Gearbits - August 2009

Wisconsin lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes - and the professionals who serve them - have a useful new resource: FORGE has published, "Hope for Healing: A Guide for LGBT Victims of Crime."

The 97-page Guide, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime, profiles more than 50 Wisconsin victim service agencies, therapists, alternative healing practitioners, churches, and other organizations that provide services to victims of crime and welcome LGBT clients. Each agency has its own page that describes services offered, hours, cost, geographic limitations, ages served, non-English languages spoken, and whether there is a limit on how long someone may access services. Perhaps more important to LGBT crime victims, each agency is also clearly marked as to which gender(s) it serves, whether it offers non-gendered or "unisex" bathrooms, and how it rates on an LGBT "cultural competency" scale of 0 to 4. The latter was determined by independent judges who looked at measures such as what proportion of the staff and volunteers have had LGBT cultural competency training and how often; whether the agency or professional's policies explicitly forbid discrimination and address how LGBT clients are to be served; whether and how the agency or professional publicly signals a welcome to LGBT clients; whether intake forms include options for describing same-sex partnerships and/or non-binary gender identity; what LGBT organizations the agency or professional partners with; and whether staff has been trained in how to handle anti-LGBT remarks made by other clientele. Although these subjective judgments should not be relied upon to guarantee how a given agency will respond to an LGBT crime victim, they may help a crime victim decide where to start. Perhaps more importantly, the cultural competency rating may encourage agencies and professionals to seek more training and/or assistance in making their services more LGBT-competent.

The Guide also contains more than a dozen short articles giving practical survival and healing advice to LGBT crime victims and the professionals who serve them. The articles include:

Common reactions to crime
What now? Making post-crime decisions
Self-advocacy: A to-do list for crime survivors
Supporting someone who has been victimized
Are you being abused? (A discussion of domestic violence within LGBT relationships)
If it's not patriarchy, what is it? (Description of major theories about why people abuse their intimate partners, beyond the commonly-discussed theory of patriarchal attitudes)
Safety planning
Dating again (Safe dating tips for those who have been victimized by a date or partner)
Finding and screening a therapist
Wisconsin crime victims' rights
Wisconsin crime victim compensation program

In addition, the Guide is sprinkled with facts about LGBT crime victims, inspiring quotes, and tips for survivors and their supporters.

The Guide is available free in two forms. The web version will be regularly updated and can be downloaded at www.LGBTsurvivorsguide.org A print version can be sent to anyone who sends a mailing address and request to tgwarrior@forge-forward.org or who requests by phone (414-559-2123). Bulk orders can also be accommodated.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2005-VF-GX-K032 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Grant). Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, Inc.