Photo by Karollyne Videira Hubert on Unsplash
Elliot Gamelin
University of New Haven
The criminal justice system has struggled to serve and protect minority groups within society. Minority victims tend to lack trust in law enforcement for fear that they will dismiss their need for aid (Lee & Santiago, 2022; Walters et al., 2020). Especially when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, many individuals are victimized and discriminated against through the criminal justice system. Previous studies have expressed sexual, verbal, and physical harassment by police officers, along with inappropriate arrests (Gaynor and Blessett, 2021; Grasso et al., 2023; Stenersen et al., 2022; Westbrook, 2023). The LGBTQ+ community has been in conflict with the criminal justice system for decades, leading to crime victims within the community straying away from seeking help when needed (Girardi, 2021; Trickett & Bryan, 2024). Data are slowly but surely starting to increase around this topic, with current research discussing the victimization of LGBTQ+ individuals within the system and how there is a lack of reform. These studies review the history of the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement, apply the framework of intersectionality, and assess how current strategies used in the criminal justice system have reduced the likelihood of future crime reporting.
The purpose of this paper is to review recent research that investigates how the criminal justice system is lacking in terms of helping LGBTQ+ victims, and how this situation can be resolved to reduce institutionalized discrimination throughout the country. Currently, researchers focus on what has happened in the past and how the system—specifically law enforcement—has failed to keep the LGBTQ+ community safe. While it is important to review the past to aid in the future, we must delve deeper into the cruciality of victimization in the present time. This paper ties the historical tension between the LGBTQ+ community and the criminal justice system with varying ideologies and theories used today (Crenshaw, 1991; Gaynor & Blessett, 2021; Girardi, 2021; Grasso et al., 2023; Stenersen et al., 2022). In addition, the paper discusses multiple suggestions for future policymakers to keep in mind when implementing bias-free laws and regulations.
Literature Review
There are a multitude of results to compare and contrast within the realm of LBGTQ+ victimization and police attitudes toward the community. In addition, gaps and limitations are also discussed in this research. These studies explore what is currently being provided through the system and what needs to be implemented moving forward to resolve the present issues.
LGBTQ+ Historical Tension with Law Enforcement
The history revolving around the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement plays a crucial role in understanding why this minority group hesitates to ask the criminal justice system for help when they need it. The most well-known piece of history is the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. The Stonewall Inn is a gay bar that was extremely popular in New York City. Unfortunately, it was one of the many LGBTQ+-friendly bars that were raided by police for the existence of same-sex activity (Grasso et al., 2023). However, many people fought the night when the bar was raided, becoming one of the first protests of the gay rights movement. During the next 30 to 40 years, some changes were made regarding arrests in gay bars. However, issues remained between the community and the police. Public gatherings of LGBTQ+ individuals were still illegal, regardless of what the gathering entailed, and those who participated in cross-dressing were frequently arrested for their decision to wear varying clothing, since it was seen as “promiscuous” (Grasso et al., 2023). While there have been some major changes to prevent people being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, history has still scarred the community with the heteronormative power frequently found in police departments.
Heteronormativity focuses on the idea of someone seeing biological females and biological males as the only “real” genders, along with straight people being the only “real” sexuality (Girardi, 2021). Through this point of view, LGBTQ+ people can still be seen as hypersexual, perverted, and dangerous individuals, especially by law enforcement officers who feel this way (Girardi, 2021). This is something that still occurs in the United States, with the New Orleans Police Department being a prime example. To illustrate, Gaynor and Blessett (2021) collected data on experiences LGBTQ+ individuals had with officers in Louisiana, with most participants stating they had been misgendered, verbally harassed, physically assaulted, and threatened to participate in sexual activities to stay out of prison. Those who are not from locations that struggle with these issues may not fully comprehend the position of power police officers have that can allow them to treat people within the LGBTQ+ community poorly, regardless of whether it is legal to do so or not (Gaynor & Blessett, 2021). With the historical tension and heteronormative state of mind, these issues greatly impact the choice someone in the community makes to contact the police when they are in the most need. It is heightened to a new level when White male officers are interacting with LGBTQ+ people of color, bringing in the topic of intersectionality.
Intersectionality in the LGBTQ+ Community
Kimberlé Crenshaw (1991), who stated there is more than one human characteristic playing a role in how we are perceived by society, originally established the term “intersectionality.” Race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other factors may increase the chance of being victimized and discriminated against. Intersectionality can be used as a helpful framework to understand why many LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are non-White, are victimized more frequently than others. For example, recent studies have expressed that biological women are sexually assaulted by male officers; when race is added to these previously stated characteristics, Black and Hispanic biological women are victimized at a higher rate (Stenersen et al., 2022). Taking a step further, transgender women of color have the highest rate of being physically and sexually assaulted when they are interacting with the police. This ties back to the main idea of intersectionality and how the disadvantage of a person can greatly increase when they are seen as being “different” within society, or do not hold the heteronormative mindset previously mentioned (Crenshaw, 1991).
