Pride Month Series: Abuse will not stop until abusers stop abusing

Genesis The Podcast

Genesis Women's Shelter & Support offers domestic violence services to everyone who identifies as a woman. To improve access to services for all intimate partner violence survivors in need of safety, shelter & support, Genesis The Podcast is launching a Pride Month Podcast Series focused on intimate partner violence (IPV) in LGBTQIA+ relationships.

Each episode in this series is a dialogue with survivors and/or experts highlighting the needs and issues of IPV survivors in the LGBTQIA+ community as well as possible solutions for improved responses to their experiences. Our hope is that this dialogue will grow into new collaborations across communities that expand our understanding of IPV, reduce its prevalence, and provide more equitable responses and services for all survivors of IPV in LGBTQIA+ relationships. Media consultant Ron Corning joins the conversation as co-host and interviewer for the series, offering critical insights into IPV among LGBTQIA+ partners.

IPV in same-sex relationships is underreported by survivors. From the incidence data that is collected, rates of IPV among same-sex partners are as high - if not higher - as those reported by heterosexual survivors. High rates of occurrence compounded by fears of reporting the violence and insufficient services and responses pose significant health and safety risks to individuals in abusive LGBTQIA+ relationships.

Together with Genesis CEO Jan Langbein and Genesis senior director of residential services Jordyn Lawson, we explore the data of IPV in LGBTQIA+ relationships, and the challenges posed to law enforcement, advocates, educators et al who struggle to build alliances across communities that elevate voices, improve responses and expand services so that survivors can be heard, believed and supported. To expand our thinking, we explore Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw's theory of intersectionality within the context of this conversation, education available through the Conference on Crimes Against Women, and training for law enforcement about IPV responses.