How Safe Are We?

The recent arrests of suspected gay bashers in connection with the attack on actor Trev Broudy may have relieved many, but a report released by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations revealed an 11% increase over the previous year to 1,013 and the most ever reported in the county since.

The number of reported hate crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation reached 238, or 23% of the total. This was an increase of 9% from 2000. Attacks against gay males dropped from 183 cases to 167, while the number of anti-lesbian crimes went from 26 to 37.

Attacks on transgenders doubled, jumping from eight recorded attacks in 2000, to 16 in 2001. Additionally, there were also 10 sexual orientation hate-crime victims who stated that they were heterosexual. In nine of those cases, the attackers mistakenly perceived their victims as gay.

The Commission and county law enforcement officials say the numbers may be higher, but the reluctance of the transgendered community to report crimes committed against them make the numbers smaller. Marginalized within the LGBT community and society at large, many male-to-female transgenders find themselves victims of gang harassment.

The large number of streetwalking transgendered sex workers in Hollywood and other areas of the country also are prime targets for assailants who know their victims aren’t likely to call the police.