Effects of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation on the Experience of Hate Crimes in Chicago

1
Effects of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation
on the Experience of Hate Crimes in Chicago

• Megan Conrad, M.A.
• Kyle Jones, M.A.
• Alicia Matthews, Ph.D.
• Paul Schewe, Ph.D.

2
Overview

• Background
• Purpose of this research
• Research design
• Results
• Discussion
• Implications for policy

3
Background

• Hate crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other
  prejudice
• 73 of hate crimes involve violence, compared
  with 23 of all other crimes
• Racial bias is the most frequently reported hate
  crime motivation
• Chicago Police Department, 2008

4
Background

• When race is relevant, almost immediate and
  uniform characterization as a hate crime
• Ricky Birdsong and James Byrd, Jr.
• Crimes against LGBT individuals do not always get
  classified as hate crimes
• Massive underreporting of hate crimes against
  LGBT individuals to law enforcement, but not
  community-based organizations

5
Background

• Hate crimes against transgendered individuals
  typically grouped with those against LGB people
• Different for several reasons
• Characterized by increased severity and sexual
  assault
• Judicial and services system is gender binary
• Crime committed against biological male not
  generally considered a hate crime
• Gender-based services limit help transgender
  victims can receive
• Gordon Meyer, 2007 Stotzer, 2009 Taylor, 2007

6
Background

• Transwomen have been the target of escalating
  rates of violence
• Being an ethnic minority confers additional
  vulnerability to violence
• Almost complete motivational silence when
  victim is transgendered person of color
• Lateisha Green, Tylia Mack, and Sidney Wright
• Was it the victims gender presentation or race
  that inspired the violence?
• Meyer (2010)

7
Purpose of this Research

• Aim 1 Develop a more complete picture of hate
  crimes against the LGBT community in Chicago
• Aim 2 Illustrate the specific violence that
  transgendered individuals face
• Aim 3 Report to the Chicago Commission on Human
  Relations to shape policy decisions as they
  affect LGBT people and LGBT people of color

8
Research Design

• Retrospective cross-sectional and descriptive
  design
• Data sources Anti-Violence Project at the Center
  of Halsted (COH) and the Chicago Police
  Department (CPD)
• Supporting organization Chicago Commission on
  Human Relations (CCHR)

9
Anti-Violence Project at the COH

• Provides crisis support and ongoing services for
  LGBTQ, queer, questioning, and HIV-affected
  survivors of abuse and violence
• Has specific counseling, incident reporting
  assistance, and court accompaniment services
• Collects standardized information from victims
  report of violence as part of National Coalition
  of Anti-Violence Programs

10
Chicago Police Department

• Collects and aggregates information on all
  reported crimes
• Has become increasingly interested in collecting
  sexual identity information from both
  perpetrators and victims of crimes

11
Chicago Commission on Human Relations

• Enforces the Chicago Human Rights and Chicago
  Fair Housing Ordinances
• Investigates claims of discrimination
• Provides aid to hate crime victims
• Employs education and mediation programs to
  decrease violence and bigotry in partnership with
  communities

