Addressing Abuse Within The LGBTIQ Community | Rooted In Being

In my city the champions of trauma are from the lesbian and gay community. ?Lesbians are the directors, advocates, counselors, crisis intervention workers, and loudest voice in the room when it comes to sexual violence. ?They are the ones on the frontlines training the police on domestic violence and how to respond sensitively and appropriately when they come across sexual violence and DV cases. ?Lesbians are on the forefront of the conversation about trafficking in my city, they head the coalitions ? they are the ones doing public outreach.

I have never had more meaningful group supervision meetings than when in a trauma agency. ?I was the minority at my agency, one of a few straight women within a majority lesbian agency. ?When we met we got real with each other about the intersections of race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and how it affected our interactions with each other, and with our clients.

What is it like for a gay man of color to counsel a straight middle aged white man? ?What baggage gets brought into the room, what stereotypes and preconceived notions are happening from both sides? How does class affect our treatment planning with a client? What does an openly lesbian counselor do when they have a homophobic client? ?Does race or sexual orientation trump a lesbian woman of color?s identification? ?How are we addressing racism in our agency? ?What are our thoughts on a transgender sexual violence survivor attending our woman only trauma groups? ?When a client asks for a white counselor or makes a racist remark, do we confront them on it or honor their requests/opinions? ?Do we allow someone with clear Schizophrenia to attend groups? ?How do we monitor medication management in a sensitive way? ?When a client is consistently dissociating in group do we ask them to stop attending?

These are the questions we asked, and arguments were had, tears shed ? and some of the most meaningful dialogues I have ever been a part of or had the opportunity to listen to ? happened.

As a majority lesbian run agency, I learned how we addressed LGBTIQ issues while also acknowledging the fact that we were not an agency that addressed LGBTIQ issues. ?If someone had issues specific to being a part of the LGBTIQ community, we had to refer them to an agency that addressed the community specifically.

There are no LGBTIQ agencies in my city that work specifically on trauma issues within the community.

And it is needed.

Many of our lesbian clients would disclose over the course of therapy that they never expected abuse to come from a woman. ?There is this stereotype that only men are abusive, and only men can give STD?s, and that this is not ?an issue? within the lesbian community. ?Many women who were out lesbians came to our agency dumbfounded that they had caught an std from their partner, or were being abused by their significant other. ?Clients would disclose that they never thought to use protection within a lesbian partnership.

Abuse is not a male issue only. ?It is also not a straight issue only. ?Research indicates that domestic violence among same-sex couples occurs at similar rates as domestic violence among straight couples.?

In trauma groups straight and LGBTIQ clients were taught about the same issues, because abuse is similar. ?A narcissistic abuser, whether male or female, employs the same tactics. ?Some researchers indicate that Borderline Personality Disorder?and Histrionic Personality Disorder is simply the female version of male Narcissism. ?Others state that Cluster B personalities are co-morbid within an individual, meaning a person with a Cluster B personality disorder can have the traits of each of the disorders in that category. ?The point being this: ?women can, and do, abuse other women.

With the new DSM V on it?s way, There will be no more Histrionic Personality Disorder nor Narcissistic personality disorder. ?Instead they are being lumped into the Antisocial/Sociopathic categrory.? I agree with this new designation, as many in the field agree that Narcissism/HPD can be interchangeable with sociopathy/psychopathy (which I have done on this blog myself, in my post about Narcissistic Abusers). ?This change in the DSM will eventually lead to our culture calling Narcissists sociopaths. ?Since we have already acknowledged this truth, it seems appropriate to me that this change in the DSM is taking place. ?I predict sexism will play out in men being diagnosed as sociopaths, and women being diagnosed as Borderline (we still are not sure if men and women truly present differently, or if bias in diagnosis is involved).

I just went on a tangent? Let me get back on track?

The point is that women have just as high of a prevalence of personality disorders that, in general terms, possess highly abusive traits. ?The lesbian community is not immune from this (nor GBTIQ communities). ?A pattern within sexual trauma, especially in male to female sexual violence, is that many times female survivors can have strong flashbacks and dissociation when interacting with men, and/or attempting a sexual relationship with a man. ?*Some* straight women dealing with the effects of sexual trauma find comfort, care, nurturing, and safety within the lesbian community ? and some gravitate towards lesbian relationships. ?What we then find in some lesbian communities is trauma survivors dealing with some pretty intense emotions, and bringing a lot of trauma and unhealed pain into their relationships with other women. ?The potential for abuse does not go unnoticed. ?Compound this one issue with women who have only been with other women, who are also navigating their own issues with abuse in their relationships (and the stigma attached to abuse in a same sex partnership) ? and we can logically say there is a need for more research/education/advocacy in how to best provide services.

With men, our field is just beginning to bud in providing trauma-informed counseling ? let alone counseling specific to gay male relationships.

As a community, how are we addressing the trauma needs of the LGBTIQ population?

Is it enough that we try to provide gay male counselors for gay male abuse survivors? ?Is it enough that we try to provide lesbian counselors for lesbian abuse survivors? ?Are there even enough LGBTIQ counselors who are trauma-informed and can meet the community need?

Are we addressing LGBTIQ specific trauma issues, concerns, and needs within our ?general? trauma agencies? ?Well, we are trying on an individual, case by case basis ? but it is hard to know if services provided are the most effective or competent when the research base that informs direct practice is lacking ? to say the least.

At the moment, in my city, trauma is treated in a general sense, with a ?treatment model? orientation of one size fits all. ?We can?t even say if this helps or harms the LGBTIQ community because we don?t have a large enough research base advocating one way or another.

There is a need.

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Source: http://rootedinbeing.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/addressing-abuse-within-the-lgbtiq-community/

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