Working with LGBTQ and HIV-affected Survivors of Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence
116 Nassau St., 3rd floor, NY, NY 10038 212-714-1184 | www.avp.org 24-Hour, Bilingual Hotline 212-714-1141
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Your Trainer
Suzy Salamy, MSW Senior Manager of Clinical and Advocacy Programs New York City Anti-Violence Project [email protected] 212-714-1184 x40
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
What to Expect
• Language and terminology • Discrimination and LGBTQ communities • What is Sexual Violence • How does SV impact LGBTQ communities • Power and privilege • Screening for sexual violence within an intimate partner violence in LGBTQ relationships • Open discussion. Everyone brings unique experience, knowledge, and expertise to this space. Please take care of yourself, be mindful of how you participate, and actively join the learning process!
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)
• AVP envisions a world in which all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-affected people are safe, respected, and live free from violence. • AVP’s mission is to empower LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and support survivors through counseling and advocacy. • AVP is nationally recognized as experts on best practices when working with LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors of violence.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/ 24hour bilingual hotline
The New York City Anti-Violence Project
Client Services Legal Services Community Organizing
- 24-hour English/Spanish - Consultation - Education and Training Institute hotline - Representation - Rapid Incident Response - Short-term and long-term - Advocacy - Coalition work/movement building individual supportive - Information & Referrals - NCAVP counseling Around the following legal - National Report publication on HV - DV Shelter Advocacy issues: & IPV - Support Groups - Family Law - NYS LGBTQ DV Network - HV, SV, IPV specific - Matrimony/Divorce - Public Advocacy - Advocacy, Referrals - Immigration - Volunteer opportunities - Hospital, precinct, and court - Legal Name Change - Speaker’s Bureau accompaniments - Housing Matters - Hotline Crisis Counselor Training - OVS assistance - Support in Criminal - Outreach/Vigils/Rallies - Community Leadership Cases - Community Action Committees Institute Advocacy Program - Economic Empowerment Program
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Rapid Baseline Assessment
• Raise your right hand if you’ve ever worked directly with a survivor of violence • Raise your left hand if you’ve ever engaged in advocacy activities for violence prevention or to raise awareness of LGBTQ or HIV-affected issues • Stomp your feet if you’ve ever attended a training on LGBTQ or HIV-affected related violence issues • Clap your hands if you feel that you’ve got more to learn about violence impacting LGBTQ or HIV-affected communities
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotlinewww.avp.org Chris’s Story
•We will ask 6 participants to come to the front of the room and each read from a piece of paper that helps narrate the story of the fictitious character named “Chris”. Chris comes to each person in crisis and they will respond to Chris by reading the provided paper.
Language & Terminology
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
What is “LGBTQ”
A standard acronym: • Lesbian • Gay • Bisexual • Transgender • Queer
Have you seen any other letters added to this acronym? What identities are also included in this community?
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline What is HIV-affected?
HIV-affected refers to people whose lives are directly impacted by HIV/AIDS.
This can include those who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, those with loved ones living with HIV/AIDS, or those living in or identifying with communities where HIV/AIDS is widespread.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
What is Oppression?
“Oppression is a pattern or system of inequality, which gives power and privileges to one group of people at the expense of another.” -GLSEN, 2004: Jumpstart Guide, Part V
POWER PREJUDICE The capacity to make and enforce decisions. A set of negative personal + = beliefs about a group Access to social and economic systems, groups, or individuals who own and control resources of governing bodies.
OPPRESSION RACISM...SEXISM…ABLEISM…AGEISM…CLASSISM… HETEROSEXISM…ETHNOCENTRISM
Privilege is:
An unearned right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/ 24hour bilingual hotline FABRIC OF OPPRESSION IN THE U.S.*
SOCIAL GROUP AGENT / PRIVILEGED TARGET / OPPRESSED OPPRESSION
ABILITY STATUS Able-bodied and people not People living with disabilities ABLEISM living with disabilities
AGE Adults 20-50 Youth and those over 50 AGEISM
APPEARANCE / BODY Western standard of beauty Everyone not fitting the LOOKISM standard GENDER Gender conforming boys and Girls and women; GENDER men Gender non-conforming; OPPRESSION Transgender populations (sexism, transmisogyny, misogyny, transmisogynoir, transphobia) NATIONALITY U.S. citizens Non-U.S. citizens XENOPHOBIA
RACE White people People of Color RACISM
RELIGION Christians Non-Christians RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION
SEXUAL ORIENTATION Heterosexual / People LGBTQ people and other non- HETEROSEXISM identifying as “straight” heterosexuals
SOCIOECONOMIC Wealthy and owning classes; The poor; CLASSISM STATUS / ECONOMIC Upper middle class The working class CLASS
*From the National Conference of Diversity www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Let’s Talk about Sex and Gender!
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Why start here?
