Dear All,
So, it's been a chaotic 2021 so far, and now that we're 2/3rd into the year, a lot has happened.Recently I've been distracted by my dissertation, and an unfortunate bullying situation at work that I might tap into at some point.
Here in the UK, COVID-19 while diminished, is still present, and is a problem being faced by other countries. Sadly, it has also proven to be disastrous for victims of domestic violence, who have found themselves shut in with their abusers and no means of escape.
As you all know, this blog is about spreading awareness to male D.V and S.A. survivors, particularly - though not exclusively - of female abusers. However, for now I'd like to start a conversation regarding another group that I feel is relevant.
LGBT domestic violence.
My reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, because these include male victims of abuse again.*
Secondly, because female victims of female abuse in lesbian relationships seem to have similar problems to male victims of female abuse.
(I have no information on "non-binary" people or other demographics of abuse victims that haven't been covered, but if anyone has any information I'd be very interested to hear it.)
Another reason that has occurred to me at this time of writing is that while male victims of sexual and domestic abuse have started to gain ground over the past few decades thanks to us and our supporters elbowing into the public consciousness bit by bit (e.g. Mankind Initiative, Johnny Depp & Alex Skeel), they still remain obscure and resistance against them still exists in mainstream for now.
However, while male victims of domestic or sexual abuse get little ground, lesbian victims of domestic abuse from other women seem to get no awareness at all - unless their abuser is a male rapist or an ex-boyfriend pre-coming out. While personally I'm no expert, I expect that for them it must be excruciating, to be forgotten, alone, and not feeling like abuse from a same sex partner must feel truly invalidating..
A few of my lovely followers on twitter have already told me about experiences and disclosures from third parties on the subject, but if anyone has any experiences of D.V. in LGBT relationships, particularly lesbian relationships, please feel free to D.M me directly on twitter. Let me know if there's anything you want awareness spread about the subject, what you wish people would understand, what organisations might help you. If you want to share any stories, I promise to be discreet, and I won't share them publicly unless you give me express permission to do so and I notify you first.
For victims of domestic abuse in LGBT relationships, there are organisations out there to help you such as galop (formerly brokenrainbow) and stonewall, links are below this article. There are sadly few of these, but this may be something that we can change.
If anyone thinks that I'm removing my focus from heterosexual male victims of abuse, this is not the case, no more than bringing up male victims of abuse takes away from female victims of male abuse. Like I said, this still includes male victims of abuse, but if female victims of female abuse are as neglected as I think, then that's another group worth helping. Compassion is not finite, and I think that COVID has shown that in many people.
Sincerely,
The Invisible Man
*Erroneously these are used by so-called "feminists" to tell people that male victims are only ever abused by other men, but I doubt that the numbers are truly high enough to justify this.
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/domestic-violence-and-abuse-resources-lgbt-people
https://www.escis.org.uk/community-and-living/broken-rainbow-national-helpline/
