Supporting survivors in the LBGTI+ community

background information

• Good Practice Guidelines for ‘Mainstream’ Sexual Violence Crisis Services - Doing our best for LGBTIQ Survivors (Dickson, 2016) 
•  Te Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura – Outing Violence report (Dickson, 2016) http://www.kahukura.co.nz/
• Building Rainbow Communities Free of Partner and Sexual Violence (Dickson, 2016) 
• Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement (Patterson, 2016)   

Essential Learning - What we need to know

Assess your agency’s capacity to respond healthily to LGBTI+ survivors prior to reaching out to LGBTI+ communities. Remember that the first response a LGBTI+ survivor receives will have a significant impact on whether they will continue to engage, and on how that survivor recovers over time. Be aware that many LGBTI+ people will have little trust of the Police or healthcare agencies, and this may impact on their willingness to engage.  Be aware that people’s ethnicity and cultural identity will be critical to their understanding and lived experience of being part of the LGBTI+ community. 

LGBTI+ cultural competence is: 

• An ongoing commitment to understanding and relationship with LGBTI+ communities and individuals, including those from Māori, Pacifica and Asian communities.   
• Not a checklist but a process, that will change over time as LGBTI+ culture changes.  It’s important not to over-promise. 
• Be clear and honest about who can access your service.  If you only serve lesbians and bisexual women but not trans women, gender non-conforming people or male survivors of any kind, say that, rather than describing yourself as LGBTI+ friendly.   
• All staff understanding their assumptions about LGBTI+ people, and engaging in ongoing reflection about homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.    
• Assessment not assumption, an understanding that everyone who comes to your service has the right to self-define their own gender identity and sexuality. 
• Staff training in using language which does not assume gender, gender roles, sexual preferences or that there is anything called ‘normal’. 

Essential Practice - What we need to do

On the frontline

Confidentiality and language – Survivors are the experts of their own experience. 

• Ask and mirror the language LGBTI+ survivors use for their bodies and body parts - trans people will often use non-traditional language for their genitals and other sex-linked body parts.  Mirroring this language is particularly important to respect gender identities which may have been undermined by sexual violence. 
• Ask and mirror the following: 
  • The language LGBTI+ survivors use for their bodies 
  • The language LGBTI+ survivors use for their partners and relationships 
  • The names, pronouns and identities.  Do not assume partner’s gender and avoid heteronormative language or pronouns.  Do not assume someone with a same sex partner is lesbian or gay, ask them how they identify to avoid biphobia. In reference to relationships, do not assume that the survivor operates within a monogamous framework as they may have multiple partners/relationships.  Judgements around polyamory will not be useful to the survivor. 

• Ask and mirror the names and pronouns LGBTI+ survivors wish to use, whether they are present or not. 
• Do not make assumptions about the gender of the perpetrator – ask open questions if the information is needed. 
• Explain confidentiality policies and respect LGBTI+ survivor’s rights to direct who knows about their sexuality and gender identity – inside and outside your service.  Disclosing someone’s sexuality or gender without their consent mirrors patterns of power which may have been part of sexual abuse. 

Respect

• Use the resources listed here, and: 
  • Talk to people you work with about their knowledge  
  • Avoid asking a lot of questions. While the survivor may seem ok, they may not be and as you’re in a position of power, they may not feel comfortable to say so. 
• Do not make assumptions about, or pathologise LGBTI+ identities.  Do not assume sexual violence caused someone’s sexuality or gender identity. 
• Do not make assumptions about homophobia, biphobia or transphobia being more common in some cultures – listen to survivors’ experience of their families and communities. 
• Recognise that trans people have unique relationships with mental health services as they have to navigate these in order to access transition related healthcare, which may create lack of trust.  Recognise fears around disclosing sexual violence and the impact this may have on accessing transition related healthcare.  
• Acknowledge experiences of discrimination and stigma, and check in about what this means for resilience.  Be aware that if someone discloses their sexuality or gender identity to you, it is a sign of trust. 
• If you get someone’s pronoun or sexuality wrong, apologise and move on.  Don’t make it a big deal, just try and get it right next time. 
• Explain why you are asking questions about bodies or sexual contact as LGBTI+ people, especially trans people, may have experienced being asked invasive questions to satisfy curiosity.  
• Take care and time when supporting LGBTI+ people with forensic examinations after sexual violence, as sexual violence may have involved parts of their bodies people would rather not think about which may create additional trauma.  It may also “out” people as trans, so survivors will need you to demonstrate respect for their preferred gender identity. Explain what is going to happen and why, and ask for permission at every stage.  Use the words the trans person uses for their bodies. 

