DHS: ANTI-LGBT THREATS ON THE RISE

Kim Swan

Threats against the LGBT community are rising, according to new statistics from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

DHS shared a document with law enforcement and government agencies on May 11 detailing hate crime statistics, according to the Washington Blade. The numbers come from the FBI’s database and they indicate that 20% of crimes committed in 2021 were motivated by bias linked to the victim’s sexual orientation or gender.

“These issues include actions linked to drag-themed events, gender-affirming care, and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools,” the agency said.

The Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law reported in 2022 that LGBT people are nine times more likely than non-LGBT people to be victims of violent hate crimes.

Because of this, DHS is warning of a possible rise in attacks against LGBT people in public spaces and healthcare sites as Pride celebrations begin in June.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a group that describes itself as “a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project,” found that antiLGBT incidents including “demonstrations, acts of political violence, and the distribution of offline propaganda — have more than tripled from 64 events in 2021 to 193 events in 2022 as of mid-November.”