Abstract
Bias-motivated crimes, also known as hate crimes, are defined by the U.S. Department of Justice (Hate Crime Statistics, 2016) as “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race , religion, sexual orientation , or ethnicity.” Hate crimes differ from other types of crime in that they typically involve excessive violence ; are more likely to be committed against strangers; are often not planned; are typically committed by young, white males; and often involve more than one offender. The Hate Crime Sentencing Enhancement Act (1993) was created, in part, to account for the specific ways in which hate crimes are directed not only toward the person against whom the crime was committed but toward the group to which that person belongs. Hate crimes committed against members of the LGBTQ community have been explored in various ways over the decades. Perceptions of the crimes themselves and judgments made in cases related to sexual orientation bias have been investigated by psychological, political , and legal scholars, as have the utility and impact of hate crime statutes. Effects of these types of crime on both the victim and the community have also been explored by researchers. Arguments opposing the policing of and challenging the deterrent effects of hate crime legislation aside, hate crime statutes continue to expand, with the most recent federal statute, Public Law No. 111-84 (AKA the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act), enacted in 2009. The purpose of the present chapter is to identify the current state of the literature on sexual orientation and gender bias motivated violent crimes. Knowing the current state of research in this area helps to identify where future research and policy considerations should focus.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Although it is believed by some that hate crime victims could “provoke” the attack against them, it is important to note that these crimes are inflicted rather than “provoked.” To ensure that readers do not lose sight of this distinction, the terms “provocation” and “provoked” will appear in quotations (see Kristiansen & Giulietti, 1990).
References
Alvarez, M. J., & Miller, M. K. (2016). Counterfactual thinking about crime control theater: Mock jurors’ decision making in an AMBER Alert trial. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22(4), 349–361. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000098.
American Bar Association (ABA). (2013). Resolution 113A. Curtail the availability and effectiveness of the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses.
Bell, J. G., & Perry, B. (2015). Outside looking in: The community impacts of anti-lesbian, gay, and bisexual hate crime. Journal of Homosexuality, 62(1), 98–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2014.957133.
Berrill, K. T., & Herek, G. M. (1990). Primary and secondary victimization in anti-gay hate crimes: Official response and public policy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5(3), 401–413. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626090005003012.
Cramer, R. J., Kehn, A., Pennington, C. R., Wechsler, H. J., & Clark III, J. W. (2013a). An examination of sexual orientation- and transgender-based hate crimes in the post-Matthew Shepard era. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 19(3), 355–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031404.
Cramer, R. J., Nobles, M. R., Amacker, A. M., & Dovoedo, L. (2013b). Defining and evaluating perceptions of victim blame in antigay hate crimes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(14), 2894–2914. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260513488687.
Cramer, R. J., Wakeman, E. E., Chandler, J. F., Mohr, J. J., & Griffin, M. P. (2013c). Hate crimesin trial: Judgments about violent crime against gay men. Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law, 20(2), 202–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/132187192011633488.
Cramer, R. J., Clark III, J. W., Kehn, A., Burks, A. C., & Wechsler, H. J. (2014). A mock juror investigation of blame attribution in the punishment of hate crime perpetrators. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 37(6), 551–557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2014.02.028.
DeVault, A., Miller, M. K., & Griffin, T. (2016). Crime control theater: Past, present, and future. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22(4), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000099.
Downey, J. P., & Stage, F. K. (1999). Hate crimes and violence on college and university campuses. Journal of College Student Development, 40(1), 3–12.
Duncan, D. T., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L., (2014). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender hate crimes and suicidality along a population-based sample of sexual-minority adolescents in Boston. American Journal of Public Health, 104(2), 272–278. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2013.301424.
Erba, J. (2014). Effective or symbolic? Testing the constitutionality of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 14(2), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764013515565.
Gerstenfeld, P. B. (1992). Smile when you call me that: Problems with punishing hate motivated behavior. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 10(2), 259–285. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2370100209.
Griffin, T., & Miller, M. K. (2008). Child abduction, AMBER alert, and crime control theater. Criminal Justice Review, 33(2), 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016808316778.
Gruenewald, J. (2012). Are anti-LGBT homicides in the United States unique? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(18), 3601–3623. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512462301.
