“2.5 ANTI-LGBTQ INCIDENTS EVERY DAY OF 2024” – GLAAD’S ALERT DESK RELEASES NEW DATA ON RISING ANTI-LGBTQ HATE AND EXTREMISM

(New York, NY — January 14, 2025) GLAAD, the world’s leading LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is releasing new metrics on anti-LGBTQ hate in 2024 from the ALERT Desk, our anti-LGBTQ extremism reporting tracker.

In 2024, the ALERT Desk tracked at least 918 anti-LGBTQ incidents across the US – the equivalent of 2.5 incidents every day. This total includes:

• More than 260 protests, 140 bomb threats, 140 acts of vandalism, and 85 assaults.
• At least 90 injuries and 7 deaths in 2024 from acts of violence motivated by anti-LGBTQ hate.
• At least 447 incidents (48% of all incidents in 2024) directly targeted transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people and/or cited anti-trans tropes as justification.
• The ALERT Desk’s findings also show a spike in education-related anti-LGBTQ incidents. At least 216 incidents (24% of all 2024 incidents) involved violence and harassment targeting educators, librarians, school board members, and students over their LGBTQ identities or support for LGBTQ people.

Full GLAAD ALERT Desk updates, analysis, and map here.

GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her) issued the following statement:
“The numbers from GLAAD’s ALERT Desk are shocking, but ultimately unsurprising as anti-LGBTQ policies and rhetoric rise, including from elected officials and social media platforms. Words, proposals, and actions have consequences in the real world on real human beings, even as support for LGBTQ people and youth remains at supermajority levels. Together, we must push for a world that not only protects LGBTQ people from harm, but also uplifts and embraces our voices.”

Acts of anti-LGBTQ violence in 2024 took the lives of LGBTQ Americans coast to coast, including Arkmayer Davis, Todd Pinion, Howard Brisendine, Micah Laureano, Reginald Folks, Tayy Dior Thomas, and John Walter Lay.

The most anti-LGBTQ incidents continue to be targeted toward transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people, at 48% of all incidents.

The rise in incidents surged alongside harmful and baseless legislation particularly against transgender youth including bathroom bans, restrictions on school sports, and on health care that is supported by every major medical association.

In addition to ALERT Desk’s findings showing a spike in education-related anti-LGBTQ incidents, other frequently targeted people include those displaying LGBTQ symbols like Pride flags (159 incidents), drag performers (122 incidents), and healthcare providers and patients (109 incidents).

The numbers coincide with rising anti-LGBTQ legislation at the state and federal levels. Social media platforms have also gone on record to condone anti-LGBTQ hate speech.

For more data from GLAAD’s ALERT Desk, visit the landing page here or see our state-level breakdown below.