West Side Hate Crime Draws Attention to Violence Against Lesbians, Gays
“We see cases like this all the time, all over the city and all over the state,” said Rick Garcia, policy director at The Civil Rights Agenda. “It shows that animosity toward lesbian and gay people is just below the surface. We think we’ve made such big gains, but right below the surface we see this animosity and violence.”
The women were beaten Saturday, clutching each other as they were pinned against a car by about 10 men who taunted them for being gay and took turns punching and kicking them on the dark street, one of the victims said.
“It was punches, kicks, everything being thrown at us,” said the woman, who is 23. “We just held each other until somebody said, ‘Here come the police.’”
Police have labeled the attack a hate crime, and one man has been charged. Other suspects in the attack are being sought.
A study by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs found 2,016 reports of violence in 2012 against LGBT people and people affected by HIV. The report also found that LGBT people of minority races are nearly twice as likely to be victims of violence as their white counterparts.
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