All humans have a right to live in a world free from violence, regardless of gender, sexuality, sex characteristics, race, religion, disability or social status.
Rainbow communities’ needs are often left out of the conversation on family and sexual violence prevention, intervention and postvention. Violence can be quite a confronting topic for many people, especially when it comes to open and honest conversations, which can carry shame and guilt.
However, for rainbow communities, there is some added complexity because of the lack of visibility in service provision, research and datasets, and violence prevention education. This can make it difficult to articulate how violence impacts our communities to both policy and decision makers, as well as frontline service providers and wider communities.
In contrast, the statistics we do have consistently show that queer, trans and intersex populations experience significantly higher rates of family and sexual violence compared to that of the general population. This disparity between community needs, and access to services and resources highlights the need for a more integrated and nuanced approach to violence prevention.
In 2021, the development of Te Aorerekura: The National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence signalled a significant shift at a national level for embedding the needs and voices of rainbow communities into the family and sexual violence sectors. It was identified that systemic change would only be possible if multi-level, community-led approaches to violence prevention were prioritised - that funding frontline service provision alone was not enough. The launch of Te Aorerekura also saw the first dedicated government funding to rainbow violence prevention from Te Puna Aonui to the Rainbow Violence Prevention Network, enabling the development of some initial scoping projects and the gathering of expert practice knowledge for working with rainbow populations.
Features of rainbow family and sexual violence experiences
For rainbow communities, family and sexual violence experiences can look slightly different from those of the general population. Broadly speaking, violence can be most commonly experienced in the following contexts:
Violence from family of origin (e.g. parents, caregivers, siblings, etc.)
Violence from family of choice (e.g. friends, flatmates or other ʻfoundʻ family.)
Intracommunity violence (e.g. other members of rainbow communities)
Intimate partner violence
Violence toward rainbow people can also come from unknown perpetrators in the wider community (e.g. random violence from strangers) or systems in the wider societal context (e.g. systemic prejudice against queer, trans and intersex populations).
In addition to standard causation factors, it is important to note that some (but not all) violence experienced will be because of an individual’s queer, trans and/or intersex identity. Other factors can include intersectional violences, such as intergenerational violence, racialised violence, violence on the basis of religious affiliation, and violences related to health and social status (i.e. housing status, mental health status, or immigration status, etc.).
For some rainbow people, seeking help and support after experiencing violence can be difficult to navigate. Many practitioners in crisis services are not equipped to adequately support rainbow people, and in some cases actively exclude rainbow clients. Furthermore, for many rainbow people, there is a general distrust of Police approaches to rainbow violence experiences, which leads to an under-reporting of violence experiences for rainbow populations and fewer avenues for redress.
Although many rainbow communities and community organisations have informal or alternate mechanisms for supporting rainbow victim-survivors, there are no specialist rainbow violence services in Aotearoa.
For decision makers and policy writers
Rainbow peoples’ experiences of violence are often under-represented in both statistics and solutions. Whilst recent developments in the national coordination and funding of violence prevention continues to build capacity for rainbow communities, it is important to acknowledge that this work is still in its infancy. Given the current disparities, it is vital that decision makers and policy writers consider the impact that their work has on rainbow communities’ experiences of violence. It is fundamental that they have a knowledge of:
Who is included in the term rainbow (including indigenous and cultural identities and frameworks),
What are the key issues impacting rainbow communities in Aotearoa, and
What work is currently happening in the area of rainbow violence prevention?
Broadly speaking, there are three key issues:
Visibility of rainbow populations’ in violence prevention.
Embedding rainbow communities into national plans and strategies relating to violence prevention (both governmental and sector-specific).
The need for adequate allocation of resourcing
In addressing the issues and needs of rainbow communities in violence prevention, it is most important that a community-centred approach is taken (i.e. nothing about us, without us). This means ensuring that communities (including communities of practitioners who are rainbow themselves) are consulted, partnering with community organisations (such as the Rainbow Violence Prevention Network), and an ongoing commitment to resourcing community-based solutions.
For more information, check out the following:
Rainbow Violence Prevention Network - a nationwide collective of organisations and individuals who work in various stages of violence prevention. Membership includes not for profit social services that work directly with and for rainbow communities and mainstream organisations. The website also contains a wide range of resources for practitioners and individuals around health relationships for rainbow people and working with rainbow populations.
Te Puna Aonui - a Governmental Interdepartmental Executive Board responsible for implementing Te Aorerekura: National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence
LGBTQIA+ Community Analysis Paper - summary of the rainbow communities consultations undertaken during the development of Te Aorerekura. It sits as part of a suite of ten community-specific analysis papers.
For professionals working with rainbow people
Rainbow violence prevention is first and foremost violence prevention. At its core, it is vital that rainbow competence and responsive practice is embedded into the practice of all violence prevention workers and organisations. Although rudimentary, the following advice is still pertinent to all practitioners in violence prevention:
Refer to clients as they prefer, either as they refer to themselves, or ask to be referred to. This applies for both identity labels and violence experience labels.
Be aware of your own assumptions, including your assumptions about a victim-survivor’s rainbow identity(ies), experiences, affiliations, socio-economic status, or perceptions of safety.
Actively seek professional development around rainbow competency. Don’t make your client teach you rainbow competency!
For some in-depth tips and resources on how to do this, check out the following:
Working with Rainbow Communities (RVPN) - This webpage has a range of resources that are helpful for violence prevention professionals when working with rainbow communities.
Resources for rainbow people and their whānau
Rainbow Violence Prevention Network - a nationwide collective of organisations and individuals who work in various stages of violence prevention. Membership includes not for profit social services that work directly with and for rainbow communities and mainstream organisations. The website also contains a wide range of resources for practitioners and individuals around health relationships for rainbow people and working with rainbow populations.
Rainbow Relationship Resources (RVPN) - a list of resources and readings for rainbow people and their loved ones to build healthy relationship skills.
Rainbow Rights in Aotearoa (RainbowYOUTH & YouthLaw) - This website aims to provide accessible information about the legal rights of rainbow young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Relationships section covers questions related to intimate partner violence, being outed and more.
The transgender guide to sex and relationships (Gender Minorities Aotearoa) - a free online course designed to provide interesting, fun, insightful, and practical information for transgender adults. It aims to assist you in exploring ideas around your body and sense of self, what you like and don’t like, your needs and limits, communication, sex, and relationships. (This is intended for an 18+ audience).
OutLine provides rainbow-affirming specialist counselling (you can self-refer online) as well as a free nationwide peer support service (free call 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463) or access online chat any evening between 6pm and 9pm to talk to a trained volunteer).
Safe To Talk offers 24/7, free confidential contact with a trained specialist if you have experienced or concerned about sexual harm.
SHINE provides information and support around family violence. They have a 24/7, free and confidential helpline (0508-744-633) and an online live webchat service.