Improved outreach and better reporting methods were behind a sharp spike in the number of GLBT domestic violence incidents reported to Horizons Community Services in 2000, agency officials said.
According to statistics from Horizons' Anti-Violence Project, a total of 109 victims reported domestic violence in 2000, up 136% from the 46 reports made in 1999.
The figures were released at a July 31 press conference that drew speakers from the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Horizons and Howard Brown Health Center. The conference was scheduled to coincide with the release of national figures from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects ( NCAVP ) .
Horizons Executive Director Roger Doughty said the agency turned its attention to GLBT domestic violence as "it became clear that domestic violence, just as it had in the heterosexual community ... also plagued the LGBT community. And plague is not too strong a word."
He and others stressed that the 2000 numbers don't necessarily represent an increase in domestic violence but more likely signal increased awareness of the resources available. And he noted that the calls received by Horizons only represent a fraction of the actual incidents that take place.
"The scope of the problem is only now starting to become clear," he said. "That's just the tip of the iceberg, and we all know that."
Lisa Tonna, director of Information and Referral at Horizons, urged people to take the problem of domestic violence to heart.
"Behind each of these numbers lies a human being," she said. Of the 109 victims who made reports in 2000, 40 were African-American, 11 were Latino/a, 1 was Eastern European, 1 was Southeast Asian, 44 were white and the ethnicity of 12 was unknown. One reported their sexual orientation as questioning, the orientation of two were unknown, three were bisexual, 12 were heterosexual and the remaining 91 identified as gay or lesbian.
Two victims identified as male-to-female transgendered, 50 were male and 57 were female. Those numbers mark an increase from 1999, when the figures included 16 women, 30 men and no one who identified as transgendered.
Of the 109 cases, 34 were reported to police and 31 were not. In two of the incidents, the victim was arrested, and in four incidents the police refused to make a report. Two victims said they planned to call police after talking to Horizons, and the fate of the remaining 36 incidents is unknown.
In looking to improve victims' interactions with police, Horizons has conducted cultural sensitivity roll call trainings with police on how best to handle GLBT domestic violence incidents.
According to 23rd District Chicago police Officer Tony Niemotka, 20% of all batteries reported to the 23rd District in 2000 involved domestic violence, and 9% of those calls involved gays and lesbians.
Niemotka, domestic violence liaison officer for the 23rd District, noted that the city receives an average of 566 domestic violence calls a day.
"This is no longer a family problem, it is a community problem," he said.
Horizons attributed its rise in reports in 2000 to outreach efforts, collaborations with other community organizations, trainings conducted with police and at mainstream domestic violence agencies and to networking.
Currently, four agencies are collaborating their GLBT domestic violence efforts, including Horizons, Chicago Connections Women's Program, Howard Brown Health Center and the YWCA.
Stacey Long, director of the Women's Program at Howard Brown, said the agencies have been able to pool their resources to produce posters and brochures and to work with bar and business owners about spotting the signs of domestic violence.
In a plea for financial support, Doughty noted that providers currently have to temper their outreach efforts so that the demand for services doesn't exceed the resources that are available.
Horizons is part of an effort to meet one of the community's largest unmet needs—culturally sensitive shelter for GLBT survivors of domestic violence.
LGBT Shelter Chicago is an organization working to create a network of safe homes for survivors. There are currently no shelters that deal specifically with GLBT concerns, and no shelters for male victims of domestic violence. For more information on LGBT Shelter Chicago, contact Nicole Kramer of the State's Attorney's office at ( 312 ) 341-2738.
Nationwide, the NCAVP also saw the number of reported domestic violence incidents rise in 2000.
In 2000, NCAVP documented 4,038 cases of domestic violence from 12 agencies in nine regions, a 29.7% increase from 1999, when 3,120 cases were reported. Reporting regions include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Colorado, Boston, Minnesota, New York City, Cleveland and Columbus.
Cities reporting the highest number of cases were Los Angeles with 2,146 incidents, San Francisco with 691, New York with 471 and Boston with 371. Nationally, there were seven domestic violence-related murders, according to the NCAVP.
For more information on the national report, contact Rachel Baum at the NCAVP at ( 212 ) 714-1184, rbaum@avp.org .