• These are the very limited social constructs in which we work • Assumptions about sex and gender have a tremendous negative impact LGBTQ people everyday • This is the where most homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia stem from
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline Gender Identity
• Refers to how we see ourselves in a gendered way and how we may choose to express that. • This is unique to every individual • A person’s gender identity may not always match the sex they were assigned at birth • The term that is used when assigned sex does not match gender identity is Transgender.
Gender Identity vs. Sexual Orientation
• Sexual Orientation is about who you are sexually, romantically, emotionally, and/or spiritually attracted to
Gender Identity is about how you understand your own gender and how you express that.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Cisgender
• The term used to describe people whose sex assignment at birth corresponds to their gender identity and expression • “Gender Normative” • “non-transgender” • “The first time someone said I was too aggressive was probably when I was about six months old.” • “I’m a nonbinary fat femme and I wish people would offer me the sensitivity and attention around gender that they offer my trans masculine partner.”
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24hour bilingual hotline Transgender: An Umbrella Term
• The term transgender is an umbrella term used to describe people whose way of understanding and expressing their own gender is different from what society expects and/or what sex they were assigned at birth
• “I started to think maybe I was a trans guy when my friend explained what it is like to actually want to be a girl.” • “I still feel like a man in a dress a lot of the time.” • “For me, transition is about consent between mind and body.” • “I am a he, but I think maybe that is wrong and I am really a she.”
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24hour bilingual hotline
Gender nonconforming
• Other terms that may fall under this umbrella are terms such as:
• Gender non-conforming (GNC)*
• Genderqueer*
*It is important to remember that not all GNC or Genderqueer individuals identify as transgender
• “I identify as gay and gender-fluid.”
• “I feel dysphoric if I can’t shave and paint my nails.”
• “I started to get in touch with my butch side after I started to pass as as a woman.”
Transgender Individuals
• Transitioning means moving into the life of one’s gender identity. • Not all trans people transition
• Gender identity expression may take many forms depending on personal preference, culture, sexual orientation, and class, among other considerations (i.e. safety)
• Some steps taken by a person who identifies as transgender or gender non-conforming can include: • Hormone therapy • Name change • Pronoun change • Change in gender expression (clothing, make-up, hair style, etc.) • Gender Confirmation Surgery
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline Original graphic by eliaserickson.tumblr.com via BuzzFeed & Pinterest -- Resolution Upconvert by Fairy JerBear
Intimate Partner Violence
The intersections
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
What is Intimate Partner(s) Violence?
A pattern of behavior where one partner coerces, dominates, or isolates the other partner. It is the exertion of any form of power that is used to maintain control in a relationship.
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline LGBTQ IPV in the US: Prevalence
From the AVP report on LGBTQ IPV in 2015:
• In terms of gender identity the most commonly selected identity was man (32%) followed closely by woman (31%). Additionally, 10% of survivors identified as transgender. • Of the total number of responses for race and ethnicity, the majority of the responses were identities of color (54%). • Survivors who were under the age of 24 were three times more likely to report experiencing sexual violence compared to survivors who were 25 years old or older.
From: Intimate Partner Violence in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-Affected (LGBTQH) Communities in the United States in 2015 (NCAVP)
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/ 24hour bilingual hotline
Power & Control
In addition to physical, emotional, sexual, economic abuse, threats & intimidation:
• Use of privilege (around actual or perceived race, class, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, HIV status, etc.) • Threat of outing • Manipulation of institutions • Use of vulnerabilities
www.avp.org 2014 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Intersectionality • According to the AVP Hate Violence Report (2016): “Continuing a multi-year trend, transgender and gender non- conforming people, particularly transgender women of color, made up a majority of the homicides reported to NCAVP. Many transgender people face reoccurring verbal harassment, sexual violence, and physical violence, but for transgender women of color, that violence is too open deadly. This deadly violence directed toward transgender women of color is directly rooted in transmisogyny, a combination of transphobia and anti-feminine beliefs, as well as racist ideologies and attitudes. Similarly, transgender women of color experience high rates of poverty, job insecurity, homelessness, and other factors that make them more vulnerable to experiencing violence.” P. 25
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline Sexual violence (SV) is as serious and prevalent a problem in LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities as it is in others, with rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) and SV at the same or higher levels as heterosexual and cisgender people. In FY16 (July 2015 – June 2016)
AVP opened nearly 300 new cases for survivors of SV, up significantly from previous years, and we expanded our campus SV prevention and response work. A lack of competent, sensitive services means LGBTQ survivors often go without support. LGBTQ survivors may fear that service providers may lack experience within the community and will show insensitivity or bias.
