Queer Hate Murders Reached an All-Time High in 2017
Addison Herron-Wheeler is OUT FRONT's co-publisher and editor-in-chief and friend…
A recently-released report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project, titled A Crisis of Hate, shows that hate crimes against queer folks are still at an all-time high.
Anti-LGBTQ homicides have increased by 86% from 2016 to 2017. 52 queer people in total are known to have been murdered because of how they identify. This is the highest number yet recorded by the NCAVP, and of course, it doesn’t take into account any queer hate murders that were not discovered or reported correctly.
Of these homicides, over 70% of victims were people of color, and trans women of color were an especially targeted demographic. The homicide rate for cisgender men who identify as gay or bi also went up 500%, from four in 2016 to 20 last year.
“Our communities live in an increasingly hostile and dangerous climate, after a year of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies coming from the White House, federal government agencies, state and local sources, and in our communities across the country,” Beverly Tillery, Executive Director of the Anti-Violence Project, told New Now Next. “We must bring more attention and action to deal with this epidemic of violence and work across all of our diverse communities to protect those most vulnerable.”
These numbers are incredibly concerning, and even more reason to band together, watch each other’s backs, and make for a brighter 2018 despite the current climate.
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Addison Herron-Wheeler is OUT FRONT's co-publisher and editor-in-chief and friend to dogs everywhere. She enjoys long walks in the darkness away from any sources of sunlight, rainy days, and painfully dry comedy. She also covers cannabis and heavy metal, and is author of Wicked Woman: Women in Metal from the 1960s to Now and Respirator, a short story collection.