2. Start By Believing

Relational / interpersonal barriers refer to experiences in our direct relationships (romantic, sexual, friends, family, and more) that impact our confidence, freedom, or ability to seek support or report violence.

Some examples of this for LGBTQIA+ communities may include:

• Fear of, or being subject to threats of, ‘outing’ of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, intersex status, interests/kinks, line of work and more.
• Perpetrators utilising the ‘system’ to threaten individuals, including utilising family planning decision-making processes, employment, medications and other areas. 
• Experiencing violence that does not ‘fit’ preconceived ideas / societal norms around violence. Violence perpetrated against LGBTQIA+ communities is complex as the use of violence may not fit preconceived ideas of violence in non-LGBTQIA+ communities. For example, the person of smaller stature in a diverse relationship may be perpetrating violence against the partner of larger stature which may make violence harder to identify and seek support for. 
• Fear of someone utilising their social or political status in the LGBTQIA+ community to diminish one’s social status/reputation.
• Fear of not being believed.
   

Structural barriers are barriers at the service level that may preclude (prevent from happening) access to support due to historical, cultural and social perceptions and functions of institutions and services.

Some structural barriers may include:  

• An implicit assumption of cisgenderism and heteronormativity in accessing ‘mainstream’ services
• Lack of perpetrator referral options — many existing programs are limited to men’s behavioural change programs focussed on heterosexual relationships 
• A lack of knowledge of service providers of diverse relationships, identities and intersectionality and skills to respond sensitively
• Distrust of the police and legal system
• Perceptions of exclusion from gender-binary services (i.e. Women-only or men-only services) 
• Experiences of minimisation of one’s experience of violence as an LGBTQIA+ person
• Previous poor experiences with mainstream supports for violence, healthcare, legal support and other considerations 
• Financial/economic barriers to seeking support/leaving a relationship due to historical social inequity, particularly among people with intersectional identities and LGBTQIA+ young people still living at home
   

Some barriers that LGBTQIA+ people can face when considering seeking support violence are social barriers. Social barriers are prevalent social conditions and beliefs that may impact someone’s ability to identify violence or seek support/report violence in their relationships. It is important to note that these social barriers may look different for people from different cultural backgrounds, identities and people living in regional and rural locations.

Social barriers may include:

• Invisibility of LGBTQIA+ family and domestic violence
• Fear of exclusion from LGBTQIA+ social groups or seeing your perpetrator after leaving a relationship, seeking support or reporting violence
• Fear of being subject to discrimination or being blamed for experiencing violence due to being LGBTQIA+
• Fearing that reporting or seeking support for violence perpetrated by a trans or gender diverse person may lead to further social inequity and violence against trans and gender diverse communities
   

Despite these barriers to accessing services for some LGBTQIA+ communities, it is important to remember you are not alone. There are specialist LGBTQIA+ specific services and LGBTQIA+ inclusive support services for family, domestic, and sexual violence in Queensland and across Australia. We have compiled a list of these services for you in You Are Not Alone to help inform you of the options available to you for support, or to help you support your friends, family and community.