LGBTQ Populations

For an in-depth look at sexual and gender identities, consider this free course, “Sexual and Gender Identities,” from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Consent Work in LGBTQI Communities, with Dustina Hasse-Lanier and Jessica Gilbertson, of the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, is a recorded interview produced by the NSVRC.

During the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s iLEAD Conference in May 2011, Terri Phoenix, director at the LGBTQ Center at the University of North Carolina, spoke about preventing sexual violence violence in LGBTQ communities. Check out this interview with T.

Anti-violence projects, such as CUAV of San Francisco and the New York City Anti-Violence Project, are well-known organizations that provide crisis intervention and prevention efforts against hate crimes in the LGBT community, with many members focusing on helping survivors of hate crimes. The Network/La Red is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, BDSM, polyamorous and queer communities.

Through community efforts, these agencies can help in identifying victims of sexual assault as a hate crime and rape crisis centers can help in this collaboration. As we know, rape is not just an issue that affects women, but the entire community. For example, if a person is sexually assaulted as a result of being a lesbian, then rape crisis centers have an obligation to collaborate with centers that work with survivors of a hate crime. It is, therefore, important for rape crisis centers to contact local hate crime registry organizations or local LGBT centers to help in identifying existing and potential survivors.

Rape crisis centers and rape prevention educators (RPE) are also in a unique and important position to influence positive attitudes and behavior related to hate and bias among children, youth, teachers, etc. Since humans are not born prejudiced, but rather receive their information via their environment, reaching children at a young age is a necessary opportunity to educate and prevent hate crimes. By creating collaborations with school administrators and stressing the importance of providing rape prevention education, hate crime prevention education, and the importance of diversity, rape crisis centers and rape prevention educators will be in a better position to reach those school-aged children and youth who, statistically, perpetrate most of the hate crimes against the LGBT community. Studies have shown that the younger a person is exposed to diversity, the more likely it is that s/he will view it as less threatening, and anything different they encounter will be seen as a strength. Below are some key recommendations suggested by the organization Partners Against Hate that can be used when providing rape prevention education:

Confront prejudicial attitudes and actions before they escalate
Identify, understand, and effectively combat bias-related incidents and hate crimes
Enhance students’ self-esteem by creating school climates where youth feel secure, accepted, independent, and responsible
Help students connect their own experiences with others
Teach youth to promote critical thinking by identifying over-generalizations and stereotypes
Teach youth the history of discrimination, hate crimes, and bias
Provide youth with examples of individuals whose lives counter the stereotypes
Assist youth in becoming empowered to make positive social change
Help youth resist prejudice and bias
Help young people recognize hate and bias on the internet.

Click here for statistics on sexual violence and intimate partner violence in LGB communities under the section entitled, “National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation”

More resources:

LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Resources

Trans-Ally-new.pdf