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Know your rights as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community!
Here on this page you can scroll down to find statistics on anti-LGBTQ+ bias that show what kinds of challenges our community is facing. Protecting our rights begins with knowing our rights.
BCLA also lists the following legal resources for members of the LGBTQ+ community:
BCLA Legal Rights Project 2025 - Read or download our latest guide made in cooperation with the Foundation of the New Jersey Bar Association.
Rights Organizations that explain and protect LGBTQ+ rights here in New Jersey and also across the nation and world
Resources for the rights of students here in NJ
Workplace rights and how to respond to hiring discrimination
See the Attorneys & Legal Help page for finding attorneys or legal help.
In New Jersey
The New Jersey State Office of the Attorney General tracks bias incident reports by the specific bias motivation.
In 2022 anti-LGBTQ bias incidents accounted for 17% of all incidents and were the third highest category, behind anti-Black and virtually tied with anti-Jewish incidents. This was the same trend as in 2021 and has continued into January 2023.
Between 2018 and 2020, total bias incidents in NJ almost tripled and between 2020 and 2022 there was an 80% increase.
See the following reports of the NJ State Police for details: 2022 NJ Total Bias Incidents and 2020 Bias Incident Report
In the U.S. :
The United States Census Bureau and other departments of the U.S. federal government tracks important statistics related to experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.
The LGBTQ+ community was hit harder by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic [1]
LGBTQ+ adults struggled more with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic than did non-LGBTQ+ adults [2]
The rate of violent crime victimization of lesbian- and gay-identifying persons has been more than double the rate for straight persons [3]
[1] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/lgbt-community-harder-hit-by-economic-impact-of-pandemic.html
[2] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/06/lgbt-adults-report-anxiety-depression-during-pandemic.html
[3] https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/vvsogi1720.pdf