12
Results COH 2010
  N
Total Reports 159 100
Case Type Bias Sexual assault Domestic violence Pick-up Not classified Police misconduct Murder   54 3 73 3 24 9 4   34.0 1.9 45.9 1.9 15.1 5.7 2.5
Community Area Bridgeport Edgewater Englewood Humboldt Park Hyde Park Lakeview Portage Park Rogers Park South Chicago Unknown Uptown West Garfield Park   1 1 1 1 1 4 1 3 1 19 7 1   0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 2.5 0.6 1.9 0.6 11.9 4.4 0.6
13
Results COH 2010
  N
Caller Identity Family Friend Institutional victim representative Lover/partner Not entered Other Perpetrator/batterer Service provider Unknown Victim Witness   7 9 1 3 1 11 1 18 25 81 2   4.4 5.7 0.6 1.9 0.6 6.9 0.6 11.3 15.7 50.9 1.3
14
Results COH 2010
  N
Crimes and Offenses Abduction/kidnapping Arson Assault (no weapon) Assault (with weapon) Attempted assault with weapon Discrimination Domestic violence Drugging Email harassment Extortion/blackmail Intimidation Larceny/burglary/theft Mail/literature harassment Murder Police raid Rape Robbery Sexual assault Sexual harassment Telephone harassment Unjustified arrest Vandalism Verbal harassment   1 1 34 11 3 13 53 5 1 2 25 5 1 3 1 6 2 17 2 2 1 3 27   0.6 0.6 21.4 6.9 1.9 8.2 33.3 3.1 0.6 1.3 15.7 3.1 0.6 1.9 0.6 3.8 1.3 10.7 1.3 1.3 0.6 1.9 17.0
15
Results COH 2010
  N
Bias/Motive Anti-immigrant Anti-transgender Disability Domestic violence Economic Heterosexist/anti-LGBTQ HIV/AIDS related Racist/ethnic Religious Sexist No apparent bias Unknown   1 8 1 52 1 30 5 1 1 2 10 10   0.6 5.0 0.6 32.7 0.6 18.9 3.1 0.6 0.6 1.3 6.3 6.3
Domestic Violence(DV) Crimes and Offenses Physical abuse Economic abuse HIV related/medical abuse Homo-/bi-phobia Isolation Psychological/emotional abuse Threats Transphobia Use of children Use of pets   34 15 2 3 18 45 15 6 4 1   21.4 9.4 1.3 1.9 11.3 28.3 9.4 3.8 2.5 0.6
16
Results COH 2010
  N
Incident Reporting Complaint taken No arrest Offender arrested Victim/client arrested Police refused to take complaint Not reported to police Will report to police Victim and offender arrested Unknown     26 16 4 3 24 7 1 50     16.4 10.1 2.5 1.9 15.1 4.4 0.6 31.4
Bias/DV Classification Attempting to get bias classification Attempting to get DV classification No classification available Not reported by victim as bias Not reported by victim as DV Reported and classified as bias Reported and classified as DV Reported as DV but classification refused Unknown   4 1 9 2 1 4 9 1 128   2.5 0.6 5.7 1.3 0.6 2.5 5.7 0.6 80.5
17
Results COH 2010
  N
Police Involved City/municipal County   43 1   27 0.6
Police Attitude Courteous Indifferent Other deterrent behavior Other deterrent speech Physically abusive (no slurs) Physically abusive (with slurs) Unknown Verbally abusive (no slurs) Verbally abusive (with slurs)   13 10 1 1 1 1 128 1 3   8.2 6.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 80.5 0.6 1.9
Police Order Obtained By victim By offender Not sought Unknown   8 1 31 77   5.0 0.6 19.5 48.4
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Results COH 2010 Summary

• Heterosexist/anti-LGBTQ bias was most common
  motive for hate crime
• Assault (no weapon), verbal harassment,
  intimidation, and sexual assault were most common
  types of crime
• Domestic violence was most prevalent crime
  overall
• Caller was usually the victim or a service
  provider, when known
• Most often not reported to police or reported
  with no arrest

19
Results CPD 2010-2012
  N
Case Type Nationalistic Racial Religious Sexual Orientation   18 64 27 54   11 39.3 16.6 33.1
Yearly Breakdown 2010 2011 2012   54 63 46   33.1 38.7 28.2
Victim Age 13 - 18 19 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 51 - 60 61 Not specified     21 50 23 13 19 11 24     12.9 30.7 14.1 8.0 11.7 6.7 14.7  
20
Results CPD 2010-2012
  N
Victim Race Black Asian Pacific Islander Caucasian Hispanic Not specified     63 5 46 21 28   38.7 3.1 28.2 12.9 17.2  
Victim Sex M F Not Specified   100 41 22   61.3 25.2 13.5
21
Results CPD 2010-2012
  N
Primary Crimes and Offenses Aggravated Assault Empty Hands - Serious Aggravated Assault Empty Hands Not Serious Aggravated Assault Handgun Aggravated Assault Other Weapon Aggravated Assault Senior Citizen Criminal Defacement Cyberstalking Harassment by electronic means Harassment by telephone Institutional Vandalism Mental Health Transport Mob Action Other Crimes Against Person Other Violation Simple Assault Strong Arm No Weapon Telephone Threat Damage to City of Chicago Property Damage to Private Property Damage to Vehicle   1 5 6 18 1 23 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 59 2 5 1 18 7   0.6 3.1 3.7 10.0 0.6 14.1 0.6 1.8 1.2 1.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 36.2 1.2 3.0 0.6 11 4.3
Disposition Bona Fide Open Undetermined Unfounded   41 2 87 33   25.2 1.2 53.4 20.2
22
Results CPD 2010-2012 Summary