Using the language LGBTI+ survivors use for themselves, their bodies, partners, names and pronouns is validating and will help LGBTI+ survivors feel safe in your service.  This is important after the trauma of sexual violence. 

Offer a range of more and less gendered clothing and underwear, allowing people to select for themselves. 

Crisis Support Services 

• Relationships with LGBTI+ Community  
• Develop relationships with local LGBTI+ services to increase cultural competency and find out how your service is perceived in your community – do LGBTI+ survivors know what you do? 
• Collaborate on creating resources for your websites, posters and pamphlets which are LGBTI+ appropriate and name specific ways sexual violence happens for LGBTI+ people. 
• Create websites, posters and promotional material which feature diverse images of LGBTI+ people, including similar gender couples. 
• Attend LGBTI+ events, advertise in LGBTI+ media and ensure outreach reaches LGBTI+ individuals. 
• Consider partnerships or supervision with gender diversity experts to inform relationships with and services for the transgender community.  
• Name not just homophobia but transphobia and biphobia too in your websites, posters and promotional material to send a message that your service is open to LGBTI+ survivors, not just gay and lesbian survivors. 
• Use Māori identity terms like takatāpui and Pacifica identity terms like Fa’afafine (Samoa, America Samoa and Tokelau), Fakaleiti or Leiti (Tonga), Fakafifine (Niue), Aka’vaine (Cook Islands), Mahu (Tahiti and Hawaii), Vakasalewalewa (Fiji)  

•Staff and Volunteers  

• Advertise paid and voluntary roles in LGBTI+ media. 
• Include sexuality and gender identity in discrimination policies which protect staff and survivors. 
• Train all staff and volunteers in sexuality and gender diversity and update regularly, as the language is fluid and evolving, and ensure this training includes non-Pākehā identities.   
• Include LGBTI+ issues as a regular item on staff meeting agendas and peer supervision sessions. 
• Ensure all staff follow discrimination policies which interrupt and address LGBTI+ phobias with other agencies, staff members or survivors.   

•Physical Environment  

• Because help-seeking for LGBTI+ survivors may be more difficult, make sure they feel welcome in your agency.  First impressions count.   
• Communicate that your service celebrates, not just tolerates, LGBTI+ individuals and communities from all cultural backgrounds through positive images, posters and signs in your public spaces. 
• Create an environment which celebrates gender and sexuality diversity and also understand that this may still not feel safe enough for some survivors to disclose in.   
• Ensure at least one bathroom is private and gender neutral, to allow all survivors somewhere safe to change and go to the toilet. 

•Intake Forms and Processes  

• If your service is sex-segregated, stated identity should be enough to access – if someone identifies as a woman, they should be able to access your service.  If this is not the case, make it explicit in your outreach materials, so trans women (or trans men) survivors do not face the humiliation of not having their gender identity respected when they try to get help after sexual violence. 
• Do not ask gate-keeping questions about people’s body, genitals, hormones or surgery or require extra “proof” for trans people as this is discrimination. 
• Create inclusive intake forms, client history forms and body maps which allow people to self-identify their sexuality and gender and are appropriate for LGBTI+ people. 
• Be aware that coming out for LGBTI+ people may take time, as survivors test whether this is a safe space in which to talk about themselves.  This is not a sign of dishonesty. 

Relevant References - other related research