Deadly shootings of women motivated by hate and gender bias are emerging as a prominent social problem. Nevertheless, valid and reliable information on the extent and nature of such incidents does not currently exist within Florida. Without this information, it is difficult to develop any “evidence-based” policy efforts aimed at combating such events. Further complicating matters, Florida does not currently recognize gender as a protected status in their hate crime statutes, and therefore the prevalence of these incidents and their key features are not easily understood. It is too often the case that gender-bias motivated hate crimes, including the Hot Yoga Tallahassee fatal shootings of Maura Binkley and Nancy Van Vessem, do not appear in Florida’s hate crime statistics. Accordingly, the purpose of the proposed study is to compile a comprehensive statewide database on deadly shootings of women in Florida between 2009 and 2019 that are hate/bias- motivated based on gender, and to determine the prevalence and features of these incidents over time.
Contacts
Principal Investigator: Jillian Turanovic, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator: Brendan Lantz, Ph.D.
Date: 2020
Funding Agency: Maura’s Voice Research Fund
Funding Amount: $49,101