According to an FBI report, released on Monday November 16, hate crimes at the highest level in over a decade in the US, with the most hate-motivated killings being recorded over the last year since the FBI began collecting data in the 1990s. According to Associated Press, over 7,300 hate crimes were reported in 2019, up from 7,120 the year before. The number of anti-semtitic crimes increased by 7%, and violence against hispanic people also rose considerably.
The report found the number of hate crimes based on sexual orientation ‘remained relatively stable’, with an increase of 20 more crimes being committed against gay men. However according to the Human Rights Campaign, this is a record year for LGBTQ+ hate crimes, particularly against the trans community with the death toll now standing at 34. A recent study by anti-violence charity, Galop, also found transphobic hate crimes in the UK are rising considerably, with 80% of the trans community reporting experiencing harassment, discrimination or violence in the last year.
Many hate crimes often go unreported. Jonathan Greenblatt, president of NGO the Anti-Defamation League, said: “The total severity of the impact and damage caused by hate crimes cannot be fully measured without complete participation in the FBI’s data collection process…[American authorities must] remove the barriers that too often prevent people in marginalized communities – the individuals most likely to suffer hate crimes – from reporting hate-based incidents”.