Local
Anti-violence activists to launch independent hate crime reporting project
Project will allow hate crime victims to report assaults to community organizations without going through the MPD
Hundreds joined a hastily assembled March 2012 demonstration organized after anti-gay violence in the nation's capital. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Anti-violence activists have begun to lay the groundwork for a project they maintain will provide a more accurate count of the number of anti-LGBT hate crimes and incidents of domestic violence among same-sex couples in Washington, D.C.
The initiative would allow victims to report attacks to service providers without going through the Metropolitan Police Department. Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, the D.C. Trans Coalition, the Rainbow Response Coalition and other member groups would enter information about crime victims, the location in which their assailants attacked them and other demographic information into a database.
GLOV Vice Chair Hassan Naveed told the Blade that the project remains in the preliminary planning stages. Rainbow Response Coalition Treasurer Paul Ashton said that the coalition hopes to send its initial data to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs at the end of the year. NCAVP would then use it in its 2012 report that it will release in 2013.
This would mark the first time that the agency would include District-specific data on LGBT bias-motivated crimes and domestic violence among same-sex couples in its annual publication.
“We can actually capture in our community what it looks like and determine who is a survivor of a hate crime, who is a survivor of intimate-partner violence,” said Ashton. “It really gives us the legs to advocate for policy changes as well as money to ensure service providers are trained properly to handle hate crimes and domestic violence cases in our community.”
MPD statistics show that there were 12 reported bias-related crimes based on sexual orientation from January through April, compared to two that were based on gender identity and expression.
The agency indicated that there were 43 reported bias-related crimes based on sexual orientation in 2011, compared to 35 in 2010 and 30 in 2009. MPD statistics show that there were 11 bias-related crimes based on gender identity and expression in the District in 2011, compared to 10 in 2010 and five in 2009.
Naveed was quick to applaud what he described as MPD’s improved outreach to immigrants and LGBT Washingtonians. He said he always encourages victims to report hate crimes to the police, but he stressed that many victims of anti-LGBT bias attacks remain afraid to come forward to the police because of their immigration status or previous experiences with law enforcement.
Naveed further stressed that the MPD officers who refused to take a report of an anti-gay attack against five lesbians outside the Columbia Heights Metro station last July and other high-profile incidents can dissuade victims of anti-LGBT bias crimes from going to the police.
“We want to create a process accessible to people who can go and report hate crimes to service providers in the city,” said Naveed. “GLOV’s efforts are to get a bigger picture of hate crimes in the city through these statistics. This would be an accessible way for the LGBT community to be able to report these hate crimes in a comfortable setting.”
MPD spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump responded to the reporting initiative late on Tuesday.
“We welcome input from community organizations, which can be a valuable source for information about people who have not reported information to the police,” she told the Blade. “However, it must be understood that Department figures are based on reported incidents that meet legal definitions of both a crime and a crime that was specifically motivated by a legally defined bias. More importantly, we would caution that we cannot help victims or protect the community if people do not make a report to the police. We urge anyone who has been a victim of crime or a hate crime to report it to police. Individuals who believe they have been the victim of a hate crime can contact police in a number of ways, including calling 911, reaching out to the relevant liaison office or an officer working in their neighborhood, or leaving a message on the Hate Crime Hotline.”
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Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
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PHOTOS: SUNFESTIVAL
