On the Structural Conditions Shaping Implementation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)-Inclusive Practices Within Intimate Partner Services in Australia

Lusby S., Lim G., Carman M., Bourne A.

Abstract Purpose There are inadequate resources available to support lesbian, gay, bi + , trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people experiencing family violence in Australia. Government funding agencies and mainstream family violence service providers regularly state that there is insufficient evidence to justify investment in more inclusive services. This article explores practitioner perceptions of such claims. Method 21 practitioners from mainstream and specialist LGBTIQ family violence services were interviewed about structural challenges associated with implementing LGBTIQ-inclusive family violence services. Participants’ accounts highlight the political tensions and material repercussions of epistemic definitions of ‘evidence’ as they pertain to LGBTIQ individuals’ experiences of violence within policy environments. Utilizing Carol Bacchi’s feminist policy analysis framework, we ask ‘what is the problem represented to be?’, examining participant perceptions about how evidence is currently positioned in policy and resourcing decisions pertaining to LGBTIQ family violence, and discuss its implications. Results Participants overwhelmingly called for more investment in research and data gathering about family violence against LGBTIQ people and provision of effective supports. Even allowing for this, participants indicated that there is also already enough existing knowledge to justify urgent expansion of LGBTIQ-inclusive services. Conclusions Expanded provision of services and generating a more robust evidence base about LGBTIQ family violence service needs are critically important and intertwined issues. However, the way that they are currently sequenced in policy and broader sector conversations, where ‘enough’ evidence is required in order to justify increased services, is inhibiting progress on both.

Lim G., Lusby S., Carman M., Bourne A.

Abstract Purpose This study examined the experiences of LGBTQ victim-survivors who sought out support from domestic violence services in Australia. While the literature on intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly focused on improving LGBTQ inclusivity and cultural safety within both service and policy contexts, the experiences of LGBTQ victim-survivors themselves are often absent from these discussions. Consequently, little is understood about how LGBTQ victim-survivors navigate and negotiate service contexts that are frequently optimized for cisgender, heterosexual victim-survivors. Methods Structured life history interviews were conducted with (N = 29) LGBTQ victim-survivors aged 19–79 years of age who had recent (< 2 years) or ongoing experiences of IPV. Results LGBTQ victim-survivors' help-seeking behaviors are undertaken against the backdrop of a highly variegated service landscape. Individual service organizations and service workers' attitudes towards LGBTQ clients can run the gamut from inclusive and culturally sensitive to heterosexist and exclusionary, with little outward distinction between such. While participants within our study demonstrated the ability to deftly navigate or minimize the incidence of such treatment, there were clear limits to the extent that deploying such strategies would successfully enable victim-survivors to access service support. The additional psychological costs of cautiously navigating service systems were also not insubstantial and contributed significantly to both service disengagement and poorer service outcomes. Conclusions Efforts to expand service capabilities to improve service uptake and service outcomes for LGBTQ victim-survivors must be attentive to, and address the impact of anticipated and experienced discrimination on service provision.

Taber J.L., Stults C.B., Song H., Kaczetow W.

AbiNader M.A., Graham L.M., Kafka J.M.

Among homicides in the United States, intimate partners kill almost 50% of female and 10% of male victims. Intimate partner violence (IPV) also contributes to an estimated 6% of suicides. These trends suggest that opportunities for IPV interventions prior to the fatalities may have been missed. Thus, researchers must investigate the context and circumstances of IPV-related fatalities to inform effective prevention strategy development. There are two primary national fatality databases that can be used to examine such factors: the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS, homicide and suicides); and the Uniform Crime Reporting-Supplementary Homicide Reports (UCR-SHR, homicides). These datasets include data on many IPV-related violent deaths but are limited by variations in data quality. This critical review summarizes opportunities and challenges when examining IPV-related fatalities using these national datasets. To document how the current literature is conceptualizing IPV, a rapid review on IPV-related homicide and suicide articles was performed (2019–2022). Missingness analyses were conducted to describe limitations in key dataset variables. These datasets enable tracking IPV-related fatalities nationally over time. However, issues with the operationalization of variables that record IPV circumstances, particularly in the UCR-SHR, and high levels of missingness represent significant barriers to research. Novel methodologies can optimize the use of these datasets. National-level datasets enable researchers to examine IPV-related fatalities, evaluate policy differences between states, and monitor trends and disparities. This research can inform key recommendations for interventions to prevent IPV-related fatalities.

Merken S., Slakoff D.C., Aujla W., Moton L.

