Press release: 4 September 2017, London

‘Recognise & Respond’: Strengthening service and policy response to LGBT+ domestic violence

Galop is proud to announce a launch of a new project, ‘Recognise & Respond’, which will tackle LGBT+ domestic violence through research, capacity building and policy development. ‘Recognise & Respond’ is funded under the Lloyds Bank Foundation Transform Program and run in partnership with Stonewall Housing.

The project will examine and document the nature of LGBT+ domestic violence, address gaps in national and regional DV and VAWG polices and build on existing achievements and good practices to promote consistent and shared approach to removing the barriers LGBT+ people face when accessing local services.

‘Recognise & Respond’ brings together two leading specialist community organisations working in the field of LGBT+ domestic violence, who have over 35 years’ experience of supporting victims and survivors. The project comes at a time when VAWG and domestic violence charities and criminal justice agencies have started to recognise that domestic violence in the LGBT+ community is a problem, however limited funding and gendered perceptions of domestic violence fundamentally undermine the experiences of gay/bi men and transgender victims and might promote the belief that women can’t be perpetrators of domestic violence. This has significant implications on service provision, as it creates barriers in the way services are designed and delivered that might make them less inclusive and accessible for LGBT+ people. ’Recognise & Respond’ will aim work closely with DV, LGBT+ and VAWG services, policy makers, commissioners, and other stakeholders to achieve the set aims and objectives.

The Chief Executive of Galop, Nik Noone stated: “Galop is delighted to join efforts with Stonewall Housing in this unique and ambitious project aiming to inform national policy and practice addressing domestic violence. The support from Lloyds Bank Foundation is invaluable and provides a real opportunity to build on the experience and knowledge of delivering direct services and generate a robust evidence base and facilitate a coordinated national approach to understand, raise awareness and address the inequality in access to service provision for LGBT+ survivors of domestic violence.”

The Chief Executive of Stonewall Housing, Bob Green stated: “Stonewall Housing is pleased to be part of this new, exciting project with Galop, funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation. Domestic abuse is one of the main reasons that LGBT+ people contact Stonewall Housing for advice and support, and specific housing options for them are extremely limited. We look forward to developing the LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Forum, previously funded by the Oak Foundation, so that more commissioners, providers and partners can recognise this major issue and then respond by delivering more high-quality services for LGBT+ people who are experiencing domestic abuse.”

Notes to editors:

1. LGBT+ is an umbrella term, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex, queer, pansexual, asexual and other minority sexual orientations and gender identities.
2. Research suggests that intimate partner violence occurs with equal or higher prevalence in same-sex relationships as in opposite sex couples. For example, Stonewall UK reports 25 % of lesbian and bisexual women and 40 % of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse from a partner Trans individuals may be even at a higher risk, as research from Scottish Transgender Alliance demonstrates up to 80% of trans participants had experienced domestic abuse from a partner‪
3. SafeLives (Insights) IDVA national dataset 2012-2013 reports 0.7 % MARAC high risk cases were noted to involve LGBT victims, 2013-214 dataset reports 2% of all victim cases identified as LGB and 0.2% identified as trans and 2016-2017 dataset reports 1 % of all victim cases identified as LGB, none identified as trans.

For further information, please contact:

Jasna Magić, Research and Policy Officer, jasna@galop.org.uk

Values:

Collaboration: Recognise and Respond will work closely with local, regional and national LGBT+, domestic violence, VAWG services and commissioners to build a wide network of partners raising awareness, providing capacity building and supporting policy development.

Intersectionality: Recognise and Respond celebrates diversity in the LGBT+ community and recognises that domestic abuse affects every person differently. We will proactively build on past achievements, learn from and support other equalities organisations and strive to ensure that our work is grounded in a human rights and equality framework.

Quality: Recognise and Respond will demonstrate a strong commitment to quality assurance standards and a professional approach towards all its key elements, which include: research, capacity building, networking and partnership building and strategic advocacy.

Effectiveness: Recognise and Respond is committed to promoting consistent, innovative and shared approaches to addressing the barriers LGBT+ people face when accessing services and improving effectiveness of delivery of services to LGBT+ victims/survivors.

Accountability and safety: Recognise and respond aims to ensure that LGBT+ people and communities have a voice in the processes that shape service delivery and that LGBT+ victims/survivors feel empowered and confident in accessing the services they need.

