Attacks based on gender identity are up 16% from last year. Attacks based on sexual orientation are up 23% and race and ethnicity-based hate crimes are still the largest category. But more than 1 in 5 hate crimes are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias says the Human Rights Campaign after looking over the latest FBI report on hate crimes.
The FBI released its annual report looking back at hate crimes numbers for the prior calendar year — and for 2023, the hate crime data relating to incidents targeting members of the LGBTQ community once again show disturbing, record-breaking numbers. Even as violence in the nation overall is continuing to drop, reports of hate crime incidents continue to climb. And those targeting people for their sexual orientation or gender identity are rising substantially.
“Every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer person in this country should be free to live their lives without fear that we’ll be the target of a violent incident purely because of who we are and who we love,” said Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign President.
“Unfortunately, the latest FBI hate crimes data shows that even as public acceptance of LGBTQ+ people continues to grow, and overall crime continues to decline, hate crimes against us are not yet showing signs of subsiding. Make no mistake, politicians who spread disinformation and demonize our lives are contributing to this violence.
“This trend needs to end. LGBTQ+ people need full non-discrimination protections in law, nationwide. All law enforcement agencies must commit to fully reporting data on hate crimes in their communities. And politicians and community leaders across the country need to stop lying about our community and inciting hatred against us. We must turn the tide so that LGBTQ+ people can feel safe everywhere.”
The FBI’s report also noted that there were 2,402 recorded incidents relating to an alleged victim’s sexual orientation in 2023, up from 1,947 the year before, and 547 relating to an alleged victim’s gender identity, compared with 469 the year before. The gender identity category included 401 instances that were specifically anti-transgender and 146 that targeted someone who was gender nonconforming.
Race/ethnicity motivated hate crimes remained the largest category in the FBI report. They made up 51.5% of all hate crimes. Hate crimes based on religion moved into second, just ahead of sexual orientation which is third.
This is the second year in a row that more than 1 in 5 of any type of hate crime is now motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias. To read the full report and learn more about fatal violence against transgender people, which disproportionately impacts Black transgender women, read HRC’s research from the last 10+ years.
