Denver -- The Colorado Anti-Violence Program (CAVP) today released the sixth annual report on statewide violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The report, part of a nationwide survey produced by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), contains information, narratives, and statistics on bias-motivated incidents in Colorado and nationally.

There were 158 documented incidents of bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status reported to the Colorado Anti-Violence Program in 2001, up 27% from 2000. This statewide increase in Colorado was unusual considering an overall decrease in reported incidents by the NCAVP nationally.

Among other trends, the Colorado report shows a startling rise in bias violence committed by people known to their victims. Attacks by family members against LGBT relatives doubled, and there was a 600% increase in bias-violence committed by acquaintances, co-workers, and employers.

"Unfortunately these data show that the people who commit most anti-gay hate crimes are not necessarily mission offenders from radical hate groups," said Denise de Percin, CAVP Executive Director. "They're people we know and deal with on a daily basis, which leads to a greater sense of betrayal by victims. Perpetrators seem to believe it's their right to commit violence against us just because they don't like us."

Just as ominous was a 650% rise in assaults on young LGBT people between the ages of 18 and 22. "Locally and nationally, the increase of violence toward young LGBT people is profoundly concerning. At a time when anti-bullying programs are receiving national attention, this shows that the harassment reduction models being used in schools are clearly not protecting everyone," said Carter Klenk, CAVP Program Director, who works extensively on school-based violence.

Two high-profile cases highlighted last year's increasing violence against young LGBT people. In February, a gay Rifle teenager, Kyle Skyock, was severely beaten and burned and left unconscious on a roadside in sub-freezing weather. On June 21 in Cortez the body of Fred C. Martinez, Jr. was found five days after being assaulted near his home where he'd been left by his assailant who later bragged about "beating a fag."

Another disturbing trend, according to de Percin, is the fact that bias crimes reported by transgender, Latino/Latina, and Native American victims in Colorado all doubled in 2001. "The LGBT community members most vulnerable to bias violence are individuals who are often targeted based on multiple identities," she said. "Unfortunately, in Colorado we are in the absurd situation of explaining to victims that bias-motivated charges can only be used when certain aspects of their identity - ethnicity, religion, national origin - are targeted, but not for other, equally important characteristics of who they are."

Colorado law enforcement agencies got mixed results in the survey. Reports made to police increased 77% and reports of bias offenses committed by law enforcement agencies dropped 50%. There was a 75% improvement in police response reported as courteous during by victims, but there was also a 25% increase in reports of physical abusiveness by police.

The NCAVP report makes a number of recommendations for decreasing anti-LGBT violence including increased reporting of bias motivated incidents, rehabilitation alternatives to incarceration for offenders, increased efficacy of law enforcement, and disallowing the "gay panic" defense in court. CAVP works closely with state and local agencies to implement such recommendations.

The NCAVP report also highlights the vulnerability of community-based anti-violence organizations to financial shortfalls, as two member programs were near to closing at the end of 2001, and a third lost funding for its only staff person in early 2002. "The CAVP went through its own challenging transition last year, when Equality Colorado, our parent organization, suspended operation March 1st," observed de Percin. "We operated with significantly reduced staff and financial resources during 2001. Fortunately for the communities and the clients we serve in Colorado, the CAVP is one of the agencies in the country during the past year that has been successful in establishing a stable and sustainable anti-violence organization."

Facts and Trends

• Reports to the Colorado Anti-Violence Program of bias violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV+ people have increased every year for the past five years.
• Eleven incidents of anti-LGBTH violence were reported to the CAVP in 1996 ... 29 in 1997 ... 60 in 1998 ... 76 in 1999 ... 124 in 2000 ... and 158 incidents in 2001.
• Two people from the LGBTH+ community in Colorado were murdered in June 2001.
• Gay and bisexual men report the most incidents of bias-motivated violence in Colorado.
• Documenting and reporting of hate crimes by law enforcement is not mandatory in Colorado.
• FBI statistics on hate crimes are not accurate or reliable. [Note-1]

Colorado Anti-Violence Program (CAVP) statistics include reports of threats, harassment, verbal abuse, intimidation and violence made to and confirmed by the CAVP. Not all of these are considered criminal behavior by law enforcement. For reasons common to most marginalized communities, less than half of the incidents reported to the CAVP in 2001 were reported to law enforcement.

During 2001, 42 men, 31 women, and 25 organizations reported anti-LGBTH violence in Colorado. Most vulnerable are LGBT people who visibly transgress gender norms or who defy gender roles, and LGBT people who have additional identities - race, ethnicity, age, ability, religion, age, - that are also often targeted by perpetrators. Hate crimes are classified based on bias towards a particular identity - regardless of whether the perpetrator is actually correct in targeting a victim. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs documented 23% increase in anti-LGBT hate crimes committed against victims who described themselves as heterosexual in 2001, the third year in a row this statistic has risen.

While the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 requires the FBI to collect statistics on bias-motivated violence, states are not required to comply with this legislation because participation in the Uniform Criminal Reporting (UCR) program is voluntary. In 2000, the FBI, using data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, reported only 15 incidents of bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation in Colorado. During this same period, the CAVP documented 124 incidents of violence against the LGBTH+ community.

The dramatic underreporting of anti-LGBT violence is even more pronounced on the national level. In 2000, 11,690 law enforcement agencies in the United States covering a population of 236,929,512 reported only 1,299 incidents motivated by the bias based on the victim's real or perceived sexual orientation. During the same period, eleven member agencies of National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, operating in limited geographic areas, documented a total of 2,151 incidents motivated by anti-LGBTH+ bias. Anyone who is part of a population that is targeted for hate crimes, who works with survivors of hate crimes, or who has been the victim of hate crime, understands that the FBI statistics do not reflect the frequent experiences of violence in our lives and in our communities.

