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LGBTQ+ activists say homophobic and transphobic political rhetoric bears a degree of blame.
Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes increased in 2023 in the U.S. despite a drop in crime overall.
There were 2,402 recorded incidents relating to a victim’s sexual orientation in 2023, up from 1,947 the year before, and 547 relating to the victim’s gender identity, compared with 469 in 2022, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s latest crime statistics report, released Monday. The gender identity category included 401 incidents that were specifically anti-transgender and 146 that targeted someone who was gender-nonconforming.
Overall, violent crime decreased 3 percent from 2022 to 2023. Murder and manslaughter decreased 11.6 percent, rape decreased 9.4 percent, aggravated assault figures decreased 2.8 percent, and robbery decreased 0.3 percent.
In 2023, 16,009 law enforcement agencies participated in the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics Data Collection. Of these agencies, 3,161 reported 11,862 hate-crime incidents involving 13,829 offenses.
Crimes based on sexual orientation accounted for 18.1 percent of the total, and those based on gender identity made up 4.3 percent. The largest category of hate crimes was crimes motivated by a race/ethnicity/ancestry bias, at 51.5 percent.
LGBTQ+ activists reacted to the hate-crimes data with alarm and blamed political attacks. “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,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a press release. “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 nondiscrimination 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. It’s time we build an America where LGBTQ+ folks don’t just survive, they thrive — in every town, every state, every corner of this nation. That’s not just a dream, it’s our fundamental right as Americans.”