Many research gaps exist in terms of intersectionality and how someone from a minority group is treated by the criminal justice system. In varying aspects of the system, one size does not fit all in varying services and programs. Race, gender, and many other characteristics of a person should be considered when choices are being made through the legal process. To aid in solving this issue, diversity and inclusion should have a bigger role when criminal justice processes are updated. This can reduce how often LGBTQ+ people are being mistreated, in addition to reducing how often someone in the community refrains from reporting a crime.
Non-Reporting Concerns
There are a multitude of reasons why people within the LGBTQ+ community struggle to report crimes to the police. One is the previously mentioned heteronormativity, where strong power dynamics between the police and the community can make people feel uncomfortable asking for help (Girardi, 2021). Officers who use their position to harass victims and treat them inhumanely by purposefully using the wrong pronouns, slurs, and other homophobic/transphobic actions will not be trusted by those they hurt (Stenersen et al., 2022; Walters et al., 2020; Westbrook, 2023). Intersectionality is another big reason non-reporting is becoming more common among LGBTQ+ communities. Those who are part of multiple minority groups can be at a higher risk of being victimized or discriminated against, leading to a drop in future reporting (Grasso et al., 2023). Any negative past experiences with criminal justice can implement the feeling of unsafety and dismissive behavior, adding more fear and anxiety to the person seeking help (Girardi, 2021).
Fairly high rates of non-reporting exist; this can lead to less representation of the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups when trying to determine how often hate crimes are taking place (Trickett & Bryan, 2024). Even when a crime is brought to the attention of the police, due to the lack of reporting and rise in discrimination, someone in the LGBTQ+ community looking for help tends to experience situations where they are not taken seriously and are spoken about negatively (Trickett & Bryan, 2024; Walters et al., 2020). The criminal justice system cannot expect those they do not believe and turn away to feel comfortable enough to come back when they are in need again.
The cycle must be broken, where officers and criminal justice workers no longer add a sense of secondary victimization to those already struggling. This can increase the likelihood of underreporting within minority communities, creating a larger gap between them and the criminal justice system. Looking into more empirical research and dissecting the policy implications should improve where the system currently stands.
Contemporary Research
Contemporary empirical research strives to take a deeper look at relevant topics through unique designs and methodologies. Three specific studies and their data will be discussed. Grasso and colleagues (2023) focus on LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ hate crime experiences in the United States and their relation to intersectionality. Similarly, Lee and Santiago (2022) use the framework of intersectionality to review how different individuals within the LGBTQ+ community are reluctant to contact the police. Stenersen and colleagues (2022) review a recent survey of transgender and gender-diverse individuals and the negative, discriminatory interactions they have had with law enforcement. Altogether, this review will aid in later dissecting policy implications, limitations, and future research on the topic of this paper.
Grasso and colleagues (2023) examined the difference between the victimization of minorities within the LGBTQ+ community and minorities not within the community. The Vera Institute of Justice (p. 275) collected data through the Survey of Opinion and Experiences with Crime and Hate. The survey sampled a total of 1023 cases from January 2016 to December 2017, with a majority of the sample coming from California and New Jersey (p. 276). The sample primarily consisted of the younger population, with an average age of 26, and a fairly diverse group of genders and races (68% female identity, 46% Hispanic/Latino, 8% Black) (p.276). With the survey, the authors wanted to analyze varying descriptive statistics along with mean-difference tests to compare LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ individuals (p. 276). Their measures of difference and confidence intervals revealed a handful of findings.
Regarding the views on the criminal justice system, participants falling within the “sexual minorities” (LGBTQ+) category were significantly more likely to view the system in a positive manner. The same result appeared when analyzing the perceptions of police legitimacy, which expresses the idea of the police being seen as fair, helpful, and diverse. Those in the sexual minorities category were significantly more likely to believe law enforcement did not hold legitimacy. Because of this, LGBTQ+ individuals were less likely to report future hate crimes they experienced or viewed. Referring back to the topic of intersectionality, the race of an individual within the sexual minorities category can impact their assumptions and feelings toward police; many non-White people report a lower likelihood of reporting victimization to the police as well. One of the only variables that had a positive result involved previous victimization, indicating participants who had been previously discriminated against and/or victimized were significantly more likely to contact the police in the future if something happened again. Overall, this study expresses how important it is for future researchers to improve police legitimacy among minority communities and how our society can better combat this issue.
