"...a man called me a 'fucking fag ' and he reached out to hit me.. I moved out of his way and went into a store for protection.''(Italian Canadian lesbian)
This woman in Toronto was lucky. Recently two movies have been made on the Matthew Shepard story. He wasn't as lucky. In November of 2001, Vancouver resident Aaron Webster lost his life because of the hate of others. Is a gay man safe to walk home from a night out? Is a lesbian free from harassment because she is a homosexual? Are LBGT safe from the spread of hate propoganda online? Does the LGBT community really face crimes of hate?
One widely quoted Canadian study by the 519 Community Centre in Toronto looked at the issue of violence against the LGBT community. Sponsored by the Department of Justice in 1995, it surveyed 368 individuals during that year's pride week. the 519 report gathers information from a number of psychologists, professors, and government officials (including Police Departments) that agree that the LGBT community is one of the least likely groups to report incidents. Julian Roberts, professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa and author of Disproportionate Harm: Hate Crime in Canada, echoes this stance. This document, also for the Department of Justice, points out that
Research in other countries such as the United States has clearly shown that gays and lesbians are a principal target for hate crimes. In addition, there are several reasons to believe that members of the gay community are less likely than any other victimized group to report incidents to the police. For this reason, police statistics are likely to seriously underestimate the extent of the threat to the gay community in Canada.
Comparative studies of similar questionnaires from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Vancouver, and Philadelphia were also cited. Results were startling. 20.6% of the respondents from Toronto had experienced violence such as being punched or beaten, 18% in Nova Scotia and 16% in New Brunswick. In Toronto, 25.8% of the respondents had objects thrown at them, 25% in Nova Scotia and 17% in New Brunswick.
The Canadian Criminal Code does not directly deal with Hate Crimes, rather it points out the penalties for spreading or promoting hate literature. The only section of this code that deals with Hate Crimes is in section 718.2 which allows for tougher sentences for perpetrators of crimes based on " race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor." While this part of the Criminal Code does allow for harsher sentencing in such cases it also says that "all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders." Obviously, there is something odd about a Criminal Code in which lighter sentences are recommended in a section created to do the very opposite.
After searching through the RCMP web site and speaking with various officers, THE failed to find an RCMP definition of Hate Crimes similar to those in use by other major police departments. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary also had little to say about our inquiries, not really knowing a response to the question "does the RNC have a Hate Crimes unit like other major cities in Canada." However, across the country other police departments are responding to the issue of violence against the LGBT community. A few weeks ago the Toronto Star reported that Police Chief Julian Fantino, of the Toronto Police Department, attended a church service a the Metropolitan Community church, which has a largely gay congregation. He joined in worship there to show his commitment to to improving relations between the police and the gay community.
Progress has been made in recent years. For example, sexual orientation is already included in many major cities Hate/Bias crime definitions. The Halifax Police Departments definition is "A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against a person or property, the motive for which is based in whole or in part upon the victim's race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation".
Does this mean hate crimes in Newfoundland do not exist? The 519 report suggested that almost across the board, at least 80% of the LGBT community had experienced verbal abuse or threats. Violence in the LGBT community also doesn't seem to be a solely urban problem. Rates in the Atlantic Provinces don't lag far behind that of Toronto. If the 519 report is true and nearly every member of this community is at least experiencing verbal assault and even one in five experiencing some form of violence, even in our neighboring provinces, concern arises about what is happening in Newfoundland.
There is no doubt that the RNC and the RCMP does an incredible job to keep our province safe, but obviously there is concern about LGBT safety her in Newfoundland. If our neighboring provinces have problems, how open and safe is your province? Is it possible that such crimes are being committed and a whole community is being left in far? if 80% of all people on Water Street on any given day had been verbally assaulted for being on Water Street and not Duckworth and one in six had been punched or beaten for it, obviously we would have serious problems. We DO have a series problem.
What, then should be done? Due to the difficulty in finding statistics, all levels of government should fund more research so that police departments and concerned citizens know what is happening in our neighborhoods. A national definition of Hate Crimes needs to be established which does not restrict classification to only crimes committed solely based on bias. Education for Police officers, health care providers and school boards should be developed. Also, better cooperation and communication is required between leaders within the gay community and the police departments.
The LGBT community is facing harassment and violence. The few statistics we do have proves that point. If Newfoundland is anything like it's neighbors we do experience hate. What are we as a community going to do about it? It is important that our province feels safe for all it's citizens regardless of who they love. Newfoundland must keep its reputation of being the "nicest place in Canada".