Clare Haven has a specific worker whose focus is tasked with answering our weekly helpline for LGBTI+ women to assist on their specific issues of Domestic Abuse. Our worker is a dedicated worker for the outreach appointments and helpline calls for members of the LGBTI+ community.

Our 24 hour helpline is there for women including those whose gender identity may not fit the historical definition of a woman, woman of all sexual orientations and also woman in atypical family situations. We are aware that for some people services such as our own may invite an assumption that domestic abuse only happens in heterosexual relationships or conjure only some of the experience of Domestics Abuse.

We know that sometimes LGBTI+ women may be cautious about using a general number to reach out for initial support because they believe the service is not for them, we have a dedicated number for LGBTI+ women, so they can be sure that the person who will answer the call is familiar with their particular situations outside of heteronormative relationships.

The experience for LGBTI+ women growing up in Ireland where they may feel they don’t fit within a heteronormative society such as Ireland needs exploration and understanding.  In their formative years they may have never met anybody who is experiencing life the way they do or they didn’t see themselves represented in their peers and community. There is a high chance It may have been a time when they did not feel safe to discuss it due to the risk of being bullied and ostracised. They may having been living in an environment of denial, invisibility or “don’t ask don’t tell” within their families or local community, and so, bring a need to find belonging and acceptance into their adult lives. This past experience and subsequent need can be preyed upon by perpetrators of domestic abuse.

We are also cognisant of the re- victimisation that can happen in Domestic Abuse situations between same sex couples which again exacerbates the trauma of the abuse from an intimate partner. The questions of: if they will be believed, if stereotypes will be invoked to diminish their experience or if this is a service for them, might arise for a victim. www.goshh.ie / www.rainbow-project.org