June 2024 is Pride Month, an annual event meant to celebrate the impact of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Pride Month draws from a long tradition of LGBTQ activism, such as the Reminder Day Pickets in 1960s Philadelphia and the first Pride Marches held across the U.S. on June 18th, 1970 to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. In an era in which LGBTQ rights have come under fresh attack in sports, schools, and legislatures, Pride is more important than ever.
Pride Month is an opportune time for the anti-sexual violence field to reflect on how it can best serve LGBTQ victims. 2016/2017 data from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey revealed high rates of sexual victimization among queer respondents, with 59.9% of lesbian women, 79.3% of bisexual women, 59.8% of gay men, and 56.4% of bisexual men indicating than they had experienced contact sexual violence at some point in their lives. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, drawing data from a nationally representative sample of over 27,000 transgender adults, found that almost half of respondents reported experiencing lifetime sexual assault. With such high prevalence of sexual victimization among LGBTQ persons, it is imperative that sexual assault service providers educate themselves on these populations' perspectives and service needs.
The voices of LGBTQ survivors, activists, and researchers continue to enhance the field's understanding of LGBTQ issues. Below are several books from the Respect Together library collection that shine light on the experiences and service needs of LGBTQ persons.
Transgender Intimate Partner Violence: A Comprehensive Introduction (New York University Press, 2020) -- Twenty-three contributors compiled this volume on intimate partner violence (including intimate partner sexual assault) against transgender persons. The authors explore the complex dimensions of IPV against trans victims, such as transphobic abuse tactics, barriers to services and escape, and the intersections of transphobia, race, and immigration issues. Later chapters identify best practices in health care interventions, policing, sheltering, and legal responses. The final four chapters explore IPV prevention, research needs, and ways of addressing service barriers often encountered by transgender survivors.
Sexed Up: How Society Sexualizes Us, and How We Can Fight Back (Seal Press, 2022) -- Trans activist Julia Serano dissects the ways that sexualization has been used to reinforce patriarchal sexual norms, racism, and queerphobia. Serano argues that by eradicating sexualization, severing the connection between sex and stigma, and rejecting social scripts that reinforce oppression, we can diminish sexual violence and foster a world of sexual equity.
Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement (Riverdale Avenue Books, 2016) -- This collection of essays, poems, and art from over thirty LGBTQ contributors is a multifaceted journey through pain, healing, and sexuality, revealing the many dimensions of queer victimization and recovery. Queering Sexual Violence delves into the many ways that sexual violence intersects with heteronormativity, cisnormativity, ableism, racism, and the carceral system.
The Social Work and LGBTQ Sexual Trauma Casebook: Phenomenological Perspectives (Routledge, 2020) -- Written by and for social workers who serve LGBTQ populations, this book is a collection of case studies on LGBTQ survivors of sexual trauma. The narratives and analyses are intended to help social workers and other service providers understand sexual violence and queer identity as they relate to asylum seeking, religious identity, regional cultures, and mental health interventions.
By amplifying to the voices of LGBTQ persons and fostering a culture in which their rights and dignity are affirmed, we contribute to the creation of a more just society. Part of this task involves incorporating LGBTQ perspectives and needs into anti-sexual violence work. The Respect Together library strives to help the anti-sexual violence field and the public in this endeavor by sharing its ever-growing collection of publications.
To explore the Respect Together library catalog, visit nsvrclibrary.org
The following organizations address sexual violence and intimate partner violence against LGBTQ persons.
- National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence
- National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
- FORGE
To learn more about sexual violence and intimate partner violence against LGBTQ victims, check out the following resources.
- The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 report on victimization by sexual identity Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Sexual Violence & Transgender/Non-Binary Communities National Sexual Violence Resource Center
- Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Abuse Among LGBT People Williams Institute
- Sex Trafficking and LGBTQ+ Youth Polaris
- Breaking Barriers Podcast National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence