June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities, honor the ongoing fight for equity, and recognize the movements that have shaped our collective work toward safety and justice. Pride Month began in remembrance of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights that helped spark a broader movement demanding justice, visibility, and dignity for those whose identities had long been marginalized.
While much progress has been made, LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination and violence, including within intimate relationships. Domestic violence occurs in LGBTQ+ relationships at rates similar to, and in some cases higher than, non-LGBTQ+ relationships. Survivors may also experience unique forms of abuse connected to identity, safety, and belonging, including threats of outing, identity-based coercion, isolation from affirming communities, or manipulation tied to gender identity, sexual orientation, family rejection, immigration status, housing instability, or access to affirming care.
For many LGBTQ+ survivors, barriers to seeking support are layered. A survivor may hesitate to reach out if they have had negative experiences with systems or service providers, fear being misgendered or not believed, worry that their relationship will be minimized, or feel unsafe disclosing their identity. Access to safe housing, legal assistance, culturally responsive advocacy, and trauma-informed care can also be limited when policies and programs are not designed with LGBTQ+ communities in mind.
This Pride Month, we recognize the needs, leadership, and resilience of LGBTQ+ survivors. We also recommit to building support systems that are affirming, accessible, and responsive. That means strengthening training for providers, improving outreach, reviewing policies and intake practices, supporting culturally specific organizations, and advocating for policies that protect every survivor, regardless of who they are, who they love, or how they identify.
Pride Month is also an opportunity to connect this work to national awareness efforts that uplift the intersections of domestic violence and LGBTQ+ communities. These campaigns and initiatives help increase visibility, strengthen provider knowledge, and remind survivors that support should be available without judgment.
Want to learn more or get involved? Start here:
· In Our Own Voices: A New York-based nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ people of color through advocacy, outreach, community education, and support.
· NYC Anti-Violence Project: Offers counseling, advocacy, legal support, education, and organizing to end violence against LGBTQ+ and HIV affected communities.
· Library of Congress LGBTQ+ Pride Month: Explore the roots and evolution of Pride Month, including the history of the Stonewall Uprising and LGBTQ+ civil rights movements.
· National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence: Provides training, technical assistance, resources, and policy guidance to improve national responses to LGBTQ+ survivors of intimate partner violence.
· love is respect: A national resource focused on young people and healthy relationships, offering confidential support, education, and resources for young people experiencing dating abuse, including LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.
· National Domestic Violence Hotline: Provides confidential support, safety planning, and resources for people experiencing domestic violence, including LGBTQ+ survivors and those supporting them.
Everyone deserves to feel safe, respected, and seen, not just in June, but every day of the year.
This blog post aligns with the goals and requirements of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), which supports efforts to prevent family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, and to provide immediate shelter and supportive services for survivors. As outlined in FVPSA, funded programs are intended to “prevent incidents of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, and provide immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of such violence, and for their dependents.” This includes advancing culturally specific, community-based approaches that center the needs and leadership of underserved populations, including LGBTQ+ communities.
