uding gay men, dropped 12 percent. Specifically, violent assaults on all women, both straight and gay, rose 49 percent in the 1980s. Those statistics also revealed that, overall, lesbian victims of sexual assault found little sympathy for their physical and emotional injuries in the medical support community (Brownsworth, 1991, p. 50).
Experts have offered a variety of reasons for the increase in hate crimes and incidents of gay bashing in the 1990s. Some experts suggest that the increase in hate crimes against gays and lesbians reflects the increased visibility of gays and lesbians in society. Other experts claim that social encouragement given by police apathy as well as the lack of response by the judicial and legislative systems has helped to cause the rise in the number of hate crimes against gays and lesbians. Finally, others suggest that religious teachings which advocate that the gay lifestyle is inherently sinful also inspire gay bashing (Anderson, 1993, p. 16).
Recent surveys indicate that openly gay and lesbian college students have been the target of harassment and violence from other students who believe that homosexuality is wrong. One University of California at Los Angeles survey of 213,000 freshmen showed that 38 percent of all students and 49 percent of the male students at UCLA think that homosexuality should be prohibited. Another UCLA survey of senior college students found that only a minority of college students (33 percent) support anti-gay legislation or laws to protect the gay and lesbian population. In that survey, students gave myriad reasons for being against gay rights. Also, some student leaders at the University of Alabama stated that they were against gay rights because of a legal ruling prohibiting the use of buildings and money for gays because they believe that supporting gay rights promotes sodomy. Finally, students at Ohio Northern University recently used the Bible to buttress the...