There’s no Safe Place at Home

Equality Australia and the Centre for Family Research and Evaluation at Drummond Street Services have released a new research report on domestic and family violence affecting LGBTIQ+ people titled There’s no safe place at home. This report is based on a Australia wide study of 2631 LGBTQIA+ respondents over the course of April-May of this year (2020)

The report concludes that over 1 in 10 LGBTIQ+ people may be at risk of domestic and family violence. 

With specific findings showing that;

  • 12.2% were at risk of domestic and family violence;
  • 8% currently lived with someone who had been violent, abusive, harassing or controlling towards them in the last 12 months; and 
  • 5% currently lived with someone who they feared would be violent, abusive or controlling towards them.

Families of origin were a significant source of the violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ respondents, in addition to intimate partners and housemates.  

The risk of domestic and family violence was magnified for certain LGBTIQ+ population groups, including: 

  • Young people under 25 years (4.5x more likely to be at risk);
  • People with living with others who did not know about their sexuality (3.5x);
  • Trans and gender diverse people (2.7x);
  • People who were unemployed and/or looking for work (2.2x);
  • People with disabilities or chronic health conditions (1.9x), particularly intellectual disabilities (up to 3x) and mental health conditions (up to 2.2x); and
  • Multi-gender attracted people (1.6x).

Key recommendations

Some of the key findings of this report show there is a significant need to address LGBTQIA+ family violence, with some of the key recommendations being that;

  • National datasets properly capture LGBTIQ+ experiences of domestic and family violence
  • The national plan to reduce domestic and family violence properly includes all LGBTIQ+ people. 
  • There is also a need for targeted responses to address areas of particular need, such as for young LGBTIQ+ people living with families of origin who do not accept them.

To read the full report and it’s findings, head to Equality Australia here.

Also a full list of LGBTQIA+ specific support services for those experiencing domestic and family violence is available on the With Respect website here.

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