Ethos:

Domestic abuse refers to any kind of threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between people who have been intimate partners or family members. This includes, for example, physical abuse, sexual abuse, coercive control, forced marriage, trafficking, abuse relating to gender identity or sexuality and so-called honour based violence.

Domestic violence can take place in a range of settings, can be perpetrated by a range of actors and affects individuals across all cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, disabilities, ethnicities, income groups, social classes, ages, religions and political beliefs.

We recognise that domestic violence disproportionately affects women and girls, and that the origins of addressing domestic violence are rooted in the VAWG sector. We will seek to build on the work of the women’s ending VAWG sector as well as the achievements and gaps identified by  the LGBT+ sector, to build further knowledge around the distinct experiences of abuse and develop appropriate responses catering to needs, experiences and aspirations of LGBT+ people.

LGBT+ people and communities may experience a range of institutional, structural and interpersonal abuses throughout their lives. We understand that domestic abuse, and related forms of abuse are a cause and a consequence of intersecting inequalities and oppressions faced by LGBT+ people. To appropriately respond to LGBT+ survivors, we must recognise this complex web of violence and oppression and seek to understand its impacts on individuals and communities, experiences and perceptions of violence, as well the barriers it creates for LGBT+ people seeking to access services.

We believe in fair, just and safe service provision, which recognises every individual's experience of domestic abuse will be unique. We seek to improve the responses of all services to LGBT+ survivors whilst also valuing the creation, and maintenance of specialist services ‘led by and for’ the communities they aim to serve, including women’s services, LGBT+ services and BME services. We will seek to build and promote enhanced service specialisms that recognise and respond appropriately to sexual and gender diversity.

Prevalence of LGBT+ domestic violence:

Research suggests that intimate partner violence occurs with equal or higher prevalence in same-sex relationships as in opposite sex couples. For example, Stonewall UK reports 25 % of lesbian and bisexual women and 40 % of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse from a partner Trans individuals may be even at a higher risk, as research from Scottish Transgender Alliance demonstrates up to 80% of trans participants had experienced domestic abuse from a partner

Perception of domestic violence       

Domestic violence is often understood as male violence against women. Gendered framework however has significant implications for research, policy, and practice. Presently, there are no official ONS statistics reported about LGBT+ domestic violence and abuse that would establish a UK wide picture and enable comparisons over time. LGBT+ survivors are also adversely affected by the lack of representation in service provision and by the ‘public story’ about DVA, which doesn’t include discussion on LGBT+ people as victims, survivors or perpetrators of DVA. This perception can affect a survivor’s decision to seek help, as they may be less likely to recognise they are experiencing or using abuse.

Barriers in accessing services:

LGBT+ survivors often face multiple barriers in accessing support and justice that are unique to their sexual orientation and gender identity.  Services often fail to address and represent LGBT+ issues in policies and service provision, which is the main reason why LGBT+ people fear that they will be misunderstood or dismissed, or that they might receive a discriminatory response. Studies and anecdotal evidence confirms these fears are often confirmed, and far too many LGBT+ survivors are unhappy with the response they get.

The project aims to promote greater understanding of the experiences of LGBT+ people with domestic violence and abuse and inform existing policy and practice, to ensure the needs of LGBT+ survivors are recognised and met.

Research

The project will produce series of reports raising awareness on the demographics of LGBT+ survivors reporting to LGBT+ DVA services as well as the extent and nature of LGBT+ domestic violence. The briefs will also summarize strategic recommendations for researchers, commissioners, policy makers and service providers.

Networking and building alliances

We will cooperate with local, regional and national LGBT+, DV and VAWG services to ensure a wide network of partners supporting dissemination of information, providing capacity building, awareness raising and policy development.

Advocacy and capacity building

The project will identify and address gaps in national and regional DV and VAWG polices. We will also build on the LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Forum and develop it as a National LGBT+ DV Network to promote consistent and shared approach to dealing with the barriers LGBT+ people face when accessing local services.

Awareness raising

We will produce a set of guidelines for commissioners and factsheets for DV, VAWG and criminal justice agencies. We will also organise a national conference convening policy influencers, stakeholders, and practitioners from the LGBT and VAWG sectors.