Content area
Full Text
This research investigated the psychological impact of the Shepard murder, a widely publicized antigay hate crime in 1998, on nonvictims who were members of the targeted group, through the lens of assumptive world theory. Nine people with minority sexual identities who indicated that they were deeply affected by this murder participated in semistructured interviews of 60 to 90 minutes, and verbatim transcripts were coded and analyzed using qualitative data analysis software. Participants were five men and four women ranging in age from 17 to 51. Results illustrate a vicarious traumatization effect; that is, this event challenged participant fundamental assumptions of benevolence and meaningfulness of the world and worthiness of self. Findings also reflect positive aftereffects. Strengths and limitations of the study, as well as future research possibilities, are discussed.
Hate crimes that target bisexual, gay, and lesbian (BGL) people directly affect a large number of victims in the United States. In 1984, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force first collected data on these crimes and found that 19% of 1,420 gay men and 624 lesbians in eight cities had experienced physical assault because of their sexual orientation; 44% had been threatened with violence; 83% had lived with the fear of being victimized; and 45% had modified their behavior to reduce the risk of violence (Berrill, 1992). FBI figures (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2000) show that in 1999, reported anti-BGL hate crimes in the United States totaled 1,317. These crimes targeted 1,558 victims (90% of whom were victimized as individuals) and included 3 murders, 571 assaults, 477 incidents of intimidation, and 333 incidents of vandalism. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation bias composed 17% of all hate crime incidents reported to the FBI. In another survey of 898 gay men, 1,089 lesbians, and 381 bisexual people living in the Sacramento, California, area, approximately one fourth of the men and one fifth of the women reported having experienced hate crimes (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 1999).
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Hate crimes are seen as being aimed to strike not only their individual victims but all people who share membership in the targeted group. Each anti-BGL hate crime conveys "a warning to all gay and lesbian people to stay in `their place,' the invisibility and self-hatred of...