Youth and domestic and family violence services call for more funding to support LGBTQIA+ community

Australia Broadcast Center

3 days ago

Alex* was 19 when he started dating his ex-boyfriend, but what began as a promising relationship took a dark turn resulting in alleged physical violence and coercive control.
"It was my first serious relationship. In the beginning it was fun, new and exciting, and then after three months that's when it started to change," he said.
He noticed an escalation in his then-partner's behaviour when he started running his own real estate business.
"Then it was more constant, I was working by myself doing appraisals, seeing clients, and it was suggested, 'We should put something on your phone to keep you safe.'"
Alex said his partner installed a location-sharing app on his phone.
He said his partner used it to track how many kilometres Alex was travelling each day and would check his car's odometer when he got home to ensure it matched up.
"It was following me to client's houses, then I wasn't allowed to see male clients any more," Alex said.
The now-26-year-old said it took several attempts over three years to leave the relationship, which included alleged physical, emotional and financial abuse.
"Trying to identify red flags when it's your first serious relationship is harder when you haven't experienced it before," he said.
There's growing calls from the youth and domestic and family violence sector for more financial support to assist the queer, trans and gender diverse community.
Rachel Hinds, who is chief executive of Brisbane-based LGBTIQ+ youth service Open Doors, said state and federal funding wasn't keeping pace with demand, and a lack of diverse refuge options was resulting in young people staying in violent homes and relationships.
"One of the things that we are advocating for is for Open Doors to be funded to open a rainbow house, which would be short-term crisis accommodation," she said.
"In this state there is no option for them, if they are to leave home, where do they go? There are no refuges created for trans and gender diverse people.
"One of the biggest providers of DV services has a men's line and a women's line, so who do you call if you're non-binary?
"If you're a trans woman and you ring the women's line and you're clocked as having more a male sounding voice and you're put through to the mens line are you going to call back?"
Open Doors is one of three services to receive a share of $734,300 from the Queensland government for domestic, family and sexual violence support for the LGBTQIA+ community until the end of 2026.
As a result, Ms Hinds said they were the only service in Queensland to have a funded, dedicated joint youth support worker and counsellor.
In the first six months of having that position 153 young people accessed support, with the majority for family violence.
Ms Hinds said specialist support for those fleeing violence was particularly underfunded.
"There has been no investment into our community in terms of domestic and family violence and so that is something we absolutely want to see," she said.
It was a violent episode of physical abuse when Alex tried to flee the relationship which made him walk away for good.
"One of the breaking points for me was when my best friend came to see me when I was planning on leaving," he said.
"She didn't quite make it in time when I had my stuff ready, and so I had my nose broken."
Police put a temporary protection order in place during the relationship, but it was breached by Alex's perpetrator multiple times post-separation resulting in a domestic violence order being issued.
Alex said apart from a call from Menslink and a welfare check from police, he didn't receive additional domestic violence support but acknowledged service responses are improving.
"I definitely think there needs to be more [support] groups, like a weekly group that could be somewhere for people to reach out and ask these types of questions," he said.
Beyond DV founder Carolyn Robinson acknowledged domestic and family violence in the LGBTQIA+ was under-reported and under researched, and it was vital all DV services offered support to anyone seeking help.
"What they report to us is that often there is that sense of shame and not really knowing where to go to get the help that they so desperately want and need," she said.
"Really it's about providing those spaces where there is no judgement, where they feel really safe and they can come and find out what options are available to them."
Beyond DV has developed an app called Ask A Mate where users can access advice about relationships, gender identity and equality, consent, domestic and sexual violence.
Ms Robinson said an aim of the app was to have the advice delivered by a range of diverse voices including well-known members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
"My hope is by potentially using tools like this app and keeping these conversations going we can take the shame away and any embarrassment away," she said.
Comedian Christian Hull — who is well known on social media platform TikTok and is openly gay — is one of the speakers on the app.
He said he wanted to help combat toxic content creators who spread messages of ultra-masculinity and misogyny.
"When you scroll on TikTok you see people like Andrew Tate. There are other podcasts, hosted by men, who claim that they know exactly what they're talking about," he said.
"It's so misogynist, sexist, homophobic and I am horrified at what I'm hearing, and people think they're professional.
"It's so important to get actual, good advice out there.
"Because where else can you get it from? It doesn't exist anywhere online."
Queensland's Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Amanda Camm, said in this year's budget, $250.9 million was being provided to the domestic, family and sexual violence support sector, encompassing 120 organisations across Queensland.
"These services prioritise vulnerable people and communities including the LGBTQIA+ community," she said.
"The response to DFV by support services should be fluid and be able to respond to the needs of a victim regardless of their culture, how they identify or where they live.
"Demand for shelters across the state is high and my department is working with the sector to understand and develop LGBTQIA+ specific service offerings, including emergency accommodation."
Ms Hinds said domestic and family abuse was prevalent in the community, especially for trans and gender diverse young people.
"There's a lack of research in this area but the little research we do have shows that our community experiences domestic and family violence at very high rates," she said.
A 2019 La Trobe University study collected domestic, family and sexual violence data from 6,835 adults from a range of gender identities and sexual orientations.
The survey found 61 per cent of respondents had experienced intimate partner violence with emotional abuse (48 per cent), verbal abuse (42 per cent), and social isolation (27 per cent) the most commonly reported.
It also found 65 per cent of respondents surveyed had experienced family violence, with the most common form of abuse being verbal abuse (42 per cent), LGBTIQ-related abuse (41 per cent), and emotional abuse (39 per cent).
LGBTIQ-related abuse included behaviour such as being shamed about being LGBTIQ, threatened to be "outed" or have HIV status revealed or withheld hormones or medication.
Almost three in four indicated the perpetrator of family violence was a parent, which included a guardian, foster carer, step-parent, or adoptive parent.
A federal Department of Social Services spokesperson said its national plan to end violence against women and children recognised that everyone, "regardless of gender, identity, ability, race and sexuality" had the right to live and work free from violence and harassment.
"The Commonwealth, in partnership with state and territory governments, matches dollar-for-dollar funding for the delivery of critical frontline services, including those that support LGBTQIA+ people experiencing violence."
* Name changed to protect person's identity