Escape
By Morgan D. Dewey
This Pride Month, the National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence, a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV), celebrates our beloved and diverse LGBTQ communities. To prevent violence, loving and equitable relationships in LGBTQ families and communities must be supported.
Creating safe and healthy communities requires a dedicated understanding of LGBTQ survivors’ realities. Domestic violence can be very isolating for survivors. This can be particularly harmful to LGBTQ folks due to:
- the ongoing and intersecting impacts of homophobia, transphobia, and racism;
- the small size of many LGBTQ communities; and
- lost or strained relationships many LGBTQ people have with their families of origin.
Providing effective and culturally responsive help is critical for LGBTQ survivors. This can help reduce their isolation and reestablish self-determination and safety. As we strive toward collective liberation, we must pursue anti-carceral approaches to justice. Collaboration is crucial for organizations, providers, researchers, and policymakers to create systemic and social change in service of LGBTQ survivors and communities.
It is exciting to announce two new resources that help support LGBTQ survivors.
Learn how sexual and intimate partner violence impacts bi+ communities and how group facilitators can help. This report is packed full of facilitation tips and guides that lead you through creating peer support groups and holding space.
"I didn’t think people would take me seriously”: The Help-Seeking Strategies, Experiences, and Preferences of LGTBQ Survivors of Domestic ViolenceLGBTQ people experience domestic violence at the same or higher rates than heterosexual cisgender people. This report shares stories and experiences of over 574 LGBTQ survivors at non-LGBTQ and LGBTQ-specific organizations.
Additionally, we know that communities understand their own families – chosen and otherwise – the best. NRCDV staff wanted to share some (of our favorite!) collectives and organizations that are doing radical work supporting LGBTQ communities. We are humbled to continue to learn from these folks and follow their leadership!
- Black and Pink
- Black & Pink National is a prison abolitionist organization dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and liberating LGBTQIA2S+ people and people living with HIV/AIDS who are affected by that system through advocacy, support, and organizing. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- The Los Angeles Spoonie Collective
- The Los Angeles Spoonie Collective is composed of disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill LGBTQIA community members within the Los Angeles area (Tongva land). They offer virtual and in-person workshops and panel discussions on the intersections of race, gender, and disability, disability justice, feminist theory, and more. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- For the Gworls
- For the Gworls is a Black, trans-led collective that curates parties to fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- The Okra Project
- The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever they can reach them. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- Bisexual Resource Center
- The Bisexual Resource Center works to connect the bi+ community and help its members thrive through resources, support, and celebration. They envision an empowered, visible, and inclusive global community for bi+ people. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP)
- NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within LGBTQ communities. They're a national coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations and individual affiliates who create systemic and social change. They strive to increase power, safety and resources through data analysis, policy advocacy, education and technical assistance. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- Centro Comunitario LGBTT de Puerto Rico
- Ofrecer un espacio donde la comunidad lésbica, gay, bixesual, transexual, transgénero (LGBTT) pueda recibir ayuda sicosocial, orientación, consejería y sicoterapia en momentos de necesidad. Ayudar a fortalecer nuestra identidad colectiva, promover la visibilidad y empoderar a la comunidad LGBTT de Puerto Rico con el fin de lograr una mejor caliad de vida, física, mental y espiritual, sin limitaciones, por orientación sexual o identidad de género. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
- The TransLatin@ Coalition
- The TransLatin@ Coalition is an organization formed by Trans Latin@ leaders who came together in 2009 to organize and advocate for the needs of Trans Latin@s who are immigrants and reside in the US. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! (Looking for other organizations that support Latinx LGBTQ+ communities? We’re fans of this list from this list from Remezcla!)
This Pride Month and beyond, we call for greater inclusion within the movement to end domestic and sexual violence. We call for better access to services for LGBTQ survivors, especially BIPOC LGBTQ survivors and those most marginalized.
Supporting LGBTQ survivors in your life and looking for guidance? Check out these VAWnet resources:
- Serving Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence
- Preventing and Responding to Domestic Violence in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ) Communities
Learn more about the LGBTQ Institute on IPV on their website at the link here or by searching #LGBTQInstitute.
