Understanding Victims and Perpetrators of Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes

• In Event: 306 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 16. Violence

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which anti-LGBT hate crimes are tied to both victims and perpetrators by examining the effects of victim and perpetrator characteristics on the severity of hate crime incidents in anti-LGB and anti-transgender hate crimes. Previous studies find that gay men and transwomen are most frequently victims of hate violence, however comparisons of the victimization of these groups have not been tested. Additionally, there are limited and contradictory findings regarding characteristics of perpetrators, such as race, that contribute to anti-LGBT hate crime offending. This analysis employs a partial proportional odds model to examine how victim and offender characteristics impact the severity of anti-LGB and anti-transgender violence using data from the 2012 Uniform Crime Report. The results and implications of these findings are discussed.

Author

• Elizabeth Coston, State University of New York-Stony Brook