LGBT Domestic Abuse And Gender Based Violence Deva

LGBT Domestic Abuse And Gender Based Violence Deva Mac. Ginty

Welcome

LGBT Domestic Abuse Project The LGBT Domestic Abuse Project is funded by the Scottish Government to raise awareness of and improve service responses to LGBT people experiencing domestic abuse. • Managed by LGBT Youth Scotland • Supported by reference group of members from Scottish Women’s Aid, Women’s Support Project, NHS Open Road, the Equality Network and the Scottish Transgender Alliance. • Works with mainstream service providers, delivers training, undertakes campaigns and research, and encourages LGBT people to access support. • Recognises a gap in provision for gay, bisexual and transgender men.

Definitions & Language

Sexual Orientation Lesbian— a woman who is emotionally and physically attracted to other women. Gay— a man who is emotionally and physically attracted to other men. Some women and girls prefer to themselves as gay women rather than lesbian. Bisexual— a person who is emotionally and physically attracted to women and men.

What is Transgender? The terms transgender people, trans people and gender variant people are all ‘umbrella’ terms. Include all those whose gender identity and/or gender expression vary in some way from societal gender assumptions relating to their birth sex. Gender Identity = an individual’s internal self-perception of own gender. Gender Expression = an individual’s external gender-related physical appearance and behaviour.

Transgender Umbrella Trans Women (Male-To-Female) Trans Men (Female-To-Male) Gender non-binary identities Cross-dressing People

Gender Based Violence & LGBT People “Any form of violence used to establish, enforce or perpetuate gender inequalities and keep in place gendered orders. In other words gender based violence in a policing mechanism” (James Lang 2002).

Homophobia, Biphobia & Transphobia Group Activity

Allport’s Scale • Elimination/End Point • Physical Attack and Subtle Aggression • Institutional Discrimination • Avoidance • Verbal Rejection

Gender Based Violence and LGBT People

GBV and LGBT People 79% of LGBT young people and 83% of transgender young people said homophobia was a problem for Scotland. 74% of LGBT people (and the same percentage of bisexual young people) said biphobia was a problem for Scotland. 77% of transgender young people further said it as a problem. 85% of LGBT young people and 88% of transgender young people said transphobia was a problem for Scotland. For local areas, 71% of LGBT people saw homophobia as an issue, 66% saw biphobia as an issue and 79% of LGBT young people saw transphobia as an issue in their local areas. This rose to 90% when asking trans young people themselves. (Life in Scotland Report, LGBT Youth Scotland 2017)

GBV and LGBT People Just over a third (35%) of LGBT young people had said they had experienced a hate crime or incident in the past year. Transgender young people were slightly more likely (41%) and non-binary young people were seen as the most likely at (51% )to have experienced a hate crime or hate incident in the last year. In 2012 54% of LGBT young people felt confident to report a hate crime to the police. This dropped to 31% in 2017. Likewise in 2012, 48% of transgender young people felt confident to report and this again dropped to 23% in 2017. 84% of LGB young people and 96% of trans young people felt they experience poor mental health. Furthermore 73% of LGB and 83% of trans young people who experienced poor mental health had also experienced a form of discrimination.

GBV and LGBT People In the first year of the implementation of Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009, (2010 -2011), 448 charges were reported with an aggravation of sexual orientation, and 14 with an aggravation of transgender identity. Sexual orientation aggravated crime is the second most common type of hate crime. The number of charges reported increased by 3% in 2017 -18 to 1, 112. With the exception of 2014 -15, there have been year on year increases in charges reported In 2017 -18, 49 charges were reported with an aggravation of prejudice relating to transgender identity, 7 more than in 2016 -17. This is the highest number of charges reported since the legislation came into force, although the numbers remain small.

Definition of LGBT Domestic Abuse can be perpetrated by partners or ex-partners and can include: – physical abuse (assault and physical attack involving a range of behaviour) – sexual abuse (acts which degrade and humiliate and are perpetrated against the person’s will, including rape), – mental and emotional abuse (such as threats, verbal abuse, racial abuse, homophobic/biphobic/transphobic abuse, withholding money, and – other types of controlling behaviour such as ‘outing’ or the threat of ‘outing’ or isolation from family and friends)

Aspects of LGBT Domestic Abuse • Threats to ‘out’ sexual orientation or gender identity • Reinforcing beliefs that no one will help • Undermining someone’s sense of identity or preventing them from expressing their gender identity • Normalising abuse in LGBT relationships • Potential for isolation

Transgender People’s Experiences ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ research. – 80% of respondents had experienced some form of abusive behaviour from a partner or ex-partner with 60% of those not recognising that the behaviour was abusive. – 73% of respondents had experienced transphobic abuse from a partner or ex-partner. – Unique experiences and barriers to reporting or accessing support.

Barriers to Accessing Services • Real or perceived homophobia, biphobia or transphobia from service providers • The need to ‘out’ oneself to access services and concerns about subsequent referrals • Impact of internalised homophobia • Lack of appropriate or specialist services • Stereotyping around relationships involving LGBT people • Lack of training in relation to LGBT Domestic Abuse, including failure to screen for alleged perpetrator and victim • Lack of confidence in criminal justice system

An (In)Accessible Service • Never make assumptions about sexual orientation or gender identity • Ensure visibility of LGBT people in services and be explicit about services offered to LGBT people • Ensure you have training and resources • Consider how you can address the unique aspects of LGBT Domestic abuse in risk assessment • Acknowledge and respond to concerns about the risk of discrimination from other services • Have clear links with other organisations and be able to make referrals

Thanks Deva Mac. Ginty Deva. macginty@lgbtyouth. org. uk