While emotions are still raw from Sunday morning’s tragic massacre in Orlando, some important but little-known facts are emerging about other acts of violence against LGBT Americans – including murder – that happen routinely in the U.S.
Here’s one. People of color made up 80 percent of the LGBT people killed in America during 2014, according to the most recent report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
The minority LGBTQ community is disproportionately affected by crime. Why so vulnerable? A few reasons, in no particular order:
– Many minorities are closeted within their communities and many people in their communities still deny their existence.
– Many pockets of cultures still harbor fearful and violent views towards LGBT people.
– LGBT people are less likely to trust law enforcement to help them, believing it will lead to more harassment by officers. This goes doubly for LGBT people of color. This means crimes often go unreported. And perps know they will get away with them.
The U.S. has come a long way in LGBT rights, but still has a long way to go.