LGBTQ Americans face startling disparities at every level of the criminal justice system, a new, sweeping report from the Movement Advancement Project and the Center for American Progress found.
The report concluded:
[I]t is beyond dispute that the story of criminalization and mass incarceration in the United States is overwhelmingly one targeting black people, people of color, immigrants, people labeled with mental illness or addiction, and low-income people — including the LGBTQ people who share these identities or characteristics. The reality is, as much of the research cited within this report confirms, that LGBTQ youth and people of color, transgender and gender nonconforming people, and low-income and homeless LGBTQ people make up the overwhelming majority of the individuals whose experiences animate these pages. …
Conversations around criminalization of LGBTQ people should neither be framed nor read as an isolated, additional, or competing narrative, but rather situated in a broader systemic understanding of policing and punishment of gender and sexuality in service of maintaining structures of power based on race, poverty, ability, and place.
The report concludes that addressing these issues will require not just targeting discrimination against LGBTQ people within the justice system, but also going after broader forces — like overpolicing, mass incarceration, and even problems that go beyond the criminal justice system, such as schools and welfare programs.
But in demonstrating why, the report first makes it very clear that LGBTQ Americans face enormous disparities in the criminal justice system. Here are just five examples, pulled from the report, that demonstrate how LGBTQ Americans are pushed into the criminal justice system — and suffer some of the worst consequences once they're in.
1) LGBTQ people are often rejected by family, putting them in a dire place that can lead to incarceration
Discrimination and stigma in society, workplaces, families and communities force many LGBT people into untenable situations. LGBT young people are often pushed out of homes and schools because of family rejection, harsh and discriminatory school discipline policies, and other factors — leaving these youth to fend for themselves on the streets.
In addition, LGBT adults may be unable to make ends meet because of discrimination in many areas of life. For example, discrimination can make it more difficult to earn a living, find safe shelter and long-term housing, access affordable health care, and meet other basic necessities.
As a result, LGBT people are at increased risk of becoming homeless and/or relying on survival economies, which in turn leaves LGBT people vulnerable to encounters with law enforcement and, ultimately, criminalization. For example, one in five (20%) of transgender people in men's prisons in California had been homeless just prior to their incarceration.
2) LGBTQ youth are more likely to be bullied in school — and perhaps drop out
In a longitudinal survey of 4,200 students in Alabama, Texas, and California that began when the students entered fifth grade and concluded when they finished tenth grade, students who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual were 91% more likely to be bullied and 46% more likely to be victimized compared to their heterosexual peers. …
In the 2013 National School Climate Survey, 3.4% of LGBT youth said they did not plan to graduate high school or were unsure if they would graduate. When asked why, a majority of these students (57%) named hostile or unsupportive school environments as the reason why they felt they had to leave school. One-fifth (20%) of students planning to drop out reported having mental health concerns.
3) Police often target LGBTQ people, particularly transgender women
In Human Rights Watch's examination of policing in New Orleans, for example, transgender women were subjected to constant harassment, verbal abuse, and stops for suspicion of prostitution; these women also were sometimes asked for sex in exchange for leniency. Transgender women frequently report that police assume they are participating in sex work simply because they are "walking while transgender" or because condoms are found during a frisk.
When citing LGBTQ people for prostitution and related offenses, police also may charge them with additional crimes that bring added punishments. Until very recently, LGBTQ people in Louisiana, in particular African-American transgender women, who were arrested for prostitution-related crimes were at risk for being charged under the state’s "crimes against nature" statute. This law singled out solicitation of oral and anal sex for harsher punishment, including registration as a sex offender.
4) Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are twice as likely to be incarcerated. Rates are even worse for transgender people.
According to the National Inmate Survey, in 2011- 2012, 7.9% of individuals in state and federal prisons identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as did 7.1% of individuals in city and county jails. This is approximately double the percentage of all American adults who identify as LGBT, according to Gallup (3.8%).
Sixteen percent of transgender and gender non-conforming respondents to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey indicated they had spent time in jail or prison, with higher rates for transgender women (21%) and lower rates for transgender men (10%). Comparatively, about 5% of all American adults will spend time in jail or prison during their lifetimes.
5) In prison, LGBTQ people are more likely to face the worst conditions
[A] 2015 report found that 28% of LGB people in prison had been placed in solitary confinement during the past year compared to just 18% of heterosexual people in prison. LGBT people who are placed in confinement facilities disproportionately encounter harsh and unsafe treatment by staff and fellow inmates, insufficient access to comprehensive, competent health care and supportive services, and other challenges. Several studies find incredibly high rates of sexual assault. For example, 24% of transgender people in prisons and jails reported being sexually assaulted by another inmate compared to 2% of all inmates.
The report shows systemic failures at every step
Individually, just one of these statistics might not make a strong case that disparities exist in the criminal justice system or US society as a whole. But when looking at all these figures together, it's clear there are systemic issues — and LGBTQ people are disproportionately suffering as a result.
Maybe it's how the criminal justice system operates. Maybe it's economic desperation that arises after a gay teenager is thrown out of his home or a transgender child is bullied out of her school. Maybe it's discrimination in the job or housing market, which remains legal in most states. Maybe it's a mix of these, and perhaps other, factors that contribute to more LGBTQ people falling into the criminal justice system than the rest of the population.
The report, for its part, suggests it's an array of issues, and subsequently puts forward a wide range of solutions: providing more youth services to LGBTQ children and teens rejected by family, increased financial support to families, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, and implementing reforms that divert people from jail and prison to rehabilitation or support services, among many other ideas.
Whatever the case, the LGBTQ population is seldom mentioned in discussions about the US criminal justice system. So by simply raising awareness, the report could go a long way to getting lawmakers to address these issues.