03-20-2024
The Washington Post reviewed FBI data on school hate crimes targeting LGBTQ individuals. Those crimes have increased more in states passing laws restricting LGBTQ student rights and education. Hate crimes on K-12 campuses have quadrupled in those states with restrictive laws. Calls to LGBTQ crisis hotlines have dramatically increased, with some positing that it is because of the spike in bullying and hate crimes.
Recent headlines shared the story of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma teenager who took their own life after a fight with other students in their public school bathroom. Benedict’s family says three girls bullied Nex because of how they dressed. Oklahoma has several restrictive laws, including limiting students to the bathrooms of their sex assigned at birth and precluding transition-related care for minors (with more restrictions under consideration). A transgender student interviewed by the Post spoke about students parroting the negative views they hear at home about LGBTQ people, with one fellow student telling him to "just go die already."
From 2015 to 2019, there were approximately 108 anti-LGBTQ hate crimes on college and K-12 campuses. In 2021 and 2022, that average doubled. States with the most restrictive laws on K-12 campuses saw the highest increases. Simple assault, intimidation, and vandalism are the most reported hate crimes. School is one of the most significant stressors for LGBTQ students, particularly transgender students. Hate crime rates were higher in more liberal states per capita, which some experts attribute to students and families in those states empowered by their rights to report violence and harassment. Federal studies show LGBTQ adolescents are at higher risk for bullying and mental health problems.