antiviolence.info

LGBTI Pride Centre is also a coup for Regional Victoria

// April 21st, 2016 // No Comments » // AVP news, Relationships, Within Victoria

A GAY Pride Centre to be built in Melbourne will be a coup for regional LGBTI people, according to a AVP’s Ballarat director consulted for the project.
Luke Gahan told the Ballarat Courier that he and another regional spokesperson from Shepparton were part of a wide consultation process for the centre.

Read more here:
http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3862958/pride-centre-a-huge-win-for-ballarat/?cs=62

Research into relationship experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

// April 11th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Researchers at Flinders University, the University of Central Queensland, and the University of Sunderland are currently undertaking a project focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences of close relationships, both with other humans and with animal companions.

Dr Damien Riggs, Dr Nik Taylor, and Dr Heather Fraser at Flinders University, Dr Catherine Donovan at the University of Sunderland, and Dr Tania Signal at the Central Queensland University aim to better understand your experiences of close relationships, both with other humans and with animal companions. Evidence from research with heterosexual cisgender people suggests that animals can be important sources of support, both for people who are not in relationships, and for people who are in relationships that are abusive. However there is no research on what animals mean for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people in the context of their relationships and lives.

The AVP urges you to please take the time to complete this survey – follow this link:-
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGBTAVDV

One in three in LGBTI community experiences street harassment – La Trobe University research reveals

// April 6th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Victoria

The Age newspaper today focuses on La Trobe University research that shines a light on the troubling behaviour many LGBTI people have to endure, often in plain sight, with about one in three having experienced street harassment.

La Trobe Researcher Bianca Fileborn (pictured above) surveyed 292 people throughout Australia, 54 per cent of whom identified as being sexually diverse, on their experiences.

Dr Fileborn said there was little difference between the types of harassment women and LGBTI people experienced. These include staring (65.1 per cent), comments (63 per cent), car horn honking (63.3 per cent), wolf-whistling (41.1 per cent) and unwanted conversation (42.5 per cent).

The Anti-Violence Project has long championed the cause of people experiencing street harassment and prejudice motivated violence, where an estimated 7 out of 10 people in metropolitan areas and 9 out of 10 in outer urban and regional/rural cities and towns are not reporting their experiences of violence and harassment to anyone.

AVP executive director Greg Adkins said “The saddest thing is that many LGBTI people think this (street harassment) is something they have to learn to accept; that it’s something that’s going to happen to them anyway. That’s just really sad and misplaced. No one should face harassment because of their gender or sexuality.”

People experiencing street harassment, prejudice motivated violence or relationship violence can report their experiences via the AVP website.

Read more here:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/street-harassment-of-lgbti-people-rife-la-trobe-university-study-finds-20160406-gnzq0z.html

Third-party and assisted violence reporting links to VicPol needed

// March 15th, 2016 // No Comments » // AVP news, Media discussion, Relationship violence, Trans and Gender Diverse, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Violence impacts the LGBTi community yet remains vastly under-reported. According to the state’s LGBTi Anti-Violence Project this hides the true nature and extent of harassment and violence in Victoria and nationwide.

The AVP has asked Victoria Police to partner with them and other LGBTi community organisations to help reduce harm for LGBTi individuals while also enhancing the range of ways violence can be reported, how reports are accepted by Victoria Police and becoming integrated into their data systems and how those impacted by violence can be triaged more effectively from experiencing violence towards the supports necessary to provide support to them.

This need has been long discussed and the research available for many years but what is missing is a mechanism to pull the threads together”, says AVP executive director Greg Adkins.

“Whatever the source of violence, street harassment, relationship violence or lateral violence between individuals, if the necessary work can be undertaken to bring police, unfunded community-led organisations and other non-government organisations who are funded to provide services to victims of violence, more closely together then the whole society stands to gain.

“Service gaps will be readily identified, gaps in current police resources to fully address the actual extent of violence can then be identified and planned for, and funding gaps for unfunded community-led organisations working in this space can be plugged.

“Community, police, government working together in a new whole-of-life approach to violence impacting LGBTI people.

“In 2016 only a small percentage of LGBTi individuals report their experiences of violence to anyone, the needs of the majority of victims is unknown and healthy outcomes for individuals are delayed well beyond what the broad society would expect is acceptable. This means the long-term cost for society blows out of proportion to the policy solution that should be put in place today.

Have a safe enjoyable White Night!

