The Facts
In the last 25 years, there have been 73 documented offenses in New York, including stabbings and setting individuals on fire, that could be classified as hate crimes under the Homeless Protection Act.
This number is significantly underreported. One aim of the HPA is to ensure we have more accurate data going forward, which will help combat the stigma that unhoused people are perpetrators of violence, when they are instead much more likely to be victims of horrific violence.
“People feel like whatever abuse I want to inflict on this person I will because there’s nothing they can do. We, as a society, have dehumanized unhoused folks and people see them as lesser in value, that they can violate them and no one will care.”
Hate crime definition
A hate crime in the state of New York is defined as a traditional offense that is motivated by bias. A person commits a hate crime when one of a specified set of crimes is committed targeting a victim because of a perception or belief regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct. The HPA would add a hate crime category that is motivated by the perpetrator's bias against people experiencing homelessness and is facilitated by their ability to target unstably housed individuals with relative ease. The types of attacks include murder, stalking, assault, harassment, and a wide variety of other forms of violence.
Hate crime Data collection
Most of the data presented comes from reports published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, an organization which has compiled information about hate crimes committed against people experiencing homelessness nationwide. They caution that although compelling data exists about the frequency and severity of attacks, the occurrences are absolutely underreported. Since the 1980s, the homeless community has been ostracized and dehumanized. States and localities nationwide have enacted laws that criminalize life-sustaining activities such as camping, sleeping, and panhandling. These policies villainize and force people experiencing homelessness into hiding, making them targets for those intent on causing harm.
Our goal with the Homeless Protection Act is to bring about change and ensure the protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances or housing status. We want to end the stigma resulting in the dehumanization of people experiencing homelessness. To build compassionate communities, the civil and human rights of people experiencing homelessness must be protected.
National Demographics (Source)
81.8% of victims were between the ages of 21-60.
79.8% of the victims were men, while 20.2% were women.
In 2018 and 2019, 95% of the perpetrators were male.
77.3% of the perpetrators were 40 years old and younger.
read more: Policy Report
THE HOMELESS PROTECTION ACT: A STEP TOWARDS ENDING THE VICTIMIZATION OF HOMELESS NEW YORKERS (Urban Pathways, Care For the Homeless)
Debunking Myths About the Homeless Protection Act
Myth: Homelessness is a changeable characteristic and therefore does not qualify as a protected class under hate crimes legislation.
Fact: Immutability is not a requirement for protected classes. Hate crime categories often include changeable characteristics such as nationality, religion, and disability.
Myth: This bill would result in offenses perpetrated by people experiencing homelessness against other people experiencing homelessness being charged as hate crimes.
Fact: Offenses that are perpetrated by people experiencing homelessness against other people experiencing homelessness are not motivated by anti-homelessness bias and thus do not apply.
Myth: This legislation is unnecessary because people experiencing homelessness are the perpetrators of crimes, not the victims of them.
Fact: Despite the persistent stereotype that people experiencing homelessness are dangerous, they are actually much more likely to be the victim of a crime than the perpetrator of one.