Hate Crime Stats: Gay Men, Jews Are Most Vulnerable Reported Target Groups

[Bluebear]

According to the latest FBI stats, gay men and Jews are more likely to be targeted in reported hate crimes than any other group, per capita. (This information should be taken as very preliminary, because hate crimes are not consistently reported as such.)

Of the 9,691 reported hate crime victims and survivors, 1,145 were targeted for being Jewish. This means that last year, an average Jewish person in the United States had a 1 in 5,990 chance of being the victim or survivor of a reported hate crime.

Approximately 981 victims or survivors were identified as gay men, and another 466 identified as gay or lesbian without a specified gender. (198 were specifically identified as lesbian.) If we assume that half of the non-gender-specified victims of homophobic violence were male (which seems conservative given the ratio of gay male victims and survivors vs. lesbian victims and survivors), then we arrive at a figure of 1,214 reported gay male victims or survivors. If we rely on the traditional estimate of 2 million gay men in the U.S. population, then an average gay man had a 1 in 1,647 chance of being targeted in a reported hate crime last year--higher than any other identifiable group.

But any information regarding the vulnerability of gay men to hate crimes should come with asterisks: Hate crimes are underreported (especially if the victim or survivor is closeted), the estimate on the number of gay men in the general population is almost certainly low (does anyone really believe that only 1 in 75 American men are gay?), and 2008 statistics do not yet reflect crimes motivated by gender identity bias, a category added by the recently-passed Shepard-Byrd Act.

http://civilliberty.about.com/b/2009/11/30/hate-crimes-and-probability.htm

[Firstzar]

1. Homophobes and antisemites

That's two-thirds of the Republican base right there!

[Nikki Stone1]

2. K & R --but that's only because "rape" is not categorized as a hate crime

Otherwise, there'd be no question where the bulk of the hate lies.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. I don't know that would change the "bulk."

I do think there are times that rape should be classified as a hate crime, but not all rapes should be considered hate crimes.

[Nikki Stone1]

4. Rape is about hate and about control.

Period.

And done.

[Behind the Aegis]

7. No. Rape is about power and control.

"Period."

Sorry, not all rapes are hate crimes any more than all robberies against gays are hate crimes, nor all murders of African-Americans hate crimes.

[blueraven95]

9. Sorry BtA, but I have to agree that rape is almost always a hate crime

because it is used primarily to terrorize and control certain portions of the population - mostly women. I suggest that you google "rape culture."

While I see your point, that individual rapes are sometimes targeted at specific people, the culture of rape and the threat of rape permeate our culture, which by my understanding of the definition of "hate crimes" makes it a hate crime.

I particularly like http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/">this blog - which does an admirable job of tackling equal rights. If you look around there, you'll see a lot of information.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. I can understand what you are saying, however it doesn't make it a hate crime.

Rape would be (should be) considered a hate crime in cases of serial rapists. However, most rapes are about power and violence. Rapists commit their act because of the desire for control of a situation or the person being victimized. Under the definition you provided, all crimes would be considered hate crimes. One of the biggest reasons people are against hate crimes is because they feel either all crimes are hate-motivated (wrong) or that motivation shouldn't be a factor in sentencing (wrong).

As a gay and Jewish man, I can be robbed and it not be a homophobic or anti-Semitic crime. As a rape survivor, I can tell you the person who raped me did it as an expression of power and hate was not even a factor.

[RKP5637]

5. We sadly have enough hatred in this country to go around for everyone IMO. n/t

[Bluebear]

6. Indeed. But per capita, certain groups are more vulnerable to it.

[RKP5637]

8. Yes, definitely. That is such a shame and often people are targeted as gay, for

example, that are not. I have a friend, married, definitely not gay, that was practically killed because he looked more like a professor type than a macho man. He is a PhD. So pathetic. He was just walking along, wrong place, wrong time, and was brutally attacked. ... just for existing.

No wonder many people want concealed weapons. I was pleased to see gays added to the hate crimes.