• Crime most often motivated by racial or sexual
  orientation bias
• Simple assault or criminal defacement were most
  common
• Victims were most often aged 19-30, Black or
  Caucasian, and male
• Case status is undetermined for most complaints

23
Discussion

• Aim 1 Develop a more complete picture of hate
  crimes against the LGBT community in Chicago
• COH
• Assault (no weapon), verbal harassment,
  intimidation, and sexual assault
• Domestic violence
• CPD
• Simple assault and defacement
• Ages 19-30, Black or Caucasian, and male
• Percentage attributed to sexual orientation
  slightly higher than national average (33.1 vs.
  20.8)

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Discussion

• Aim 2 Illustrate the specific violence that
  transgendered individuals face
• COH No victim demographics
• CPD Biological sex, but not gender identity,
  available in the current data
• Cannot make any conclusions regarding violence
  specific to transgendered individuals

25
Discussion

• Aim 3 Report to the Chicago Commission on Human
  Relations to shape policy decisions as they
  affect LGBT people and LGBT people of color
• Immediately organized quarterly meetings to
  discuss hate crimes from these different
  perspectives
• COH, CPD, CCHR, Anti-Defamation League, UIC
• Will continue as policy changes are made

26
Discussion

• Working relationships and access to data were
  crucial
• COH
• Already de-identified, allowing for quick access
• Part of a standardized national data collection
  effort
• Most often reported by service providers, with
  hate crime designation made by caller
• CPD
• Sensitive nature of data required more time to
  gain access
• Information obtained from actual case reports
• Hate crime designation based on legal definition

27
Implications for Policy

• Conduct a community forum with major stakeholders
  to talk about hate crimes, resources, and
  reporting
• Necessary to increase education about what a hate
  crime is and why victims should report them
• Publish information about this experience as well
  as the data (Windy City Times, peer-reviewed
  journal)

28
Implications for Policy

• Within LGBT community, domestic violence is an
  increasing concern
• Community awareness, outreach, and
  prevention/treatment services are needed
• Even more difficult to access for transwomen, who
  are often barred from womens shelters

29
Thank you for your time and support!

• Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy
• COH Lisa Gilmore, Director of Education and
  Victim Advocacy
• CPD Timothy Lavery, Chief Operations Research
  Analyst Sgt. Lori Cooper, Commanding Officer,
  Special Activities Section
• CCHR Mona Noriega, Commissioner

30
References

• Chicago Police Department. (2008). Hate crimes in
  Chicago 2008 Annual Report. Chicago, IL.
• Gordon, A., Meyer, I.H. (2007). Gender
  nonconformity as a target of prejudice,
  discrimination, and violence against LGB
  individuals. Journal of LGBT Health Research,
  3(3), 55-71.
• Meyer, D. (2010). Evaluating the severity of
  hate-motivated violence Intersectional
  differences among LGBT hate crime victims.
  Sociology, 44(5), 980-995.
• Stotzer, R.L. (2009). Violence against
  transgender people A review of the United States
  data. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14,
  170-179.
• Taylor, J.K. (2007). Transgender identities and
  public policy in the United States The relevance
  for public administration. Administration
  Society, 39(7), 833-856.