In Wake of Prop 8, Attack on gay woman in Richmond reflects continuing trend

Posted on January 4, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized

RICHMOND — News this week of arrests in the Dec. 13 gang rape of a lesbian brought relief to many in the community, some of whom were so outraged that they led police to breaks in the case.

But even as the resolution is lauded, gay-rights advocates and local and national crime statistics portray a gloomy truth about hate crimes against people based on their sexual orientation.

Until the root causes of bias toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are addressed, “we’ll continue to have hate perpetrated against us,” said Shawna Virago, a program director for the San Francisco-based advocacy group Community United Against Violence.

The group reported 304 crimes against Bay Area gays in 2007, the latest year for which complete statistics were available. That amounted to an approximate 6 percent increase from 2006.

Nationally, the FBI recorded 1,265 crimes deemed to have been motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation in 2007, a slight increase from the 1,195 tallied a year earlier but a 24 percent jump from 2005 figures.

Data compiled by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs — which counts the San Francisco group among its members — show national numbers to be considerably higher, from 1,486 incidents in 2006 to 1,833 the following year.

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San Jose Mercury News,