Hate and Bias Crime Victimization

In 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received 7,462 reports of incidents of hate and bias crime involving 8,832 separate offenses, 9,222 victims, and 7,314 known offenders. (Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2003. Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 2002. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Of the 7,462 incidents of hate and bias reported to the FBI, 48.8 percent involved racial bias; 19.1 percent involved bias based on religious preference; 16.7 percent involved bias based on sexual orientation; and 14.8 percent involved bias based on ethnicity or nationality. (Ibid.)

Of victims targeted because of race, 67.2 percent were motivated because of an anti-black bias. Of victims targeted because of religion, 65.3 percent were motivated by an anti-Jewish bias. Anti-male homosexual bias accounted for 65 percent of bias motivated by sexual orientation and anti-Hispanic bias accounted for 45.5 percent of ethnicity-based bias. (Ibid.)

Of campus hate crimes reported to the U.S. Department of Education in 2002 by security offices at colleges and universities around the country, there were 52 forcible sex offenses; 78 aggravated assaults; 362 simple assaults; one negligent manslaughter; and 16 arsons. (U.S. Department of Education. 2004. Summary Campus Crime and Security Statistics: Hate Crimes. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.)

A disproportionately large percentage of youth are victims and perpetrators of hate and bias crime. Thirty percent of victims of bias-motivated aggravated assaults and 34 percent of victims of bias-motivated simple assaults are under 18 years of age. One-third all known hate crime offenders are under age 18, and 29 percent are between the ages of 18 and 24. (Partners Against Hate. http://www.partnersagainsthate.org. Accessed September 22, 2004.)

According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were 1,557 anti-Semitic incidents reported in the United States in 2003 that included 628 acts of vandalism and 929 acts of harassment. (Anti-Defamation League. 2004. Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents. New York, NY.)

On college campuses in 2003, there were 68 incidents reported of anti-Semitism which included 40 acts of harassment and 28 acts of vandalism. (Ibid.)

In 2001, 12 percent of students age 12 to 18 reported that someone at school had used hate-related words against them. More than one-third of students (36 percent) saw hate-related graffiti at school. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2003. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2003. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Female students were more likely to report gender-related hate words than males (four percent of females versus one percent of males). Whites were less likely to report race-related hate words than students of other races/ethnicities (three percent of Whites compared to eight percent of Blacks, five percent of Hispanics, and 10 percent of students of other races). (Ibid.)

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) reported an eight percent increase in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hate and bias crimes, up from 1,903 incidents in 2002 to 2,051 in 2003. The number of perpetrators rose from 2,793 to 3,282, and the number of victims rose from 2,183 to 2,384. (Patton, C. 2004. Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Violence in 2003. New York, NY. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.)

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs received reports of 18 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hate and bias homicides in 2003, representing an 80 percent increase from 2002. (Ibid.)

In 2003, there was a three percent overall increase in the number of serious injuries as a result of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender hate and bias crimes that resulted in a five percent increase from 2002 in victims requiring hospital care and an eight percent increase in victims requiring in-patient hospital care. (Ibid.)

Heterosexuals now comprise nine percent of the reported victims of anti-LGBT violence to NCAVP member agencies. Anecdotal information indicated that the majority of these victims are heterosexual men and women who are thought to be gay men or lesbians by their attackers. (Ibid.)

The homeless population is especially vulnerable to victimization. Between 1999 and 2003, 131 homeless people were murdered. There have been 281 documented violent acts and 150 non-lethal attacks during this same time period. The age range of victims was from four months to 74 years old. (National Coalition for the Homeless. 2004. Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness, 2003. Washington, D.C.: National Coalition for the Homeless.)