Rethinking responses to LGBT violence

A new report reveals widespread gaps in support and services for LGBT victims of violence.

A new report released by the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs summarizes a 2009 survey of nationwide victim assistance providers and anti-violence programs. The report revealed March 24 that LGBT victims and survivors of violence face a detrimental lack of sensitive support and services.

"This first-ever report reveals major deficiencies in our nation's response to LGBTQ crime victims," said Jeff Dion, acting executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. "We hope our collaboration with NCAVP will begin a long-overdue process of addressing the serious problems this report describes."

The report, called "Why It Matters: Rethinking Victim Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Victims of Hate Violence and Intimate Partner Violence," found that LGBT victims of violence do not find consistent access to welcoming and supportive services that work to prevent violence or help victims recover. Far worse than programs not being equipped to assist LGBT victims, however, are programs that outright deny access to support and services on the basis of homophobia.

"The survey's findings highlighted in this report confirm what we know from our work; that when LGBTQ survivors of hate violence, partner abuse, and sexual assault reach out for services, they face homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and heterosexism or are flat-out turned away," said Kaitlin Nichols, director of organizing and education at the Network/La Red, a Boston-based, survivor-led organization that combats LGBT domestic violence. "Despite living in a LGBTQ resource-rich state, survivors here in Massachusetts still face these barriers."

The report echoes similar findings from the Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project (GMDVP). Research among Massachusetts' LGBT community from 1996 to 2008 revealed that 1 in every 4 gay men identified as being a victim of domestic violence. "This is an alarming statistic because it hasn't changed in over 10 years," GMDVP director Curt Rogers said. "We have a long road ahead to create a safe place for LGBT victims and survivors of intimate partner abuse. We must work together -- law enforcement, other domestic violence agencies, friends, and allies -- to see that regardless of your sexual orientation or gender identity, domestic violence is about power and control and is not gender-specific."

According to the report, mainstream anti-violence programs often lack the knowledge and resources to adequately serve the LGBT community. "Why It Matters" described the need for program staffers to be trained in working specifically with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer victims and survivors.

The Network/La Red hopes to combat this absence of knowledge with the recent launch of their Technical Assistance Program (TAP), which provides education for anti-violence service providers. "This new report reaffirms the importance of our Technical Assistance Program and our work with sexual assault and domestic violence programs in the region," M.E. Quinn, the Technical Assistance Program coordinator, said. "[TAP] builds on the provider education work that we have been involved with for years. Because of this work, five mainstream domestic violence shelters and many other service providers now serve all LGBTQ survivors."

"Why It Matters" contains several recommendations to address the widespread gap in services faced by LGBT victims and survivors, including emphasis on support for LGBT-focused training and outreach to increase both community and mainstream knowledge of LGBT-related violence.

"[The report] offers a roadmap for a journey our nation must take to address the serious gaps in services for LGBTQ victims of violence," said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the NYC Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. "At a time when the severity of hate-violence against LGBTQ people is increasing, when new federal legislation demands closer attention to hate crimes and the gaps in services are widening as programs lose funding, this report offers significant solutions to meet the urgent need for better victim services for LGBTQ communities."

To download the full report, visit www.ncvc.org or www.avp.org.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence or intimate partner abuse, please contact the Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project at 1 (800) 832-1901 or the Network/La Red at (617) 742-4911.