Gruenewald, J., & Kelley, K. (2014). Exploring anti-LGBT homicide by mode of victim selection. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41(9), 1130–1152.
Hate Crime Sentencing Enhancement Act. (1993). Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 280003 (Public Law 103-322), 108 Stat. 1796, 2096.
Hate Crime Statistics Act. (1990). 28 U.S.C. § 534.
Hatzenbuehler, M., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Dovidio, J. (2009). How does stigma “get under the skin”? The mediating role of emotion regulation. Psychological Science, 20(10), 1282–1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02441.x.
Hein, L. C, & Scharer, K. M. (2013). Who cares if it is a hate crime? Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender hate crimes—Mental health implications and interventions. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 49(2), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6163.2012.00354.x.
Herek, G. M. (1989). Hate crimes against lesbians and gay men: Issues for research and policy. American Psychologist, 44(6), 948–955. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.44.6.948.
Herek, G. M. (1994). Heterosexism, hate crimes, and the law. In M. Costanzo & S. Oskamp (Eds.), Violence and the law (pp. 89–112). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
Herek, G. M., Gillis, J. R., & Cogan, J. C. (1999). Psychological sequelae of hate crime victimization among lesbians, gay and bisexual adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(6), 945–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.67.6.945.
Herek, G. M., Cogan, J. C., & Gillis, J. R. (2002). Victim experiences in hate crimes based on sexual orientation. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00263.
Human Rights Campaign. (2016). Addressing anti-transgender violence: Exploring realities, challenges, and solutions for policy makers and community advocates. http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/HRC-AntiTransgenderViolence-0519.pdf.
Human Rights Campaign. (2017a). A matter of life and death: Fatal violence of transgendered people in America 2016. http://assets.hrc.org//files/assets/resources/A-Matter-of-Life-and-Death-2016.pdf?_ga=2.68263761.1339267036.1499357907-951374505.1499357907.
Human Rights Campaign. (2017b). State hate crime laws. http://www.hrc.org/state-maps/hate-crimes.
Iganski, P. (2016). Hate Crimes Hurt More. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(4):626–638.
Jacobs, J. B., & Potter, K. (1998). Hate crimes: Criminal law and identity politics. NY: Oxford University Press.
Keller, J., & Dauenheimer, D. (2003). Stereotype threat in the classroom: Dejection mediates the disrupting threat effect on women’s math performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(3), 371–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202250218.
Kelley, H. H. (1972). Causal schemata and the attribution process. In E. E. Jones, D. E. Kanouse, H. H. Kelley, R. E. Nisbett, S. Valins, & B. Weiner (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 151–174). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
Kite, M. E., & Whitley, B. E. Jr. (1996). Sex differences in attitudes toward homosexual persons, behaviors, and civil rights: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(4), 336–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167296224002.
Kristiansen, C. M., & Giulietti, R. (1990). Perceptions of wife abuse: Effects of gender, attitudes toward women, and just-world beliefs among college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 14(2), 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1990.tb00013.x.
Lannert, B. K. (2015). Traumatogenic processes and pathways to mental health outcomes for sexual minorities exposed to bias crime information. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(3), 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014526067.
Lemyre, L., & Smith, P. (1985). Intergroup discrimination and self-esteem in the minimal group paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 660–670. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.660.
Magane, A. (2017, June 21). Don’t tell me Nabra Hassanen, the Muslim girl who was kidnapped outside a mosque and murdered, was a victim of road rage. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nabra-hassanen-islamophobia-ramadan-murdered-hate-crime-road-rage-a7800126.html.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (2009). 18 U.S.C. § 249.
McDevitt, J., Balboni, L., Garcia, L., & Gu, J. (2001). Consequences for victims: A comparison of bias-and non-bias-motivated assaults. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(4), 697–713. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764201045004010.
McPhail, B. A., & DiNitto, D. M. (2005). Prosecutorial perspectives on gender-bias hate crimes. Violence Against Women, 11(9), 1162–1185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801205277086.
Miller, A. J. (2001). Student perceptions of hate crimes. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 25(2), 293–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02886852.
Meyer, D. (2010). Evaluating the severity of hate-motivated violence: Intersectional differences among LGBT hate crime victims. Sociology, 44(5), 980–995. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510375737.
