New York –
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in recognition, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) today released a 2003 Supplement to its report Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Domestic Violence in 2002: The 2003 Supplement represents NCAVP’s 8th annual analysis of this kind and is a look at domestic through the lens of those victims who reported to its member agencies during the past year. The report contains information compiled in 10 cities or regions around the US, and for the first time this year includes data from a Canadian city: Toronto, Ontario. NCAVP member agencies and several other affiliated organizations serving LGBT and HIV-affected victims of domestic violence participated in gathering and reporting data for this document.
There were 6,523 cases of domestic violence documented by the programs participating in the report this year, which represented a 13% increase from the 5,718 cases recorded in 2002 by the same agencies. The cases included six domestic violence-related deaths. The 2003 Supplement is slightly different than reports published by NCAVP in years past and represents several transitions. For instance, this year’s publication does not provide an in-depth discussion of basic information on LGBT domestic violence, but rather focuses on reporting the data collected from the participant programs and offers more case narratives that give life and voice to the experiences portrayed in the data. The report also contains local summaries from the cities and regions in which data was collected. For more in-depth basic information on LGBT domestic violence, readers are encouraged to view the 2002 Report and previous reports published by NCAVP which contain this information as well as other analyses on items such as legal access for victims in jurisdictions across the nation.
Despite the 13% increase in the rate of reporting in 2003, representatives caution that this change, as in previous years, is largely attributable to increased program capacity, outreach and expansion of service provision at some of the participant agencies. The regional and local organizations and programs contributing data to this report include Wingspan’s Anti-Violence Project in Tucson, AZ, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s STOP Partner Abuse Program (and several local affiliated agencies), Community United Against Violence and Asian Woman’s Shelter in San Francisco, CA, the Colorado Anti-Violence Program in Denver, the Center on Halsted/Horizons Anti-Violence Program in Chicago, IL, the Violence Recovery Program of Fenway Community Health Center and The Network/La Red in Boston, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization in Columbus, OH, first time contributor The 519 Anti-Violence Programme in Toronto, Ontario, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights in Philadelphia, PA, and SafeSpace in Burlington, VT. The national and local editions of the report were released at these sites today. Additionally, while not data contributors, the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project in Missouri and Sojourner House in Providence, RI contributed survivor narratives and information on local activities.
“It is tremendously important that we take this opportunity during Domestic Violence Awareness Month each year to highlight the ongoing issue of domestic violence experienced by all communities – including our own,” said Rachel Baum, NCAVP’s Associate Director. “Domestic Violence is an issue that no community likes to acknowledge, but which we know affects people across all demographic lines,” continued Baum. Of the victims in the 6,523 cases documented by NCAVP, 44% were male and 36% were female. 2% of victims identified as transgender, although NCAVP representatives noted that it is possible that some people who may identify as transgender were included in the male and female categories.
Of the victims in the report for whom race was known, 44% were white, 25% Latino/a, 15% of African descent, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander and 4% reported as multiracial. Additionally there was a 54% increase in reports from victims under the age of 30, which is reflective of the heightened emphasis on services for young people at many agencies.
“The news here is that an old story is still relevant and that little has changed to mitigate the experience of those living with violence every day. While LGBT people are fighting for basic protections and recognition for our relationships, there is understandably resistance to acknowledging that LGBT relationships are subject to many of the very same problems that plague heterosexuals,” remarked Clarence Patton, NCAVP’s Acting Executive Director.
“Concurrently, we know that domestic violence thrives on denial, shame and silence. Therefore it is critical to the lives of LGBT survivors that we continue to raise the visibility of partner abuse, and develop effective responses as well as preventive initiatives. This report bears witness to the violence experienced by survivors at the hand of those they love and trust. It is incumbent on domestic violence advocates and LGBT communities as well as law enforcement, social service and health care providers, and government leaders to help raise awareness about this issue and move toward effective community responses and strategies to address it,” concluded Patton.
PDFs of all of NCAVP’s Reports on domestic violence and hate violence can be found in the Publications section of this website.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) addresses the pervasive problem of violence committed against and within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and HIV-positive communities. NCAVP is a coalition of programs that document and advocate for victims of anti-LGBT and anti-HIV/AIDS violence/harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, police misconduct and other forms of victimization. NCAVP is dedicated to creating a national response to the violence plaguing these communities. Further, NCAVP supports existing anti-violence organizations and emerging local programs in their efforts to document and prevent such violence.