Next, Lee and Santiago (2022) used their research to assess how transgender people are reluctant to receive help within the criminal justice system. Data were obtained through the National Transgender Discrimination Survey from 2008 to 2009. A total sample of 6,109 people (after any exclusions) in the LGBTQ+ community, specifically those who are transgender or gender non-conforming, was used. The data were collected through convenience sampling through the form of online and physical surveys. The key variables investigated the amount of reluctance someone has in asking law enforcement for help; this was then associated with independent variables, such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and any previous interactions with the criminal justice system.
Beginning with the findings on race, Black and Hispanic transgender/non-conforming participants felt more discomfort than White participants did when it came to receiving help from the police. In terms of gender identity, FTM (female-to-male; transmen) had less comfort in contacting the police than MTF (male-to-female; transwomen). In addition, people who identified as gender non-conforming were also less comfortable seeking help from the police than those who identified as gender-conforming. For socioeconomic status, people who lived in lower-income neighborhoods or did not have temporary housing had an increased sense of reluctance to possibly contact the police when they were in need. Interestingly, similar to Grasso and colleagues (2023), the participants in this study were also more comfortable reaching out to the police if they had already done so in the past, creating an important pattern that will be discussed shortly. Another similarity with previous research is the topic of intersectionality, where the race, gender, and class of each transgender/non-conforming individual in the study exacerbated the feelings of reluctance as more factors intertwined with one another. It is important to keep in mind how the findings from this study point to the intricate relationship between both groups (LGBTQ+ and police), how varying characteristics can impact the decisions of a victim within a minority community, and what needs to be done in the future to solve the problems at hand.
Finally, Stenersen and colleagues (2022) sought to dive deeper into how transgender and gender-diverse people within the United States interact with and are treated by the police. The data collection process utilized the United States Transgender Survey, which is the largest survey focused on transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals. After exclusions and weighing the sample to use only adult participants, a total of 22,456 people were chosen. Most of the survey consists of descriptive demographics along with questions revolving around police interaction. In addition, a logistic regression model was used to assess how the past year of interactions with the police corresponded to varying forms of harassment.
The main findings indicated approximately 40% of participants (≈ 9,050) had interactions with police in the past year, with almost 46% of them (4,136) involving some sort of violence and/or harassment. The same percentage of encounters involved verbal harassment, and slightly over 6% of the sample (552) experienced physical violence. Black and Hispanic transgender/gender diverse individuals were victimized more often than White individuals, with Hispanic people facing more verbal harassment and Black people facing more physical and sexual harassment. In addition, those who were slightly younger adults and lived in low-income locations had a higher chance of being harassed or experiencing violence by the police. While somewhat different from the other two contemporary articles, this study provides a sense of urgency when it comes to advocating for transgender and other LGBTQ+ individuals when they interact with law enforcement officers and agencies. The harassment and violence they face are at an all-time high, and new interventions, programs, and policies must be reviewed to make a difference.
Summary and Conclusions
The literature included within this paper expresses how the tension between the LGBTQ+ community and the police has been going on for decades. Since the Stonewall Uprising, there have been varying issues in terms of unnecessary violence, arrests, and harassment among minority groups (Gaynor & Blessett, 2021; Grasso et al., 2023). When heteronormativity among police officers is added into the mix, an immediate negative reaction about LGBTQ+ people is created; this ultimately establishes a baseline for mistreatment, dehumanization, and a lack of trust (Stenersen et al., 2022; Walters et al., 2020; Westbrook, 2023). These issues, along with past negative police experiences, have led to an increase in under-reporting or non-reporting of crimes among LGBTQ+ people (Girardi, 2021; Trickett & Bryan, 2024).
The contemporary research assesses how LGBTQ+ individuals view the criminal justice system in an (overall) negative light, with lower rates of reporting crimes and believing police legitimacy will be involved if they seek aid (Grasso et al., 2023). Race, sexuality, gender identity, and socioeconomic status have a crucial impact on the sense of comfort someone in the LGBTQ+ community feels around law enforcement (Grasso et al., 2023; Lee & Santiago, 2022). These feelings can increase the percentage of physically, verbally, and sexually violent interactions with police officers (Stenersen et al., 2022). Based on the main results from each of these research articles, future studies interested in this topic will have important information to use on where the policy implications lie, what pieces of data stand out, and what can be done to decrease the discrimination and victimization of the LGBTQ+ community within the criminal justice system.
