Hate crimes against trans people nearly tripled in L.A. last year
Overall, hate crimes in California's largest city rose ten percent in 2017
“We live our lives daily frightened being out there on the streets because of this violence toward transgender people.”
—Karina Samala, chair of a Los Angeles City Council advisory board on trans issues, telling the Los Angeles Daily News about the “staggering” uptick in hate crimes against trans people.
Anti-Trans hate crimes nearly tripled in Los Angeles last year, going from eight instances in 2016 to a 23 in 2017. The numbers were released in a Los Angeles Police Department report touching on hate crimes against trans people, among others.
Hate crimes overall rose ten percent from 2016 to 2017, with the majority of those targeted being racial and sexual minorities. There were 115 attacks committed against people of color, while 70 were against lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals.
Most of the attacks were vandalism, including a February 2017 incident where slurs like “fag” and “tranny” were spray-painted on an LGBTQ center, one of many centers that were damaged after Donald Trump’s election.
After he noticed “an uptick in hate crimes and an emboldening of hate groups,” City councilman David Ryu pushed for the LAPD to conduct the report, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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