Identifying Inclusive Practice for LGBT People Experiencing Domestic Abuse
Are you a service who provides support for survivors of domestic abuse or sexual violence? If so, we need you.
LGBT Youth Scotland developed the LGBT Domestic Abuse Project in 2007 to raise awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences of domestic abuse, and to support mainstream services across the gender-based violence and related sectors to develop inclusive policies and practices.
We’ve seen significant progress regarding LGBT inclusion since the project was established. Levels of knowledge and awareness of LGBT identities and experiences amongst gender-based violence professionals have increased, and many organisations have taken steps to ensure their services are safe, supportive and inclusive environments.
We believe that every LGBT person experiencing domestic abuse has the right to receive a supportive service response, but we know from our research and engagement with LGBT survivors that many still face significant barriers when accessing support. Many report not knowing what services they can access, while some worry that mainstream domestic abuse services won’t understand their LGBT identity or experiences, or that they will experience homophobia, biphobia or transphobia from service providers.
To address this, we are conducting a national scoping exercise to identify inclusive services and gaps in service provision for LGBT people who experience domestic abuse in Scotland. We invite every domestic abuse service in Scotland to complete our online survey in the hope that we can build a clear picture of the support available, promote inclusive services and encourage LGBT survivors to seek support. We also hope to learn about some of the approaches services have taken to be more inclusive so we can share learning and examples of best practice across the sector (services will be credited appropriately).
The national scoping exercise will also help us to identify gaps in service provision and to learn more about the challenges services experience in reaching or engaging with LGBT survivors. This will allow the LGBT Domestic Abuse Project to take a more targeted approach and allow us to focus our work on areas most in need of our support.
The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete and is open to any domestic abuse service in Scotland, including women’s services, court support, advocacy and refuge providers. You can access the survey here.
If you have any questions about the national scoping exercise or anything else relating to the LGBT Domestic Abuse Project, please contact Janice, our Development Officer, at Janice.Stevenson@lgbtyouth.org.uk.