ABSTRACT To date, very little is known about intimate partner violence (IPV) service providers’ experiences serving trans and immigrant women (IPV) survivors and their barriers in reporting and/or accessing formal services. Employing constructivist grounded theory, two vignettes were constructed – one featuring a trans woman and the other an immigrant woman, both seeking IPV services. American and Canadian IPV service providers responded to open-ended survey questions about both scenarios, resulting in several emergent themes including, but not limited to: service provider biases, shelter conflicts, and distrust of systems. Policy implications and future research are also addressed.

Day A., Ross S., Polaschek D.L.

This chapter discusses the responses to intimate partner violence of two Australasian countries, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. While these countries have close links to one another, the chapter highlights some key differences in how information about violence is collected, the history of service delivery in each country, and the policy context that underpins contemporary practice. At the same time, we argue that government responses in both countries have not provided the level of resourcing required to address the level of need and the specific challenges that arise when trying to equip a workforce to prevent intimate partner violence, to respond appropriately to diversity, and to establish the effectiveness of different policies and programs. We argue that addressing these challenges will be essential if integrated prevention programs are to be developed that can adequately respond to the complexity of the issue.

Santoniccolo F., Trombetta T., Rollè L.

Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence (SSIPV) is a complex issue that can be severely damaging. When involved in SSIPV, victims and perpetrators sometimes choose to seek help. The help-seeking process, however, can be difficult. Experiences of help-seeking seem to vary and may be positive or negative depending on several factors, some of which appear to be specific to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people involved in a same-sex relationship. A systematic review of the literature has been conducted across four databases following the PRISMA statement guidelines. Out of 410 screened abstracts, 78 articles were selected for full-text review. Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 studies were included in the current review. Thematic analysis was conducted on these studies and results were discussed by three reviewers. Help-seekers tended to use informal sources of help, perceived to be ambivalently helpful. Formal sources tended to be utilized sparingly, except for counselors. Many formal sources were perceived to be unhelpful, and most of the studies identified several barriers to services that prevented effective help. Formal and helpful sources were perceived as knowledgeable and sensitive about LGB themes. While existing research is limited, formal services that can provide effective care for SSIPV appear scarce. Barriers to services seem widespread, limiting accessibility. Existing services would benefit from increasing their knowledge and sensitivity on SSIPV-specific themes. The development of policies, programs, and interventions that aim to provide effective help is needed, as well as more research.

Boe J.L., Jordan L.S., Ellis É.M.

Trans women experience sexual violence at alarming rates; however, due to societal cisnormativity, people often remain unaware of such rates. As digital feminist movements, such as #MeToo, gain mom...

Dolan C.V., Conroy N.E.

Transgender (trans) survivors are infrequently included in the intimate partner violence (IPV) literature, and they are rarely the central subjects of IPV research. Similarly, trans survivors are rarely at the center of IPV service provision. In this article we articulate the importance of centering trans survivors in IPV research and practice through developing a nuanced understanding of the unique manifestations of abuse for trans individuals. Using intersectionality (Collins, 2019; Crenshaw, 1989, 1991) as our theoretical framework, we discuss the manifestations of dominance in trans IPV research and service provision. Specifically, we explain how cissexism, binarism, trans misogyny, and dysphoria reify White supremacist cisheteropatriarchy in intimate relationships, research, and service provision. We argue the importance of researchers and service providers alike to recognize and detect identity abuse tactics as well and how they contribute to the unique barriers trans survivors encounter to access resources and their help-seeking behaviors. With a more nuanced understanding of the ways that White supremacist cisheteropatriarchy affect trans individuals' experiences of IPV, researchers and service providers will be better able to understand and respond to abuse tactics used against trans people.

Messinger A.M., Kurdyla V., Guadalupe-Diaz X.L.

Research finds that transgender survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) often face transphobia-related barriers to reaching help. Due partially to a dearth of larger datasets supporting multivariate analyses, it is unclear whether sociodemographic factors can further hinder transgender help-seeking. Addressing these gaps, logistic regression secondary data analyses were conducted with 15,198 transgender IPV survivors from the nationally-representative 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Odds of seeking help from survivor agencies were significantly greater for survivors who are trans men, assigned-female-at-birth genderqueer, Alaska Native or American Indian, poorer, transphobia victims, and victims of any IPV type, especially controlling IPV. In addition, odds of not seeking help due fearing transphobic responses were significantly greater for survivors who are trans women, asexual or bisexual, poorer, younger, undocumented, childless, ever homeless, transphobia victims, or victims of any IPV type, particularly sexual IPV. Implications for future research and population-specific service provision are discussed.

