Domestic violence service providers' capacity for supporting transgender women: Findings from an Australian workshop (original) (raw)
Related papers
Trans people's experiences of domestic violence and abuse: messages for practice Briefing note
This year, on 20th November 2015, Transgender Day of Remember (TDoR) received more recognition than ever before. This reflects the increasing visibility of trans people in social life, but social exclusion and rates of discrimination for trans people remain high. The purpose of this briefing note is to highlight findings from a study which explored trans1 people's experiences of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), their social care needs and whether they accessed support through social care or supported housing provision. A brief overview of the project is presented in order to contextualise the distinctiveness and importance of the study's findings. These findings uncover the barriers to service provision as well the identification of some enablers. I end with some recommendations for practice.
Journal of Sociology, 2020
This paper explores the intersections of human and animal lives in the context of violence and marginalisation. It draws on two studies, the first involving a subsample of 23 open-ended survey responses completed by transgender and non-binary (TNB) people taken from a larger study exploring the intersections of animal and human directed violence, and the second involving eight interviews with TNB people focused on the meaning of animal companionship. Together, the findings suggest that animal companionship can be a protective factor for TNB people experiencing marginalisation and/or distress, whether in the context of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) or in the context of other forms of intra-or inter-personal points or adversity. The findings suggests that animal companions can provide TNB people with comfort and non-judgmental emotional interactions in the face of DVA and other life stressors. However, the risk of violence directed towards animals must also be considered. The paper concludes with discussion of the implications for DVA service provision and research.
Access to Domestic Violence Services: Obstacles and Discrimination Against Trans Individuals
2019
Trans individuals face unique sets of obstacles when accessing resources to end the violence due to their marginalized identity and the feminist definitions of what intimate partner violence is. Kimberly Nixon, a transwoman who was refused a volunteer position within the Vancouver Rape Relief Society due to being a transwoman, exemplifies the struggles that trans individuals face due to structural violence and heteronormativity. The case of Nixon v. Vancouver Rape Relief Society demonstrates the additional obstacles that trans individuals face to accessing services to ending domestic violence, and supports the resistance to a heteronormative system which excludes trans individuals.
There is increasing recognition that domestic abuse takes place outside of the heteronormative paradigm of social life. This paper presents a discussion of the findings of doctoral research which explores trans people’s experiences of domestic abuse, their social care needs and whether these are met by domestic abuse agencies. This paper foregrounds debate on the intersections of domestic abuse, trans communities and social care provision as this research, and previous studies, suggests that trans survivors do not seek out or benefit from social care intervention. Qualitative data, collected via narrative interviews, was collected during 2012 from participants mainly located in the UK (two participants were based in the US). A total of twenty four interviews were undertaken with trans people (n = 15) and social care practitioners (n = 9). Data was examined using a voice-centred relational technique. Findings reveal that barriers are multiple and complex but work could be undertaken to encourage help-seeking behaviours. Barriers include: expectations of a transphobic response and ‘Othering’ practices; lack of entitlement felt by trans people; lack of knowledge/misunderstandings about trans social care needs; heteronormative bias of existing services; and practitioner attitudes fixed to notions about gender as binary. The paper ends by proposing a framework for practice with trans survivors which incorporates a person-centred, narrative approach.
Transgender People, Intimate Partner Abuse, and the Legal System
The unique experiences of transgender persons subjected to abuse have not been the focus of legal scholarship; instead, the experiences of transgender people are often subsumed in the broader discourse around domestic violence in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This dearth of legal scholarship is not surprising given how little research of any kind exists on how transgender people experience intimate partner abuse. This is the first law review article to concentrate specifically on intimate partner abuse and the transgender community. The Article begins by discussing the difficulties of engaging in scholarship around this topic, noting the lack of a shared language and knowledge base for discussing intimate partner abuse in the transgender community. The Article then documents the barriers confronting transgender people seeking relief from intimate partner abuse, situates those barriers in the broader context of the structural and institutional violence and discrimination that are so prevalent in the lives of transgender people, and examines closely the inadequacy of the legal system to address the needs of transgender people subjected to abuse. This part of the Article is informed by the observations and insights of legal professionals working with transgender people subjected to intimate partner abuse, as well as the narratives of transgender people who have engaged the legal system. The Article then examines the gendered nature of intimate partner abuse against transgender people, arguing that such abuse can be understood not only through the lens of the patriarchal narrative of the battered women's movement, but also as a means of policing gender norms and affirming gender identity. The Article questions whether the legal system, which is the most developed and best funded response to domestic violence in the United States, can ever function as the cornerstone of an effective response to intimate partner abuse for transgender people. The Article concludes that we cannot create effective systemic responses to intimate partner abuse without understanding the particular needs of discrete groups of individuals subjected to abuselike transgender people.
Redefining Intimate Partner Violence Beyond the Binary to Include Transgender People
Journal of Family Violence, 2016
Since the mid-1970s, the field of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has debated over gender differences in the perpetration of physical partner violence. However, this classical controversy has ignored transgender people since their gender does not seemingly fit the binary categories (male and female) first used to conceptualize IPV. Furthermore, sustained attention on this ceaseless argument has contributed to transgender people remaining invisible to the field of IPV. In this article, we redefine IPV to extend beyond the gender binary and invite the field to shift its focus to transgender people. Research suggests that as many as one in two transgender individuals are victims of IPV, but that multiple barriers prevent this group from acquiring protection that is afforded to others. Therefore, we propose that researchers direct their attention to this topic, and thus, inform police officers, victim advocates, and medical professionals who work directly to combat IPV for all.
2014
Emergency domestic violence shelters are considered an important tool in the arsenal of resources against intimate partner violence. Despite the availability of shelters in the state of New York, transgender identified survivors face barriers that affect their ability and willingness to engage with mainstream domestic violence shelters. Given the lack of research in this area, this study was designed to give voice to this marginalized co-cultural group. This dissertation draws on the existing scholarship which demonstrates increasing denial rates for individuals who identify as transgender when seeking access to emergency domestic violence (DV) shelters in New York State. Using a phenomenological approach, nine participants shared their lived experiences and perceptions on access to DV shelter services. Findings revealed that transgender identified survivors face a multitude of barriers which are compounded by their intersecting identities. Three categories of barriers were identified including, social, institutional and intimate partner violence related barriers. Using co-culturally theory as the guiding paradigm, this research suggested that transgender identified survivors employ a multitude of communication strategies which are impacted by these barriers inclusive primarily of fields of experience (n=9, frequency 77) and situational context (n=9, frequency 77). Data also revealed that in spite of participants identifying a need for DV shelter services, the majority (n=8) chose not to engage with mainstream domestic violence shelters as a result of their fields of experience.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
There is a global call to action to improve transgender (trans) health to achieve health equity for people of all gender identities. Trans persons experience high rates of sexual assault and have historically had limited or no access to health care that meets their needs. As an initial step in addressing this, we evaluated a sexual assault treatment network’s capacity for addressing the needs of trans sexual assault survivors. Working with an Advisory Group comprising trans community members and their allies who have expertise in trans health, a short online questionnaire was developed and distributed to the program leaders of Ontario’s 35 hospital-based Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Centres (SA/DVTCs). A total of 27 program leaders completed the questionnaire for a response rate of 77%. The majority of respondents reported that their program collaborates with trans-positive services within their community (70.4%). However, only two in five (40.7%) program leaders indicated that ...