This Booklet is written for sexual violence (SA) and domestic violence (DV) victim services organizations to provide a basic understanding of policies and practices that promote nondiscrimination and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. DV and SA organizations provide vitally important services to individuals who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking. Engaging in a process to ensure that your entire organization embraces nondiscrimination and inclusion promotes an environment of safety, acceptance, respect, compassion, empowerment, and individuality of all.
Gender integration provides an opportunity for a shelter to reassess and improve safety measures; at the same time, it's important to be prepared to counter the illusion that integrating survivors of all genders inherently makes a shelter less safe. All survivors seeking access to a shelter are doing so because of a need for safety, and survivors of all genders deserve support in feeling as secure as possible.
Over 50% of trans and gender non-binary people have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. One in two.
Our community has one of the highest incidences of sexual violence ever documented. What does this fact mean to us as individuals and a community? Obviously, the answers to that question are virtually endless, as each person reacts to their unique history as both a trans or gender non-binary person and a sexual assault survivor in their own way. The reactions range the gamut between these two poles, both said to FORGE in answer to our 2004 question of trans sexual assault survivors,
FORGE believes that one of the most important things trauma survivors need to learn is how to trust ourselves. e ideas and resources in this guide are just suggestions. We urge you to seek out other skilled advice and options, and to then trust your heart and brain in what they tell you to try. When something you try doesn't work, take what you've learned and try something else.
Espavo. Thank you for taking your power and picking up this publication.
Since some people never get beyond the rst page of a book or report, it is very important to us to make sure you — a partner, friend, loved one or supporter of a transgender1 or gender non-binary survivor of sexual assault, sexual coercion, sexual threats, unwanted sexual or other physical touch, sexual violence within a dating or intimate relationship, or sex with an older person who should have known you were too young to understand all the implications — hear the most important things we would like you to know. So if you read nothing else, please read this Welcome.
Over 50% of trans people have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. These survivors have friends, partners, family members, and loved ones. These folks may also be trans, or they may not be. They may be survivors too, or they may not be. The communities that care about trans survivors, and the individuals in those communities, need access to support and resources too.
There are many sections to this safety planning document in order to provide a more comprehensive tool. It may feel long and overwhelming. Consider reading only a few sections at a time. Remember also that any step you take to improve your safety is important; you do not need to take them all.
Ideally, people using this Safety Planning tool should write out their answers and notes, to help solidify their thinking and so they can access help remembering their plans if they are under stress, such as during an episode of violence. HOWEVER, it is EXTREMELY important that these notes – whether they be on paper or electronic – NOT be left anywhere where an abuser could find them.
2003 was the year when a transgender sexual assault survivor attempted to access help from law enforcement, sexual assault service providers, crime victim compensation, lawyers, advocates, and therapists, and was repeatedly denied service or revictimized by the system. We wondered: Is sexual violence against trans people this prevalent everywhere? Are services that are supposed to help survivors this dysfunctional and damaging to trans people in other parts of the country?
Although it is critical to improve mainstream services' ability to appropriately and respectfully respond to the needs of transgender sexual assault survivors and their loved ones, our 2004 study found that many trans survivors turn to the internet and self-help materials rather than, or in addition to, services from therapists or sexual assault programs. Unfortunately, many self-help and internet-based materials are highly steeped in binary gender stereotypes, making them painful reading for some transgender and gender non-binary survivors. In addition, none of those materials addresses the specific complexities that face survivors who are not only trying to find their way through the morass of feelings and memories about the assault(s), but who are also trying to cope with how gender identity issues interact with and complicate the picture.
This guide is the result of months of intensive thought, many drafts, consultations and research. Most importantly it has been shaped by the lived experience of trans women living in Ontario. This guide is a response to the definitive requests by WHAI workers for a resource to support the critical work of trans inclusivity in the Initiative's ground-up community development mandate. It is indicative of this Initiatve's commitment to equity and social justice that this topic has been heard and felt with such appropriate urgency and it is with great excitement that I present it to you.
This manual is designed to help Indigenous women address key aspects of violence, including client rights and service provider responsibilities and establishing a safety plan. It is also designed to help service providers understand Indigenous women's legal rights on matters related to leaving a violent relationship, including legal tools for women's safety, such as protective orders, laying charges, specific protections against stalking and cyber-bullying, and police responsibilities.
In this paper, we will examine the textual sources that form the foundation of Islam's egalitarian spirit, consider the challenges posed by historical interpretations of these sources, and think about ways to move forward in promoting gender equity, especially with respect to condemning domestic violence in all its forms. We will see that the main task ahead, beyond restoring the rights and protections originally given to women by Islam's foundational sources, will be for men and boys to take a leading role in making the gender-equal message of Islam a reality.