
Knowledge Networks, a survey research firm.
The firm recruits panel members via
standard telephone sampling methods; in return for regularly completing online
surveys, the panel members receive free Internet equipment and access.
Previous studies of anti-gay hate crimes
have relied on samples that were smaller or not representative of the U.S.
population, Herek reported.
In the new study, survey respondents had
an average age of 39. Most had attended some college. Two thirds were white, 16
percent black and 12.5 percent Hispanic.
Data collection for the study was
supported by a grant from the Gill Foundation, a Denver-based organization that
supports equal opportunities for people regardless of sexual orientation or
gender expression.
Legislation that would add gays and lesbians to
the categories included under federal hate crime law is currently before
Congress.
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention
Act passed the House last month and is pending in the Senate.
The White House has threatened to veto the
measure if it passes.
©365Gay.com 2007
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