TGNC POC SV survivors report to AVP feeling re-victimized and assaulted by health care practitioners who don’t understand their bodies – causing physical or emotional pain during a forensic rape exam, or by police officers when they try to report. AVP helps LGBTQ SV survivors by providing direct services ourselves, and helping them access mainstream safety, support, and services.
at Intimate-Partner-Violence-and-Sexual-Abuse-among-LGBT-People - Williams Institute 2015 (002).pdf http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_SOfindings.pdf and
Sexual Violence and LGBTQ Communities
From the FORGE survey:
• About 50% of trans* people experience sexual assault in their lifetime • 28% waited ten years before reaching out to a professional for emotional support
• Sexual violence by identity (CDC, 2016) For women: For men: - Lesbian – 46.4% - Gay – 40.2% - Bisexual – 74.9% - Bisexual – 47.4% - Heterosexual – 43.3% - Heterosexual – 20.8%
From the AVP Hate Violence report: More than one in four trans* people have lost a job due to bias
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/ 24hour bilingual hotline
Sexual Violence and LGBTQ Communities
• About 50% of trans people experience sexual assault in their lifetime • 64% of trans people who had experienced sexual assault later attempted suicide • 64% of people who had experienced childhood sexual abuse later experienced some other type of abuse • About 2/3 of trans and trans community respondents to a FORGE survey had experienced SV at least once • 78% of those who had experienced SV had experienced childhood sexual abuse • 28% waited ten years before reaching out to a professional for emotional support Why do trans people experience so much sexual assault?
• Sexualized identities • Socially endorsed belief that some bodies are less valuable/desirable • Perceived threat (to patriarchal and racist systems of social control) • Economic and occupational oppression • Vulnerability resulting from isolation during/after transition
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/ 24hour bilingual hotline
Some issues that can come up for trans SV survivors
• Gender dysphoria and dissociation • Not being dysphoric but still being trans • Not being trans but just being so miserable that you randomly try being trans and it works • Trauma, stigma, isolation cycle • Access to appropriate, safe medical care • Sexual power and mind/body consent • Shame, guilt, and doubt • Wanting people to really believe you that you are who you say you are • Difficulty with emotional regulation, or with “feeling” feelings, like anger vs. rage • Somatic symptoms and eating disorders • Core beliefs about gender, the body, and identity • Borderline symptomatology/diagnosis/stigma • Displacement • Sleep issues • Barriers to employment
Restoring Control
• Sexual Violence causes a disruption in the survivor’s lifestyle, perspective, sense of safety, and basic beliefs about the world. • In the long-term, the process of healing from sexual violence is about reorganizing one’s understanding of the world, their self, and regaining functioning. • Every step along the way the world will be telling them in subtle and overt ways, that they are to blame, and that they do not receive services. • This can be dramatically intensified because of racism, colorism, homophobia, transphobia/transmisogyny, ethnocentrism, etc.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline Individual Action Steps • Mirror language • Assess your own values/beliefs regarding sexual orientation & gender identity • Address your internal biases • Educate yourself - don’t tokenize/objectify individuals • Refer to body parts the way that the person refers to them. • This is especially important when working with transgender or gender non-conforming people
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
How to ask Questions about Identity
•“What is your real name?” – Instead ask, “What is your given name?” and “Is there a name that you go by or prefer other than your given name?” – Ask everyone these questions, not just people you think might not be straight/cis. •“Are you male or female?” – Instead ask, “What is your gender identity?” and “What are your pronouns?” – If you need information for legal documents ask, “What is your assigned gender on your legal documents?
www.avp.avp.org.org 212.714.1141/24hour212.bilingual714.1141hotline/24 hour bilingual hotline
Additional Guidelines for respectful conversation adapted from “Trans Inclusion Policy Manual For Women’s Organizations”
• Use pronouns that are consistent with a person’s stated preference; if the person has not directly stated a preference, ask.
• Use the name given to you by the person.
• Do not assume you know how a person refers to their body, including what they call their genitalia. Ask!
• Clarify your reasons for asking questions about a person’s body.
• Apply these guidelines to everyone, not just people you think may not be straight/cis.
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline Interpersonal Action Steps
● Use inclusive language (such as “partner”) ● Mirror their language ● Don’t assume anyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity-ASK ● You can’t always tell someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation ● If you make a mistake, do not over-apologize ● Make use of the Rape Crisis Advocates!
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Discussion Questions
• How do we talk about gender identity with clients who are not transgender? • What unique power dynamics can exist between service providers and transgender clients? How do these dynamics impact our work with IPV/SV survivors? • Why do a high percentage of trans people, especially trans women of color, experience sexual violence? • What are some issues that are unique to LGBTQ survivors of SV within an IPV relationship? • Are there clinical tools, interventions, or modalities that are particularly important for LGBTQ survivors?
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline
Thank you!
Suzy Salamy, MSW Senior Manager of Clinical and Advocacy Programs New York City Anti-Violence Project [email protected] 212-714-1184 x40
www.avp.org 212.714.1141/24 hour bilingual hotline