LGBT domestic violence murders hit an all-time high last year. That is according to a new report by LGBT anti-violence groups.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs ( NCAVP ) reported 21 domestic violence murders for 2012, more than three times its recorded number for 2010 and two more than it recorded in 2011.
Those numbers are detailed in an extensive report published Oct. 1 by LGBT groups around the county, including in Chicago.
Jane Merrill is the advocacy and community engagement coordinator for Center on Halsted, which houses Chicago's Anti-Violence Project. Merrill said that while advocates knew about the homicides before compiling the report, they were still stunned by the numbers.
"Surpising? No," said Merrill. "Horrifying? Yes…this is a really terrifying report with the highest number of homicides ever recorded."
Still, overall reported violence across the country was down by nearly 32 percent. Some of that decline is due to cutbacks at three organizations, but even without those groups, NCAVP found a nearly 30 percent decrease.
Youth, people of color, transgender people and gay men were hardest hit by domestic violence, according to the report.
Men represented about 36 percent of survivors compared with 33 percent of women. In 2011, women represented more than half of reported survivors.
Chicago largely followed the national trend for 2012, Merrill noted, with some exceptions.
Among them was an exact opposite trend in reporting from the national numbers. The Center saw a 32 percent increase in reported domestic violence incidents from 2011, with 126 reported survivors. The report notes that could be due to lack of staff turnover during 2012 ( the Center has since lost all of it 2.5 AVP staff and restructured the program ).
In Chicago, nearly fifty-three percent of victims identified as white, while the national numbers reported 35.5 percent of victims were white. In Chicago, almost 27 percent of victims identified as Black or African American. Fifteen percent said they were Latino, and three percent said they were biracial.
Those demographics reflect the Center's immediate neighborhood, noted, Merrill, suggesting a need to for outreach beyond the North Side.
"I think we need to make sure we're reaching in all parts of the city because the national report tells us we're not," Merrill said.
Merrill said outreach is among The Center's priorities as part of its new strategic plan.
In Chicago, almost 47 percent of survivors identified themselves as cisgender ( or not transgender ). Twenty-nine percent were men, and twenty percent identified as women.
Chicago also saw an increase in sexual violence and physical violence. Physical violence reports increased by 117 percent, the report notes. Sexual violence reports increased by a stunning 263 percent. At the same, 2012 saw a 43 percent decrease in reports of violence to police, with just 12 survivors reporting to law enforcement.
Still, it can be hard to pull meaning from such reports, advocates note. An increase in recorded incidents does not always mean an increase in violence. Often, an increase in numbers signals that anti-violence groups are, in fact, doing a better job of getting people to report. Similarly, numbers can dip when anti-violence groups suffer funding cuts or staff changes.
A full copy of the report can viewed at: avp.org/storage/documents/ncavp_2012_ipvreport.final.pdf
