2014/08/25 by James G. Bell, Barbara Perry · 3 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
paper · doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.957133
openalex publication_date 2014/08/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Hate crime scholars have long argued that the harms of hate crime extend beyond the immediate victim to negatively impact the victim's reference community. However, this assertion is speculative and in need of empirical support. Utilizing focus group data from 15 people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or pansexual, this pilot study explored the extent to which the harms of anti-LGB hate crime spread beyond the immediate victim to impact nonvictims in the LGB community. The findings suggest that anti-LGB hate violence can have profound and negative effects on the psychological and emotional well-being of nonvictims who are LGB and may result in dramatic behavioral change as well. The findings also indicate that hate violence negatively affected participants' decisions to disclose their sexual orientation to others. On a more positive note, however, awareness of such violence may also mobilize some people within the LGB community.