Antebi-Gruszka N., Scheer J.R.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals disproportionately experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and resulting negative health consequences compared to cisgender heterosexual individuals. This study builds on prior recent work by examining specific trauma-informed care (TIC) components most associated with a comprehensive set of health and psychosocial risks among 298 LGBTQ IPV survivors who sought and accessed trauma-related services (e.g., mental health counseling). Results indicated that TIC components are differentially associated with LGBTQ clients’ health and well-being. Specifically, greater perceptions of providers who fostered agency and mutual respect were associated with better outcomes, whereas greater perceptions of providers who focused on culture and increasing opportunities to connect with other survivors were related to negative outcomes. These findings underscore the need for providers to prioritize LGBTQ clients’ sense of agency and mutual respect and identify for whom focusing on culture and connecting with other LGBTQ survivors might be beneficial.

Callan A., Corbally M., McElvaney R.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global health issue that encroaches beyond parameters of age, gender, sexual orientation and is the subject of extensive scholarly inquiry. Research on IPV in heterosexual couples, in particular on heterosexual women, has been prolific. However, there is a dearth of literature to document the distinct experiences of gay and bisexual men, despite the evidence of prevalence of IPV as reported equal or higher to heterosexual women. Studies have found that one in four gay men and four in 10 bisexual men have experienced IPV in their lifetime. This scoping review examines studies between 1931 and 2019 that had a predominant focus on violence among gay and bisexual men. Four electronic databases were searched in 2019. Arksey and O’Malley’s framework was utilized to extract 28 studies using a range of research designs that represented 13,224 sexual minority male participants. Across studies, gay and bisexual men were observed to experience IPV similarly to heterosexual couples involving psychological, physical, and sexual violence. However, as a marginalized and sexual minority group, they experience distinctive features of violence including sexual orientation outing, unprotected sexual intercourse, homophobia, internalized homophobia, and difficulties accessing minority men–focused services. Minority stress theory is posited as a useful lens in understanding the above features. In keeping with previous scholarship, a paucity of knowledge on gay and bisexual men’s experience of IPV was observed, and additional research is recommended.

Buttell F., Ferreira R.J.

The hidden and often unspoken impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). This commentary addresses this issue and highlights a study undertaken to address this public health issue by generating empirical research on the relationship between COVID-19 and IPV. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Satyen L., Toumbourou J.W., Heerde J., Supol M., Ranganathan A.

There is a dearth of research investigating whether public inquiries such as Royal Commissions trigger community behavior change or awareness about targeted health and social issues within the general community. This study examined trends in the reporting of intimate partner violence (IPV) and help-seeking behavior before and during the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence. Six hundred seventy-seven women across Australia, including 172 migrant and 505 nonmigrant women, completed surveys on their experience of IPV and help-seeking behavior over a 4-year period. Prevalence estimates were weighted to the Australian Census data to reflect the Australian population breakdown for age and migrant status. Results showed levels of IPV reported by participants significantly increased during the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2015. Similarly, the perceived need to seek help for abuse significantly increased from the start of the Royal Commission; this was, however, evident for nonmigrant, but not migrant women. The findings are discussed considering the influence of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, its public profile, and the pervasiveness of the information about family violence during this time that could have led to an increasing trend in knowledge about family violence and the perception of requiring assistance in the general community. It is recommended that future Royal Commissions prepare for predictable changes in community behavior and institutions organize their resources to address the potential increased disclosure of the problems addressed.

Kim C., Schmuhl M.

Although sexual minority couples experience intimate partner violence (IPV) similar to or higher than heterosexual couples, not much attention has been given to LGBTQ couples. Using content analysis, this integrative review seeks to examine the state of scholarly literature regarding IPV among LGBTQ+ communities in the United States. For studies to be eligible for inclusion in this review, studies were required to focus on LGBTQ+ populations within the United States, published in English, involved violence between intimate partners, were the result of peer-reviewed, original research, and were published between years 2008 and 2018. Using SocIndex as the search database, a total of 46 peer-reviewed journal articles met the inclusion criteria. This study found that most studies employed quantitative research designs aiming to examine the statistical relationship between IPV and other variables by using surveys. Demographic information of the participants was mostly used as predictors of IPV, whereas health-related risky behaviors were mostly used as outcomes variables that were associated with IPV. Theoretical frameworks, methodology, and policy suggestions used in each study were examined in depth. A discussion of future studies and policy implications follows the findings of this study.