Nagoshi, J. L., Brzuzy, S. I., & Terrell, H. K. (2012). Deconstructing the complex perceptions of gender roles, gender identity, and sexual orientation among transgender individuals. Feminism & Psychology, 22(4), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353512461929.
New details emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder. (2004, November 26). ABC News 20/20. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=277685&page=1.
Perry, B., & Dyck, D. R. (2014). “I don’t know where it is safe”: Trans women’s experiences of violence. Critical Criminology, 22(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-013-9225-0.
Petrosino, C. (1999). Connecting the past to the future: Hate crime in America. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 15(1), 22–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986299015001003.
Plumm, K. M., Potter, S., & Terrance, C. A. (2015). Perceptions of bias-motivate assault against bisexual individuals. Journal of Bisexuality, 15(2), 248–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/1529971620151022275.
Plumm, K. M., & Terrance, C. A. (2009). Battered women who kill: The impact of expert testimony and empathy induction in the courtroom. Violence Against Women, 15(2), 186–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801208329145.
Plumm, K. M., & Terrance, C. A. (2013). Gender-bias hate crimes: What constitutes a hate crime from a potential juror’s perspective? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(7), 1468–1479. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12105.
Plumm, K. M., Terrance, C. A., & Austin, A. (2014). Not all hate crimes are created equal: An examination of the roles of ambiguity and expectations in perceptions of hate crimes. Current Psychology, 33(7), 321–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1214401492158.
Plumm, K. M., Terrance, C. A., Henderson, V. R., & Ellingson, H. (2010). Victim blame in a hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation. Journal of Homosexuality, 57(2), 267–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918360903489101.
Rose, S., & Mechanic, M. (2002). Psychological distress, crime features and help-seeking behaviors related to homophobic bias incidents. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(1), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202046001003.
Rayburn, N. R., Mendoza, M., & Davidson, G. C. (2016). Bystanders’ perceptions of perpetrators and victims of hate crime. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(9):1055–1074.
Schick v. State (1991). 570N.E.2d 918.
Sicafuse, L. L., & Miller, M. K. (2010). Social psychological influences on the popularity of AMBER alerts. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(11), 1237–1254. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854810379618.
Stacey, M. (2011). Distinctive characteristics of sexual orientation bias crimes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(15), 3013–3032. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510390950.
Stack, L. (2017, May 16). U.S. hate crime law punished transgender woman’s killer, in a first. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.
Stafford, Z. (2015, November 13). Transgender homicide rate hits historic high in US says new report. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/13/transgender-homicide-victims-us-has-hit-historic-high.
Stotzer, R. (2010). Sexual orientation-based hate crimes on campus: The impact of policy on reporting rates. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 7(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1317801000141.
Stotzer, R. L. (2013). The intersection of suspect and victim race/ethnicity among anti-gay and anti-lesbian bias crimes. Psychology & Sexuality, 5(4):357–373.
Stotzer, R. (2015). Youth involvement in anti-gay and anti-lesbian bias crimes. Violence and Victims, 30(2): 308–321. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-13-00021.
Sullaway, M. (2004). Psychological perspectives on hate crime laws. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 10(3), 250–292. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8971.10.3.250.
Szymanski, D. (2005). Heterosexism and sexism as correlates of psychological distress in lesbians. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83(3), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2005.tb00355.x.
United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2016, November). Hate Crime Statistics, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2017 from https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2015/resource-pages/abouthatecrime_final.
Wilson, M. S. (2013). Violence and mental health in the transgender community (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University). Retrieved from http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1385412105.
Yan, H., & Hassan, C. (2018, April 24). The man accused of mowing down Toronto pedestrians is charged with murder. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/24/americas/toronto-van-investigation/index.html.
Yost, M. R., & Thomas, G. D. (2012). Gender and binegativity: Men’s and women’s attitudes toward male and female bisexuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(3), 691–702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9767-8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Plumm, K.M., Leighton, K.N. (2019). Sexual Orientation and Gender Bias Motivated Violent Crime. In: Bornstein, B., Miller, M. (eds) Advances in Psychology and Law. Advances in Psychology and Law, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11042-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11042-0_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11041-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11042-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)