A LGBTQIA+ charity is working on a new project that is aiming to highlight the prevalence and impact of domestic abuse within its community and the impact this can have.
Here NI is working on the research project in partnership with the Rainbow Project and Cara-Friend, and the charities have warned that the issue is often "invisible" to authorities due to additional barriers that members of the LGBTQ+ can face when seeking to report the abuse they have faced, whether this is at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Cara McCann , Director of HERe NI, Allison Newey, LGBTQIA+ Domestic abuse researcher HERe NI, and Amanda McGurk, Advocacy Coordinator at the Rainbow Project, said that domestic abuse within the LGBTQIA+ community is quite a taboo subject and victims can face other pressures, such as the threat of "being outed" to friends and family who may not be aware of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and this can often stop them from speaking out.
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They also raised concerns with how domestic abuse cases within the community are reported and handled by authorities, saying that victims are often assumed to be involved in a hetrosexual relationship when reporting abuse, which can put them off accessing help and support.
Cara said: "Over the past few years we have been engaging with the police, DoJ and other agencies to improve the support available for people within the LGBTQIA+ community who are victims of domestic abuse and help them understand the difficulties that people face when trying to come forward to report it or seek help.
"There are little to no dedicated resources in order to help members of the LGBTQIA+ community who already face additional barriers when coming forward to highlight the abuse they face. This can often be from the historic distrust that remains within the LGBTQIA+ community regarding the police, but also from threats they can face from their abuser and the control that they may have over them."
Amanda said: "I have worked with members of the community who have suffered domestic abuse, whether that is at the hands of their partner or a family member and they have all highlighted the issues they have experienced when trying to come forward and report what has happened to them.
"For those in intimate relationships they can be threatened with being outed to friends and family that they may not have come out to, lose control of their finances and in some cases for those who may be refugees or asylum seekers they can be threatened with having their status revoked so they could face deportation. The abuse they can face in a family setting is also very harrowing as they can face anything from violent attacks to corrective rapes if the family member or members is opposed to them coming out about their sexual orientation and/ or gender identity.
"One of the biggest barriers that members of the LGBTQIA+ community face when reporting is that often it is assumed that they are in a hetrosexual relationship when they say they have been victims of domestic abuse, which can instantly put people off as they feel their situation will not be properly understood.
"There also appears to be no recording mechanism in place for same-sex domestic abuse incidents and I fear that we do not know the full impact that this has had on victims or how many people will have lost their lives as a result of this.
"Another barrier for people can also be a sense of guilt when reporting the abuse that they face as some victims will have fought hard to have their relationships accepted by family members or friends and are worried about the backlash from them when they come forward about the abuse they received."
Allison Newey is leading the Here NI's research into the impact of and prevalence of domestic abuse within the LGBTQIA+ community and has had over 75 people so far complete an online survey, but is hoping for more people to come forward to get a better understanding of the problems that victims face.
She said: "The research that I am working on is aimed at understanding the current situation with regards to domestic abuse within the LGBTQIA+ community so that we can try and help shape future policy and the support that is available for survivors.
"Often members of the community can feel left out of any strategies that are put in place and rarely see themselves in awareness campaigns, particularly those who are transgender or non-binary who are usually never included.
"It is vital that they are able to see themselves in these campaigns and have dedicated support services where they know they are speaking to someone who understands their circumstances and treat them with the dignity that they deserve, rather than feel judged.
"As part of my research I am encouraging victims of domestic abuse to come forward and speak with me confidentially, and so far there has been a very strong response from people keen to raise awareness about an issue that is often invisible, not just to the authorities but to others within the LGBTQ+." Allison has also carried out confidential interviews with members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have experienced domestic abuse.
A PSNI spokesperson said: "There are existing mechanisms to record a person’s gender and, separately, the relationship between the victim and suspect where a crime has been recorded.
"While transgender is one of the gender options available, in many cases someone who is transgender will have this information input based on the gender with which they identify at point of contact with police.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland is working with key partners on developing reporting policies to refine recording mechanisms so that we can more efficiently breakdown data."
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