Jesse Fraga/ Asst. News Director
Most LGBTQ hate crimes in Miami-Dade County tend to go unreported. FIU professor, Besiki Luka Kutateladze, conducted a study to find out why.
A hate crime is defined as “a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias,” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Florida’s hate crime law covers discrimination merely based on sexual orientation, excluding gender and gender identity. This also applies to the Miami-Dade hate crime law.
After Kutateladze and his husband moved to South Florida, they noticed a lack of “effective identification, investigation, and prosecution of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Miami,” confirmed in his study.
It focused on victims of LGBTQ hate crimes in Miami, especially toward the Latinx community.
Kutateladze launched the study in 2018 by partnering with FIU’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Miami LGBTQ organization called SAVE, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office, and the Miami-Dade Police Department.
A key finding in Kutateladze’s study suggested, “The criminal justice system is not capable of effectively identifying and handling such crimes.”
He found most victims avoid reporting their experiences due to a fear of being outed, or having their gender identity exposed, misunderstood, or feeling discriminated against by law enforcement officials.
“The big takeaway is that most people do not report the crime because… they’re just so used to being victimized that they almost have normalized those experiences,” said Kutateladze.
The first Stonewall Student Union (SSU) for FIU’s LGBTQ community in 1990 faced backlash from other students, as homophobia and transphobia were less noted under the Florida law.
62-year-old, Douglas Hasty, was the union’s advisor. He now volunteers as a mentor in the LGBTQA Mentorship Program at FIU.
Hasty witnessed repetitive instances of homophobia and transphobia on campus.
“When [SSU] had tabling events in the Graham Center… they put their table down and one of the fraternities… realized who they were, picked the fraternity tables up, and moved it as far away as they could get,” said Hasty.
While this may not be considered a direct hate crime under legal terms, SSU students were afraid to report their victimization out of distrust in the university’s higher authorities.
He recalled a moment when a student was fearful of reporting a threat to authorities, “I remember one [student] said, ‘What’s the point in telling [Hasty]? There’s nothing he can do about it either,’” said Hasty.
He added that the police were not viewed as gay-friendly at the time.
Kutateladze’s study indicates that in Miami-Dade, 34% of the study’s respondents are still concerned with reporting their experiences to police and 85% of incidents were not reported.
This is not the only incident of LGBTQ discrimination at FIU, however, there have been none reported to the university this year after a preliminary inquiry according to FIUPD.
FIU Police Captain, Delrish Moss, told PantherNOW, “Many times, victims do not specify initially and it cannot be left up to the interpretation of the officer unless there is an overt reference to sexual orientation in words, symbolism, or deed.”
FIU associate director of LGBTQA Initiatives, Erica Jayne Friedman contributed to the study’s findings, particularly in relation to the impact of discrimination on students.
“I certainly hear [discriminatory] comments when I present on Zoom on a regular basis,” Friedman said. “I wouldn’t categorize those as hate crimes but they could… contribute to potential hate crimes.”
While the type of crimes varies, they do occur. The study reported that about 3,859 violent and property offenses occur annually and 30% of respondents were assaulted.
Friedman recommends for students to report any instances of hate to authorities, LGBTQA Initiatives, or someone you trust in seeking help.
“Sometimes it just feels good to tell somebody, be heard, and have it documented,” they said. “You really have nothing to lose.”
Kutateladze pointed out that LGBTQ+ individuals often aren’t supported by their families. In fact, 52% of the physical assaults reported were committed by non-strangers.
With this, he found that victims are ten times more likely to report the crime if they have a network of allied friends.
Kutateladze told PantherNOW, “This shows you how important it is for the LGBTQ community to continue supporting each other and telling each other [about] their victimization.”