// February 20th, 2016 // No Comments » // Media discussion, Within Victoria

Its Saturday night 20 February 2016 and Melbourne’s city streets are now outdoor arts spaces with music, theatre, visual art and light shows on display. Yes, White Night is back for its third incarnation.

Many people ignorant of the diverse communities that make up our capital city will be rubbing shoulders in our city streets, some for the first time.

White Night attracts thousands of people, and we’ll all gather through to the early hours to see works by local and international artists. The same sex attracted and gender diverse community are entitled to enjoy the night in safety with respect alongside the broader community.

The first sign of anyone acting out their prejudices and phobias verbally or physically towards you or your friends, is the exact moment you talk to the nearest police member or the nearest security person or council worker to radio police for you. You can also call police on 000.

When safe, let us at the Anti-Violence Project know of your experience via https://antiviolence.info/report-violence/ and we’ll encourage better planning for safer White Nights in future

Anger erupts over rainbow noose image – harmfull effects of Marriage Plebiscite in question

// February 4th, 2016 // No Comments » // AVP news, Media discussion, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Fears about the dangers to the LGBTI community over the Federal government’s proposed marriage plebiscite have been revealed as accurate after an anti-same-sex marriage lobby group posted an image of a woman with a rainbow noose around her neck in its latest social media campaign.

Anything that allows prejudice and homophobia to have an acceptable public platform is dangerous and un-Australian and will damage the health and lives of vulnerable people in the LGBTI community, says the AVP.

Read more here:
http://indaily.com.au/news/national/2016/02/04/anger-erupts-over-rainbow-noose-image/

Same-sex partner bereavement study – participants wanted

// January 16th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Same-sex partner bereavement study – participants wanted by a Monash University research team who aim to investigate the experience of same-sex-attracted individuals who have lost a partner to non-AIDS-related causes. This study will provide valuable information regarding the supports that help individuals through bereavement.

Follow this link to participate:-
http://monasheducation.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51RaR3DeMgxkRFP

5 accidentally transphobic phrases allies use — and what to say instead

// December 14th, 2015 // 1 Comment » // Around the globe, International

Words can be tricky — especially when you’re an ally, says Katy Dupere.

“As transgender lives and experiences increasingly come into the public sphere, our conversations about gender are getting more complex. And with those conversations comes the realization that we don’t always know what to say when describing trans identities.

But this learning curve offers a chance for us to get a little more inclusive and intentional with what we say. It’s an opportunity that, for allies, is as essential as it is complicated.”

As an organisation that embraces working within and for the complete same sex attracted and gender diverse community, the Anti-Violence Project invites individuals within the trans community to discuss parallels and divergences between this view within the community in the USA and the views of the trans community within Victoria and Australia. We want your views!

The original article can be found here:
http://mashable.com/2015/10/18/transgender-ally-words/#RGm_ttv8ykqU

Yet Another Problem for Older Gay Men: “Internalized Gay Ageism”

// December 13th, 2015 // 1 Comment » // Elders past and present

J. Bryan Lowder writes about recent research exploring the overlap between internalized ageism and internalized homophobia among midlife and older gay men and whether this generates internalized gay ageism.

In other words, in gay men, the wider overvaluing of youth in our culture mixes with standard homophobia to create a brand-new internalized “sexual minority stress”.

The researchers found that “Internalized gay ageism” is a real thing. The study, which created a scale for measuring IGA, found a “positive and statistically significant” relationship between IGA and “depressive symptoms.”

Read the full article from slate.com here:

http://goo.gl/OCn5gg

Queer men are victims of street harassment nobody talks about

// November 28th, 2015 // No Comments » // Around the globe, AVP news, International, Media discussion, Relationship violence, Within Australia, Within Victoria

This week we observed White Ribbon day and discussed how pervasive and destructive masculinity can be towards women.

However as Derrick Clifton writes in The Guardian, ‘uncomfortable, if not traumatizing, experiences (of harassment of gay men) get swept under the rug, or worse, internalised as something that “just happens” and shouldn’t be taken seriously’, revealing that many gay men, too, cope silently with harassment and consent issues in male dominated social spaces.

In Australia, governments are yet to turn their social policy lens and budgetary spends towards violence and harassment targeting the LGBTI community. The AVP believes that this makes Clifton’s argument, that its time to have more of a conversation about how the misogyny and patriarchy imbued in rape culture targets gay and gender non-conforming men, a very real and timely conversation to be had.

Read the full article here:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/27/queer-men-like-victims-street-harassment-nobody-talks-about?CMP=share_btn_tw