2
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE OCTOBER 1, 1993
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January 13, 14 and 15
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May 19, 20 and 21
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Cleveland anti-gay hate crimes rise 60 percent
Reported offenses against lesbians and gay men rose over 60 percent during the first six months of 1993, compared to 1992 and 1991, according to the Maryann Finegan Project, of Cleveland's Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center.
Calls made to the Center's main number or the Hotline are the main source of reports. The Project, the Center's volunteer-run antiviolence office, and the Hotline were severely short-staffed during the first half on 1992, which accounts for a lower number of reports last year. For that reason, this year's statistics are compared to 1991 as well. In order to compare the three years, JanuaryJune of 1993 were multiplied by two.
The increase in reports was across the board the increase came not from just one
neighborhood or location, nor in one type of offense. Generally, white males in their late teens to early twenties were the accused perpetrators. Gay males were the most reported victims. It is generally assumed that harassment and violence against lesbians and gays are tremendously under-reported.
Extensive media coverage of the U.S. military ban on lesbians and gays, and of the March on Washington, may partly contribute to the increase in hate crime. Also, debates around the country on proand antigay city and state ordinances may incite persons with homophobic tendencies to lash out against persons they think are lesbian or gay, according to the Project. Two reports were threats made by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.
Cleveland Anti-Gay Crimes 1991-1993
64
××23
Percent Change
Type of Offense
1991 1992 *1993
1991
1992
Harassment Threats
32
27
28
-12%
+4%
3
18
+200%
+500%
Assaults/objects thrown
14
8
22
+57%
+175%
Total offenses
57
43
96
+68%
+123%
Total incidents
77
27
56
-27% +107%
Committed by hate groups
0
0
4
+400% +400%
Total number of victims
94
24
50
-48% +108%
553
556
* The first six months of 1993 are multiplied by two.
INFORMATION FROM MARYANN FINEGAN PROJECT
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HIV-positive pair sue N.Y. for disclosing names
Albany A lawsuit asking the state Education Department to recall more than 150 brochures that identify two HIV-positive people could determine how far AIDS confidentiality laws extend, an attorney said.
"It's a novel claim," said Hermes Fernandez, an Albany lawyer and member of the state Bar Association's health law committee.
The plaintiffs gave presentations for the Education Department between 1989 and 1991, speaking to groups about the changes in their lives since testing positive for the virus believed to cause AIDS.
The man and woman, who live in Albany County, are among 10 people who were identified as HIV-positive and thanked in the brochure for stepping forward to teach about the deadly disease and the HIV virus.
They are identified as John Doe and Jane Doe in a lawsuit first filed in May. They typically used pseudonyms or only their first names during the presentations and usually spoke to crowds from out of state to conceal their identities, the suit claims.
A 1988 state health law prohibits releasing confidential HIV-related information without the patient's approval. The law, which has not been tested frequently and is still being defined in courts, allows a person to sue for damages anyone who discloses confidential HIV information.
"It (the suit) would extend the scope of the AIDS confidentiality law to people who participate in educational activities," Fernandez said in an interview with the Sunday Gazette of Schenectady.
Education officials had not seen a copy
of the lawsuit and declined to comment on
it.
"Both (plaintiffs) have friends and relatives across the state and locally who do not know that they have HIV," their attorney, Connie Mayer, wrote in a letter that is part of the court record. "The publication of their names has caused them great embarrassment and emotional anguish."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and asks that the Education Department retrieve the booklets.
About 150-200 copies were sent in 1992 to agencies across the state, according to court papers. Mayer also said she fears the booklets may have been photocopied and further distributed.
"I don't believe it was malicious but I do believe it was unthinking and reckless," said Mayer, director of the Albany Law School AIDS Law Clinic.
The case is one of hundreds of legal actions brought in the past year by the clinic, which provides free legal services to people with the human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
In an October 1992 letter, the plaintiffs asked that their names be deleted from the publication and they sought a written letter of apology from Naomi Marsh, co-director of the Bureau of School Health Education Services, who wrote the "thank you" note.
It is not clear whether the individuals ever received the apology from Marsh, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. ✔