The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released its report yesterday of Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ, and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2012. The timing of the report matched with The United Nation's sponsored"International Day of Non-Violence" which is today. NCAVP collected data concerning intimate partner violence within LGBTQ and HIV-affected relationships from 19 anti-violence programs in 20 states across the country, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Vermont.
In 2012, NCAVP documented 21 intimate partner violence (IPV) homicides, the highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. This is an increase from 19 homicides recorded in last year’s 2011 report, and more than three times the 6 documented homicides in 2010. For the second year in a row, nearly half (47.6%) of IPV homicide victims were gay identified men. Of the 21 IPV homicide victims in 2012, a majority (52.4%) were people of color with 28.6% of homicide victims identifying a Black/African American, 23.8% identifying as Latin@, 23.8% identifying as white, and 23.8% of homicide victims with unspecified race or ethnicity.
“We are deeply concerned about the record high number of intimate partner violence homicides that occurred this year,” said Sharon Stapel, Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Program in New York City. “The passage of an LGBTQ-inclusive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) last year was a huge step forward, but as we move into the VAWA implementation phase, this report reveals that there is still a lot that needs to be understood about the ways LGBTQ people in this country are affected by IPV.”
The 2012 report also highlights a number of disturbing trends concerning the severity of violence experienced by LGBTQ and HIV-affected people, especially people of color, transgender people, and LGBTQ and HIV-affected people under the age of 30.