Overall, these empirical articles have evaluated the varying conflicts LGBTQ+ people face when it comes to interactions with the criminal justice system. There is an immense lack of support to aid the community, especially when intersectionality is involved. Some common limitations, such as how the data could be collected and the sample demographics, were present. However, this allows future researchers to study why there may be an imbalance among certain participant demographics, what that says about the overarching issue, and how these forms of collecting data can be expanded to more LGBTQ+ communities nationwide. By building a stronger foundation of initial data and reaching a wider variety of individuals, this can increase the likelihood of positive, well-run training and programs to reduce the under-reporting of LGBTQ+ crimes.
Current policy implications found within these research studies suggest several developments moving forward. Across the articles, the need for improving police legitimacy and police training was discussed (Grasso et al., 2023; Lee & Santiago, 2022; Stenersen et al., 2022; Walters et al., 2020; Westbrook, 2023). Policies should try to tackle the looming perceptions of illegitimacy within the criminal justice system, affecting how officers and other workers should respond to LGBTQ+ victims. Through diversity and inclusion training, all police officers–whether they have just been brought on or if they have been at the department for years–will learn about minority communities, the stereotypes that often occur, and what can be done to ensure these civilians are properly taken care of regardless of who they are or where they are from. This training and new approach to communicating with the public can include intersectionality, reminding the officers and other criminal justice workers that a civilian does not have just one characteristic; there are a multitude of internal and external factors that impact their lives. If this approach is handled properly, the policy implications of community engagement can be pursued (Lee & Santiago, 2022; Stenersen et al., 2022).
As mentioned in the research, there were participants within certain samples who felt more comfortable speaking with police and reaching out to law enforcement in the future since they had already interacted with them before (Grasso et al., 2023; Lee & Santiago, 2022). This would be a good place to start in terms of community relationships and building trust between the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement. Outreach programs and events could be initiated through different towns and states to work on those positive interactions. Criminal justice workers can take this opportunity to listen to what these minority groups need, how they feel about their treatment within the system, and what some resolutions could entail. Adding LGBTQ+ liaisons to local police departments is one way to bridge the gap between both groups. Their job consists of building rapport throughout the community, initiating police training, and making the police department a safe space for more LGBTQ+ officers to be hired (Lee & Santiago, 2022). Within this process, there is room to improve the accountability of police officers, especially if they have previously treated LGBTQ+ people poorly. By addressing these barriers and adding improved ways to report any crimes, even if the perpetrator is an officer, society can slowly start working toward a less fearful and more trustworthy bond.
These policy implications provide strong suggestions for future research. As stated, researchers and policymakers can explore the different ways the LGBTQ+ community is underserved and how that changes their perceptions of police. Training programs, more inclusivity within the criminal justice system, and community building can all create a stronger connection between the public and law enforcement. In turn, more empirical studies will be conducted and written with useful context on the experiences LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups face when interacting with the police. This will give researchers more data to work with as time passes, allowing them to detect new limitations and refine various methods and programs. While more suggestions on this issue exist and will continue to expand as more problems arise, the information currently available can aid in crime reporting and interactions with the police, hopefully leading to a more inclusive and welcoming criminal justice system.
References
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.
Gaynor, T. S., & Blessett, B. (2021). Predatory policing, intersectional subjection, and the experiences of LGBTQ people of color in New Orleans. Urban Affairs Review, 58(5), 1305-1339. https://doi.org/10.1177/10780874211017289
Girardi, R. (2021). ‘It’s easy to mistrust police when they keep on killing us’: A queer exploration of police violence and LGBTQ+ victimization. Journal of Gender Studies, 31(7), 852-862. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1979481
Grasso, J. C., Jenness, V., & Vogler, S. (2023). Understanding the context for police avoidance: The impact of sexual identity, police legitimacy and legal cynicism on willingness to report hate crime. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 35(2), 269-289.
Lee, Y., & Santiago, L. (2022). Race, class, and gender identity: Implications for transgender people’s police help seeking. Police Practice and Research, 24(1), 17-31.
Stenersen, M. R., Thomas, K., & McKee, S. (2022). Police and transgender and gender diverse people in the United States: A brief note on interaction, harassment, and violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(23-24), NP23527-NP23540.
Trickett, L., & Bryan, T. (2024). Aligning police practice with hate crime theory: The case for using risk assessments to improve police response to victims of hate. International Review of Victimology, 0(0), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580241279607
Walters, M. A., Paterson, J., Brown, R., & McDonnell, L. (2020). Hate crimes against trans people: Assessing emotions, behaviors, and attitudes toward criminal justice agencies. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(21-22), 4583-4613.
Westbrook, L. (2023). The matrix of violence: Intersectionality and necropolitics in the murder of transgender people in the United States, 1990-2019. Gender & Society, 37(3), 413-446.