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Brutal Gay Bashing Raises Fears of Uptick in Violence by Scott Stiffler
EDGE ContributorThursday Sep 18, 2008 Boston--and New England--has become known as a tolerant place, where gay marriage was ratified by the State Legislature and a college-educated populace is enlightened about gay rights.
That’s what makes the apparent gay bashing that took place on the South End particularly horrifying. On Aug. 24, in the early morning, four men viciously attackedattacked three people in the early morning as they were leaving the Roxy.
Released on $10,000 bail, 29-year-old Framingham resident Fabio Brandao awaits an October 10 court appearance for his alleged involvement in the incident . In the meantime, Brandao must observe a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, stay out of Boston’s South End neighborhood, and avoid contact with those he’s accused of attacking. Police are currently seeking the other participants in the incident.
Fueled by homophobia and alcohol, hate crimes against Boston area LGBTs perpetrated by those from out of town seems to be on the rise, according to police and community activists. Anecdotal and statistical evidence indicates a shift in the nature and severity of such crimes, according to several sources who spoke to EDGE about the matter.
Amanda Escamilla is an advocate counselor for the Fenway Community Health’s Violence Recovery Program. The VRP provides counseling and advocacy for LGBTs who have experienced a hate crime or some sort of traumatic event.
According to Escamilla, 2008 has been a year in which hate crimes have not necessarily spiked. Instead, she said, they have become "more severe in terms of their injuries. We’ve seen more assaults with weapons being used. Often times, the perpetrators are coming from the suburbs. They go to places where they know people meet; outside of gay bars and cruising areas. These are the places where people are vulnerable, so they find it very easy and joyful to do this kind of thing."
Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police, confirmed that a significant shift has occurred, in that perpetrators are coming into the city from elsewhere with the specific purpose of targeting gay men, the transgendered and lesbians. "Anecdotally speaking, it is not unusual for us to determine that suspects in these cases are in fact not from the city, but from out of town," she said. "They come into the city to socialize and commit this crime at the end of their evening."
Citing internal statistics from the Boston Police and its CDU (Community Disorders Unit), Driscoll notes that reported incidents of hate crimes against LGBTs has been increasing annually since 2003. That year, 25 crimes were reported.
There were 28 for 2004, 40 for 2005, 42 for 2006, and 56 for 2007. Thus far in 2008, there have been 28 reported cases. Driscoll believes that the gradual increase speaks at least as much to the public’s willingness to come forward and report such crimes rather than a spike in the actual number of incidents, which she describes as "historically underreported."
But what--other than an increase in the public’s confidence that they’ll be taken seriously by local authorities--can account for the increase?
Escamilla and the VRP are, she noted, "always looking to figure out why these things are happening. Is there something in the political well? At the time when gay marriage was hot, we saw some spikes in intimidation and harassment."
Avy Skolnik, a coordinator for the NYC branch of the Anti Violence Project, speculates that such crimes rise in frequency when there’s an increased visibility, "whether its positive like a gain in rights or negative like a politician’s anti gay stance."
A number of these incidents happen in late June, early July and that could be related to Pride events. "It’s something we’ve seen in the past, but not every year," Skolnik said.
Next: Setting Traps and Alerting the Community
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