Report: Record number of 52 anti-LGBT homicides in 2017

A new report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project has found the number of anti-LGBT homicides in 2017 was 52 — making it the recorded worst year ever for murders of LGBT people.

The report, published Monday, comes after a mid-year report in August signaling 2017 was the worst year ever for anti-LGBT homicides. The new report, however, indicates anti-LGBT violence increased even further after that report and reached 52 deaths by the end of the year.

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project, that’s the highest number ever recorded in its 20-year history and represents an 86 percent increase from 2016.

Beverly Tillery, executive director of the Anti-Violence Project, said in a statement the report is “a wake-up call for all of us” and blamed the anti-LGBT policies of the Trump administration for the increased violence.

“Our communities live in an increasingly hostile and dangerous climate, after a year of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies coming from the White House, federal government agencies, state and local sources and in our communities across the country,” Tillery said. “Anti-LGBTQ violence has long been a crisis, but NCAVP has watched the escalation of violence this past year with great concern.”

Included in the report is a graph of the number of anti-LGBT homicides in 2017 compared to violent deaths of LGBT people in recent years. (The recorded numbers don’t count the 2016 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., which killed 49 people and wounded 58 others.)

NCAVP found 2017 was the worst year on record for anti-LGBT homicides.

Among the key findings pulled out by NCAVP in the report:

* The victims of these hate violence related homicides have overwhelmingly been transgender women and queer, bi, or gay cisgender men;

* There was a significant increase of reports of homicides of queer, bi, or gay cisgender men, from 4 reports in 2016 to 20 reports in 2017;

* For the last five years NCAVP has documented a consistent and steadily rising number of reports of homicides of transgender women of color, which continued into 2017;

* In 2017, NCAVP collected information on 27 hate-violence related homicides of transgender and gender non-conforming people this year, compared to 19 reports for 2016;

* 22 of these homicides were of transgender women of color; and

* Of the total number of homicides in 2017, 71 percent of the victims were people of color: 31 (60 percent) of the victims were Black, 4 (8 percent) were Latino, 2 (4 percent) were Asian and 1 (2 percent) was Native American.

The report includes a list of the 52 LGBT individuals lost to hate violence in 2017 as well as the circumstances of their death.

“I urge everyone to read the stories and look at the photos of the 52 individuals lost to hate violence in 2017 – they are our friends, family, co-workers and fellow LGBTQ community members,” Tillery said. “NCAVP will continue to say their names and re-commits to doing all we can to prevent hate violence and support survivors.”