Report highlights violence

A damning new report has revealed one in seven gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Victorians live in fear of violence or harassment and 85 percent have experienced some form of abuse in their lifetimes.

The report, Coming Forward, focuses on the underreporting of heterosexist violence and same-sex partner abuse in Victoria and was launched at La Trobe University by outgoing Chief Police Commissioner Christine Nixon.

The term -œheterosexist refers to discrimination against GLBT people in the context of a social system that privileges heterosexuality at the expense of non-heteronormative sexual orientation and gender identity.

Chief Commissioner Nixon commended the report as a -œway to go forward for police to tackle same-sex violence and vowed to ensure her successor will -œnever go backwards in working with the broader gay community.

-œThat people live in fear of being together … is sad, she said.

-œWe need to pay attention, we need to encourage our Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers to become more known.

Liam Leonard, who headed the research, said he hoped the report would make a -œpractical difference to the lives of GLBT people.

Leonard said acts of physical and verbal violence fed off a heterosexist culture and the main concerns of those seeking help was that police would not take them seriously.

According to the survey, only 40 percent of respondents who told the police of heterosexist violence or harassment found the police to be supportive.

Those who dealt with the Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers, however, reported higher levels of satisfaction and support.

Gay and Lesbian Health Director, Associate Professor Anne Mitchell said the report paints a -œdisturbing picture of life for GLBT Victorians and warned that the threat of violence is keeping many GLBT people in the closet, modifying their behaviour in public.

The report revealed young people are particularly prone to hiding their identities with 60 percent of GLBT youth aged 14-24 hiding their identity from family and 70 percent hiding their identity while attending an educational institute.

More broadly, 45 percent of respondents -œoccasionally hide their sexual orientation or gender identity at community events or while accessing services.

The survey of 390 GLBT Victorians was funded by the Victoria Law Foundation and conducted by Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria (GLHV) with assistance from Victoria Police.

ALSO Foundation CEO Lyn Morgain called the report -œdeeply significant and said the community would not take the findings -œlying down.

Anti-Violence Project manager Greg Adkins urged the Brumby Government to take the report on board and support the community in improving violence reporting and associated service delivery.

-œThis research provides a new momentum for long-term and sustainable work to address violence so that lasting outcomes are established, he said.

info: For a copy of the report, go to www.latrobe.edu.au/news