DFV Case Study: Insights on the power of LGBTQIA+ lived experience in service delivery
Image: Snapshot of front-page of report by Paul Ramsay Foundation
GiveOUT exists because we believe in the power of LGBTQIA+-led solutions. Our work is focused on ensuring LGBTQIA+ organisations and projects have the resources and support they need to drive positive outcomes for their communities.
The “complex and unending issue” of domestic and family violence (DFV) has been at the forefront of conversations across Australia in recent months. However, DFV in LGBTQIA+ communities often goes unrecognised, despite the fact that research indicates that most LGBTQIA+ people experience some form of violence in intimate partner and/or family relationships in their lifetime[1].
Paul Ramsay Foundation’s recent report, ‘Passionate, relentless, grassroots problem-solving: Insights from the Field of Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Support’, shines a spotlight on communities that experience DFV and its ongoing impacts with greater levels of prevalence and harm, including LGBTQIA+ communities, First Nations communities, women with a disability and more. While the report is focused on DFV, the findings are relevant to other issues including housing and homelessness, education, youth services, health and wellbeing and more.
The report found that specialist cohorts such as LGBTQIA+ people often feel unsafe accessing mainstream services, and are more likely to engage with services that have LGBTQIA+ staff and that are deeply attuned to the unique needs and circumstances of rainbow communities.
“When you start talking about the family violence, [victim survivors] don't necessarily want to go to the mainstream services … they want to come to a service where the worker is an LGBTQIA+ specialist, and you know that they are gonna be safe.”
Specific LGBTQIA+ insights from the report:
There is currently a funding gap in the service provision for LGBTQIA+ people affected by DFV
LGBTQIA+ people can find mainstream organisations unsafe, and often needed services that had a deep understanding of their unique context in order to engage
Having staff from the LGBTQIA+ community is important in making a service safe and trustworthy
What does this mean for funders?
Don’t assume mainstream organisations will be able to effectively deliver support for a particular community, including LGBTQIA+ people, especially if they don’t have representation in their team and / or amongst their leadership.
Fund community-led organisations, or ensure genuine community voice and participation in program design and delivery at mainstream organisations.
Support programs and services that are designed and led by LGBTQIA+ people to address their needs
Family Access Network, one of the interviewees in the report and a GiveOUT Day 2023 participant, provides specialised support for LGBTQIA+ young people and families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. As part of their DFV work, they hire a DFV therapeutic arts practitioner to provide healing and recovery support to LGBTQIA+ young people and pregnant/parenting young people who have experienced DFV. You can learn more and support their work via https://www.fan.org.au/.
[1] Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Family, domestic and sexual violence - LGBTIQA+ people . Accessed via https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/population-groups/lgbtiqa-people. Note - the previous statistic used in this article compared rates of DFV between 'LGBTQIA+' people and 'cisgender heterosexual people'. This framing does not appropriately respect the existence of cisgender heterosexual people with intersex variations, so has been removed. For more information, visit https://ihra.org.au/allies/ and https://www.idahobit.org.au/people-and-stories/intersex-advocate-paul-byrne-moroney.
