Report: The Number of Anti-LGBTQ Homicides Nearly Doubled in 2017

On Monday, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released its annual report, which documented an alarming spike in hate-related homicides against LGBTQ individuals over the last year.

According to the report, anti-LGBTQ homicides in the United States rose 86 percent in 2017, compared to the previous year. The report found 52 instances of anti-LGBTQ homicides in 2017, and 28 in 2016, but this count does not include the Pulse Nightclub shooting that killed 49 people in 2016, as it only calculates single-incident homicides.

Here are some more of the study’s key findings, as reported by HuffPo.

“67 percent of the victims were age 35 and under.

59 percent of the victims were killed with guns.

45 percent of the homicides of queer, bi or gay cisgender men were related to hookup violence, typically related to ads placed on personal websites and apps.”

In addition, the overwhelming majority—71 percent—of victims were people of color, and 60 percent of the victims were black.

Beverly Tillery, NCAVP’s executive director, told HuffPo that they will be releasing a second report later in the year that covers all incidents of hate-based violence, and that it already appears those numbers are rising, too.

Tillery also told HuffPo, “I don’t know whether all this is based on Trump’s beliefs or not, but at this point, it feels hard to imagine not.