Violence Against Gays & Lesbians.

Most violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals remains unreported, according to the PlanetOut Partners/Modalis Speak Out Community Survey, the first survey conducted for PlanetOut Partners, Inc. by Modalis Research Technologies, Inc.

“In our first extensive survey of the largest panel of gay and lesbian Americans, we wanted to gather data that could make a difference in people’s lives,” said PlanetOut Partners CEO Lowell Selvin.

Widespread Violence

One-third (33%) of the respondents reported that they had experienced a personal attack based on their sexual orientation. These anti-gay attacks included acts of physical violence, verbal abuse and destruction of personal property. Although a large number of these attacks were disclosed in the confidential online survey, only three in ten of those involved reported the incident to authorities and fewer than one in seven (13%) received counseling or support as a result.

“This survey spotlights the fact that, despite years of working to inform and educate law enforcement officials and our own community, most hate crimes still are not reported,” said Gwenn A. Baldwin, executive director of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. “According to recent reports from the California Attorney General and the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, hate crimes based on sexual orientation are second only to hate crimes based on race and hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are more likely to be physically violent.”

Can Legislation Protect?

Among survey respondents, only 15% say that they believe there are laws currently in place to protect them from attacks based on sexual identity.

About the Survey

The survey was conducted by Modalis Research Technologies, Inc. from August 6-29, 2001. The confidential survey was conducted online; 2,322 individuals responded. Modalis and PlanetOut Partners host the world’s largest panel of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals with more than 10,000 participants.

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