A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law reviews 25 years of research on hate crimes against transgender and nonbinary people in California and across the U.S.
The study documents an increase in reported anti-transgender hate crimes over time and finds that these crimes account for a growing share of all reported hate crimes. When the California Department of Justice began collecting data on anti-transgender hate crimes in 1999, law enforcement reported 13 incidents. By 2024, that number had risen to 73.
A similar trend appears nationally. FBI data show increases in both the number of reported hate crimes and the share motivated by gender identity bias. In 2018, anti-transgender and anti-gender nonconforming bias motivated 184 recorded hate crime offenses. By 2024, that number had increased to 527.
The FBI defines a hate crime as a criminal offense motivated, in whole or in part, by bias against a person based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.
“Despite evidence of high rates of reported hate crimes against transgender people, gaps in data collection and reporting obscure the true extent of these crimes in the U.S.,” said lead author Joshua Arrayales, Law Fellow at the Williams Institute. “Recent efforts to remove gender identity from federal surveys, like the National Crime Victimization Survey, will further limit the data available to understand anti-transgender violence.”
The current study uses a variety of sources to examine both the historical and present experiences of hate crimes against transgender and nonbinary individuals.
Government Reports
- In 2024, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations documented 102 anti-transgender hate crimes, up from 8 in 2000. It was the highest number ever recorded in a single year.
- According to the FBI, in 2018, 2.2% of all hate crimes were motivated by gender identity; in 2024, that proportion rose to 3.9%.
Survey Data
- In a 2024 Williams Institute study of 322 transgender and nonbinary people in Los Angeles, 26% reported experiencing verbal harassment, physical attacks, or unwanted sexual contact at work within the last year because of their transgender or nonbinary identity.
- A 2021 Williams Institute nationally representative survey of transgender people in the U.S. found that nearly half of transgender people (48%) reported ever being physically attacked or sexually assaulted, and 45% had property damaged, stolen, or were robbed.
Community-Based Organizations and Other Sources
- In 2016, the Los Angeles LGBT Center assisted 208 survivors of anti-LGBTQ hate violence—26% were transgender. The Community United Against Violence in San Francisco assisted 66 survivors of anti-LGBTQ hate violence. About one-third (32%) were transgender women.
- A 2024 study found that out of 305 documented homicides of transgender people in the U.S. between 2010 and 2021, 92 were either confirmed or suspected hate crimes. Most transgender homicide victims were women of color: 71% were Black and 16% were Hispanic or Latinx.
“In California and across the U.S., transgender women of color are particularly vulnerable to hate crimes motivated by anti-transgender bias,” said study author Christy Mallory, Interim Executive Director and Legal Director at the Williams Institute. “More research is needed to evaluate the impact of violence-prevention policies and interventions that address hate violence against transgender communities.”