Twenty-four cases of anti-transgendered hate crimes and discrimination were documented by It's Time, Illinois in 1999, according to a report the group released Monday.
This was the largest number of cases since the group began documenting incidents in 1995.
Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine and ITI's Miranda Stevens-Miller at Monday's press conference. Photos by Israel Wright
Speaking at a press conference about the statistics were Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine and Miranda Stevens-Miller, chairperson of ITI.
Since ITI is based in the Chicago metropolitan area, most of the cases took place in Chicago and Cook County. Since the group began collecting information, it has documented 66 separate cases, including approximately 80 incidents of violence and other discriminatory acts.
"In every case," ITI stated, "a person was made—either through violence or through the denial of employment, housing or public accommodations—to feel like a second-class citizen merely because their life or appearance did not conform to traditional expectations for their gender."
The 54-page report itself was dedicated to the memory of Baretta Williams, who was just 26 when she was murdered last year. She was shot 16 times in her apartment. Her roommate was also shot, and survived.
"We are seeking reform in human-rights legislation so that the law recognizes and protects a heretofore invisible segment of the population," ITI said. "Gender different people have been so marginalized and stereotyped by society that most are forced to hide, living in fear of rejection by their families and friends, fear of loss of their jobs and apartments, fear of their lives as they walk down the street."
Of the 24 cases in 1999, nine were in employment, four were in public accommodations, five were civil-rights violations, and six were hate crimes.
ITI's cases are based on calls made to various gay and straight agencies, but "these are just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the people who have suffered discrimination do not know about the It's Time, Illinois documentation project, or other resources which are available," ITI said.
Since 1995, 42 percent of the cases have involved employment bias, 18 percent public accommodations, 5 percent housing, 15 percent civil rights, 15 percent assault, and a disturbing 3.85 percent were murders.
Of the employment cases, 63 percent were fired, 15 percent not hired, and 21 percent harassed on the job. These cases involved 54 percent transsexual, 6 percent crossdressers, 21 percent gay men, 12 percent lesbians, and 6 percent straights.
Employment cases included the firing of the head of the Illinois Railway Museum; a gay man harassed by his supervisor; and a lesbian who was fired and complained to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
Of the 15 hate crimes documented since 1995, ITI reports that 16 percent were murders, 52 percent assault, 16 percent shooting, 11 percent rape, and 5 percent stalking. Those hate crimes included the bashing of a 19-year-old female who attackers thought was a gay man; the sexual assault and rape of a 21-year-old trans woman; and the murder of Baretta Williams.
While most of the cases were in Cook County, there were some documented in DuPage, Kane, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee and McHenry counties.
The ITI report provides a comprehensive and thoroughly researched look at the growing problem of anti-trans hate crimes and discrimination in the city and around the country.
For details, contact ITI at ( 312 ) 409-5489, ItsTimeIL@aol.com, or visit www.itstimeil.org .