NSW report finds people in non-heterosexual relationships suffer emotional and verbal abuse specific to their gender identity and sexual preferences

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

People in non-heterosexual relationships are suffering domestic violence that is specific to their gender identity and sexual preferences at alarming levels, a groundbreaking new report has found.

The report, Calling it What it Really is, shines light on abuse that is hidden and under-reported. It is the first comprehensive, qualitative survey conducted on domestic and family violence in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) communities in New South Wales.

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It found that members of the LGBTIQ community often suffer from emotional and social abuse specific to that community, such as threats from perpetrators to “out” homosexual partners, homophobic or transphobic name-calling and the withholding of HIV medication or drugs to aid a transgender person transition.

“Under-acknowledged, this is a serious form of domestic violence that can cause significant, ongoing physical and emotional harm,” the report warned. “Perpetrators of domestic violence may exploit homophobia, transphobia, heterosexism ... within their partner’s family, social networks and/or wider community in order to control and harm their partner.”

More than half of the 813 respondents – nearly 55% – said they had previously been in an emotionally abusive relationship. Just under 35% said they had experienced sexual or physical violence in a past relationship.

Those figures are much higher for transgender, intersex and transgender survey participants, with three out of four saying they had experienced emotional abuse in the past. Nearly 53% said they had experienced physical or sexual abuse in a previous relationship.

The survey found that more than two in five respondents have experienced verbal abuse in their current relationship and 26% had experienced emotional abuse in their current relationship.

“The results of this survey show that a substantial proportion of participants had experienced emotional and/or verbal abuse in their current relationship, and that these forms of abuse were considerably more likely to have occurred than physical or sexual abuse,” the report said.

“It may be that individuals are more likely to engage in these forms of abuse, possibly because they are perceived as ‘less serious’ than acts of physical or sexual violence, or be perceived as not constituting domestic violence at all,” the report said.

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“It may also be possible that participants also have a greater tolerance for verbal and emotional abuse, and are therefore more likely to remain in relationships even it if occurs. This highlights a need for greater recognition within the LGBTIQ community that emotional and verbal abuse are serious forms of domestic violence.”

The chief executive of Domestic Violence NSW, Moo Baulch, told Guardian Australia that some members of the LGBTIQ community become used to a level of emotional and verbal abuse, stemming from childhood name-calling or lack of sensitivity around gender identity issues within the family.

The survey, she said, posed the question of what “impact that has on forming a healthy relationship in the intimate partner context”.

“It’s something we know is under-reported and can be difficult for the LGBTIQ community to identify,” Baulch said.

The director of the University of NSW’s Centre for Social Research in Health, John de Wit, said the LGBTIQ community was “not immune” from family and domestic violence.

Perpetrators were using a victim’s sexuality and gender identity to isolate, manipulate and shame them, De Wit said.

“The survey results suggests that people can and will use anything against people, because it [domestic violence] is about control and power,” he told Guardian Australia.

Nearly 13% of transgender, intersex and gender diverse survey respondents said their sexual status had been used as a means of control or abuse in their current relationship.

Despite variations in sexual preferences, the survey found most of the perpetrators are men, or those who identify as male.



De Wit said the results show that more needs to be done to understand the relationship between masculinity and abusive behaviour.

“There are other ways in which to display manliness,” he said. “It does really mean that we need to focus on men and how they form relationships.”

Rates of reporting domestic violence in the LGBTIQ community are similar to reporting rates in heterosexual couples, with only 10% to 20% of incidents reported to law enforcement authorities, Baulch said.

The NSW police force was the first in the country to create the role of gay and lesbian liaison officers, known as GLLOs, in 1990, and officers receive diversity training in police academy.

But Baulch said despite this effort from NSW police to be more proactive with the LGBTIQ community, suspicion still remains.

“Members of the LGBTIQ community do have a fear of police,” she said. “They do have concerns about their complaints not being taken seriously.”

With a relatively small sample size, De Wit warned against drawing conclusions relating to the prevalence of domestic violence in the LGBTIQ community, saying instead the survey results are a “major first step” in identifying a much larger problem.



“It gives us a first and a good indication that there is a serious issue,” he said.

The Calling it What it Really is report was authored by the LGBTIQ Domestic and Family Violence Interagency Steering Committee, which includes Domestic Violence NSW.

The findings were analysed by the Centre for Social Research in Health.

It will be released publicly on Tuesday night, during Domestic Violence NSW’s annual conference. The conference will launch a new website, www.anothercloset.com.au, on domestic violence resources specific to the LGBTIQ community.