This year, Pride celebrations around the country marked June as the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and New York City hosted the international community for a World Pride celebration. While our communities experienced an increase in visibility, Pride season was also marked by repeated reports of violence in the LGBTQ community.
Today, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) is releasing a special report, Pride and Pain: A Snapshot of Anti-LGBTQ Hate and Violence During Pride Season 2019. This report outlines the incidents and trends of violence documented nationally in the two-month period from May 15 to July 15, 2019
Beverly Tillery, New York City Anti-Violence Project’s (AVP) Executive Director said:
“It’s important to remember that violence against the LGBTQ communities continues and in some cases is intensifying. For many of us Pride is a time for celebration, a time to honor our roots in the Stonewall Rebellion, and a reminder of the important legislative and cultural victories that are worth celebrating. This Pride season, we were reminded over and over again of the violence that plagues our community, particularly transgender members of the community. This snapshot provides another window into the various forms of violence our community faces, and shows how the visibility of Pride season can sometimes lead to greater targeting and attacks.”
Report Summary:
- 14 homicides from May 15 – July 15, 2019 including 7 homicides of Black trans women. This was an average of nearly 2 (1.75) homicides each week and more than three times the hate violence homicides recorded between January 1 and May 14, 2019
- 2 fatalities of trans women of color while in detention, Johana Medina and Layleen Polanco
- 6 dating, hook-up, and intimate partner violence related incidents
- 22 anti-LGBTQ protests at pride activities, drag queen story hours, and LGBTQ establishments
Ericka Dixon, NCAVP National Capacity Building Coordinator said: “While we recognize that there is no way to know and account for all LGBTQ people who have been targeted and harmed, we can raise and amplify the stories we do know. NCAVP tracks these incidents of violence nationally as a way to better understand how violence impacts LGBTQ and HIV-affected people. This informs our work in preventing and responding to incidents of violence against our community, and in educating LGBTQ people and our allies on ways to create systemic and social change.”
The full snapshot can be found here: avp.org For Media Inquiries contact Eliel Cruz at ecruz@avp.org
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and HIV-affected communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs and affiliate organizations who create systemic and social change. NCAVP is a program of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.