Pride Month is a time of celebration, empowerment and community-building for LGBTQ people all across the world. Unfortunately, it’s also a time of increased anti-LGBTQ violence, according to a new report from the U.S. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP).
The report, released on Wednesday, found that the summer of 2019 brought 22 anti-LGBTQ protests, 14 murders, and 2 deaths in detention over the course of nine weeks. There was an uptick of hate violence during Pride Month, which coincided with historically huge celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
“For many of us Pride is a time for celebration, a time to honor our roots in the Stonewall Rebellion, and a reminder of the important legislative and cultural victories that are worth celebrating,” Beverly Tillery, the New York executive director of NCAVP, said in a statement.
But visibility isn’t all positive. Violence against the LGBTQ community is intensifying, and the situation becomes even worse during Pride, Tillery says. For example, there were over three times as many anti-LGBTQ homicides during Pride as there were in previous months.
Anti-LGBTQ sentiments manifest in a variety of ways. NCAVP also recorded instances of verbal assault, dating-related incidents and vandalism. Some members of the community are targeted more often than others.
“This Pride season, we were reminded over and over again of the violence that plagues our community, particularly transgender members of the community,” Tillery said.
The 22 murders included seven deaths of black trans women. Two trans women of color also died in detention.
By drawing attention to these incidents, NCAVP hopes to jumpstart the national conversation on the “epidemic of violence against LGBT people,” leading to systemic and social change.
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