Press Releases

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has learned of an intimate partner violence (IPV) homicide-suicide that occurred on Wednesday, February 6 in Lake Worth, Florida. According to local news sources Leopold Azplazu and Gabriel Ferrarotti were found shot to death in a home on South Lakeside Drive. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office believes Azplazu shot Ferrarotti prior to killing himself. Neighbors speaking to the press stated that the homicide-suicide occurred following the coupe's breaking up after 11 years on Tuesday night.

The recent high profile arrest of former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders football player Kwame Harris has brought this story of intimate partner violence for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people squarely into the public eye. On January 28, 2013 Harris was officially charged with committing domestic violence just a week before the 49ers were set to play in the Super Bowl.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) has learned of two brutal murders of gay men in New York City that occurred over a three-day span of time. Charles Romo, age 48, was found dead by his housekeeper on Monday morning, January 28 in his Hamilton Heights apartment in Manhattan. He had been beaten and bound and was wearing only underwear when the body was discovered. Today's New York Post Police Blotter states that the police are looking into the possibility that one of the suspects was a lover of the victim.

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2010 data on intimate partner and sexual violence among lesbian, gay and bisexual people in a report entitled 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation. This data follows the NISVS 2010 Summary Report released in December 2011, which found that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are widespread and a major public health problem in the United States. NISVS, developed by CDC's Injury Center, was initiated in 2010 to collect accurate and reliable incidence and prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence, sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking victimization.

Today's report on Sexual Orientation is the first nationally representative prevalence estimates of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence among those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual in the United States. The report shows that lesbian, gay and bisexual people experience intimate partner and sexual violence at the same or higher rates as heterosexual people. This report, which cites data from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), highlights the lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking victimization for U.S. women and men by self-reported sexual orientation. As a result of this data, the CDC's recommendations include a focus on the need for more research, prevention and response to lesbian, gay and bisexual survivors of violence.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), in collaboration with community partners including the Brooklyn Community Pride Center (BCPC), the LGBT Justice Project of Make the Road NY (MRNY), the Safe OUTside the System Collective (SOS) of the Audre Lorde Project and Streetwise and Safe (SAS), will hold a Press Conference in response to the New York Police Department (NYPD) assault of Jabbar Campbell in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on January 13th. The Press Conference will be immediately followed by neighborhood outreach from Eastern Parkway and Utica Avenue to Fulton Avenue and Eastern Parkway to raise awareness about rights and safety for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and all of our communities affected by this violence.

When: Saturday, January 26th at 6:00 PM

Where: Eastern Parkway Pedestrian Mall at Eastern Parkway and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (3/4/5 trains to Crown Heights – Utica Avenue)