In 2000, only 34 of 234 law enforcement agencies in Colorado reported any bias-motivated crimes at all, in part because Colorado does not have any legislation that requires training for law enforcement officers on how to identify, investigate, or document incidents of bias motivated violence. While some officers and agencies have voluntarily taken advantage of training programs offered by the CAVP or other agencies, estimates are that fewer than 10% of officers in Colorado have received any training about hate crimes.

Focus 2001

GENERAL

• Colorado reported 158 incidents of anti-LGBT bias [Note 2], up 27% from 2000's total of 124. This continued the 5-year trend of steady increases.
• The number of victims increased 11%, from 88 in 2000 to 98 in 2001.
• Slight increase in the number of offenders from 107 in 2000 to 110 in 2001 (+3%).

VICTIM DEMOGRAPHICS

Victim demographic information showed significant changes in Colorado in 2001.

• Both male (-20%) and female (-29%) identified victims decreased, while victims identified as transgender M-F (from 5 to 10) and F-M (from 0-1) doubled.
• Substantial increase in victims 18-22 (+650%), while all other age categories decreased slightly.
• Significant changes in race/ethnicity of victims. Latino/a (from 6 to 15) and Native American (from 2 to 5) identified victims both increased 150% while white identified victims decreased by 25%. Other race/ethnicity categories also decreased slightly.

MURDER RATE

Two murders were reported in Colorado, one less than 2000's total. The ratio of total incidents to murders in the state continues to be one of the highest documented by NCAVP.

On June 21, 2001 the body of Fred C. Martinez Jr. was found near his home in Cortez Colorado, five days after he had been assaulted. The 16-year-old Navajo had died from blunt trauma and exposure. Family and friends have stated that Fred identified as gay, transgender, two-spirit or nadleeh. Five days after Fred's burial, his grave was desecrated, and flowers left at the canyon edge where he died were stolen. On July 3, 2001 Shaun Murphy of Farmington, NM was arrested in connection with the case. He subsequently pled guilty to second degree murder and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for May 16th.

The body of Ricky Espinosa, a gay Latino man, was found in the El Paso County landfill on June 28, 2001. No arrests have been made.

Although murders are often the most visible incidents of anti-LGBT bias, they are certainly not the most common. Lower level violence and harassment makes up the vast majority of incidents reported to CAVP.

During the weeks leading up to PrideFest, the CAVP began to receive reports of local businesses receiving harassing mail. It soon became clear that the same anti-LGBT letter had been sent to most organizations and business that advertised in the Pride Guide (put out prior to PrideFest, the guide details activities and events for the festival). The CAVP contacted Pride Guide advertisers and determined that 22 organizations and business had received the letter. Interestingly, while many LGBT identified business owners were relatively unfazed by the letter, saying "this happens all the time to us", businesses not commonly identified as LGBT expressed a higher level of trauma. The initial refusal of law enforcement to take reports of the incidents compounded the sense of vulnerability and targeting by many businesses.

ASSAULTS

• Slight decrease in assaults (-5%).
  
• Increase in harassment (+17%).
• Increases were also reported in sexual assault/rape (200%), extortion/blackmail (+400%), theft (+300%) and discrimination (+1000%).
• Major increase in mail harassment (+77%), due in large part to a series of letters sent to businesses and individuals that advertised in the Pride Guide during PrideFest. This contributed to the huge increase in incidents directed at organizations (+1,200%).
• Substantial increase in incidents directed at property (+343%).

TRANSGENDER BIAS

• Incidents involving transgender related bias, as part of other bias motivations, such as sexual orientation or race/ethnicity, increased 50%.
• Incidents involving transgender related bias only increased exponentially (+500%).

INJURIES

• Increase in injuries (+32%), as well as an increase in the severity of injuries- serious injury reports rose from 9 to 15 (+67%).
• Patient hospitalizations doubled.
• Decrease in reported outpatient care (-15%).

SERIAL INCIDENTS

• Reported serial incidents substantially increased in 2001 (+139%).
  (Consistent with known offenders reported below)
• Increase in which one previous incident was reported (from 0 in 2000 to 28 in 2001). Those reporting 6-10 incidents with the same perpetrator/s also doubled.

OFFENDER DEMOGRAPHICS

Offender demographics and relationships changed significantly in 2001.

• Female offenders increased 333% (from 3 to 16) while male offenders decreased by 21% (from 90 to 71).
• 140% increase in offenders under 18 as well as an increase from 0 to 6 in offenders of ages 18-22.
• Reported offenders ages 23-29 decreased 67%.
• Race/ethnicity breakdown of offenders showed little change in most categories, offenders identified as white increased 17%.
• Offenders identified as strangers continued to increase (+12%),
• Family member offenders doubled and acquaintance/friend and employer/co-worker offenders increased 600%.
• Landlord/tenant offenders decreased dramatically (-72%)
• Law enforcement officer offenders were down 50%.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Drastic increase in the number of incidents reported to police (+77%).
  Police documented 62 reports, up from 35 in 2000.
• Offender arrests rose 200%
• Law enforcement refusal to take complaint also rose dramatically (+900%), due mostly to the refusal to take reports in the PrideFest cases.
• Police attitude reported as courteous increased 75%
• Police attitude reported as indifferent rose 383%
• Reported instances of verbal abuse were down 42%
• Physically abusive behavior increased 25%.
  

[1] A recent Southern Poverty Law Center analysis concluded that the real number of hate crimes is around 50,000 per year - more than 6 times the approximately, 8,000 reported by the FBI in 2000.

[2] The number of incidents, as reported in this narrative, includes serial incidents within the total reported in order to better reflect the number of incidents reported to the CAVP. This method of reporting incidents is also used throughout the narrative to make comparisons between 2000 and 2001 data.