This document provides information from a 2009 presentation on victim and survivor resources. It defines key terms related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and LGBTQQI identities. It presents statistics on domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and violence within LGBTQ relationships. It discusses myths and facts about domestic violence and addresses myths specifically related to LGBTQ relationships. The document emphasizes that abuse occurs across all groups and that size, gender identity, and BDSM do not determine who the abusive partner is in a relationship.

1. Myths & Facts
Victim & Survivor Resources
2009 Jean Nidetch Women's Center
P.A.A.V.E. Presentation

2. Jean Nidetch Women’s Center
We provide:
• Workshops and
presentations
• Events on campus
• Advocacy for
violence prevention
and breast cancer
awareness
• Academic
involvement

3. P.A.A.V.E
 Formerly known as SAFE Team
 Educators completed 18 hour training on
domestic violence and sexual assault
 Provides UNLV campus with presentations on
specific topics in domestic violence and
sexual assault
 Next training in Fall 2009!

4. Agenda & Topics
 Agenda
 Definitions
 Statistics
 Myths & Facts
 Resources
 Topics
 Domestic Violence
 Sexual Assault
 LGBTQQI
 Stalking
 Cultural Awareness and Competency

5. Definitions
 Sexual Assault: a broader category that
the Justice Department uses to classify
rape, attempted rape and other violent
felonies that fall short of rape (which is
defined as strictly forced vaginal, anal or
oral penetration)
 Assault/Battering: “Physical assault is a
behavior that threatens, attempts, or
actually inflicts physical harm, ranging
from slapping and hitting to using a gun”
(US Justice Department)

6. Definitions
 Marginalized: We use this term as a blanket
term to encompass social identities that are
not dominant and central in our society. This
includes but is not limited to –
race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, citizen status, class, physical and
mental ability, age etc.
 Advocates: Go through extensive training to
work directly with victims/survivors every step
of the reporting and court processes
immediately following experiences of
violence.

7. Definitions
 Many forms of abuse:
 Physical battering – can range from
pushing or bruising to murder. Escalates
in level of abuse
 Sexual abuse – Physical attack that is
coupled with forced/unwanted sexual
activity
 Psychological battering – verbal
abuse, harassment, excessive
possessiveness, economic resource
limiting and destruction of personal
property

8. Defining Physical Assault
 U.S. Justice Department:
 “Physical assault is a behavior that
threatens, attempts, or actually inflicts physical
harm, ranging from slapping and hitting to
using a gun”
 Nevada Revised Statutes:
 Battery that is classified as domestic violence
for the first offense within 7 years, is classified as
a misdemeanor and is punishable by
imprisonment for no less than 2 days and no
more than 6 months and includes 48 hours of
community service

9. What is stalking?
 Stalking is defined differently per
state
 Stalking is used to describe specific
kinds of behaviors directed at a
particular person and includes forms
of harassing and threat.
 As a general rule, stalking is any
unwanted contact between a
stalker and victim and often results in
fear

10. LGBTQQI & the alphabet soup
 Lesbian
 Gay
 Bisexual
 Transgender
 Queer or questioning
 Intersexed

11. Transgender
 self-identifying term for someone whose
gender identity or expression differs from
traditional gender roles
 also an umbrella term that refers to
everyone who crosses gender roles in one
way or another including transsexuals, drag
queens/kings, etc
•Gwen Araujo
•Brandon Teena

12. Queer
 once used to negatively describe a gay man
or woman
 now used by the gay community as a positive
or neutral descriptive of each other
 embracing a word that was used to attack or
degrade, the gay community has
demagnetized the strength of the
word, making it a common everyday
term, lessening the effect of the word when
used against them

13. Heterosexism
 assumption that everyone is, or should
be, heterosexual
 heterosexuality is the only
normal, natural expression of sexuality
 heterosexuality is superior and therefore
preferable to being
gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or
queer

14. Homophobia
 First used in print in 1969 in Time Magazine. It
was coined by a clinical psychologist, George
Weinberg.
 Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination
against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and
queer people
 Prejudice, discrimination, harassment and acts
of violence
 To discriminate is to label one group as “less good” or
“less deserving”
 Discriminatory practices target people who typically
occupy devalued groups

15. Two types of Homophobia
 Internalized homophobia
 Often refuse to believe their own sexuality
 Believes all the bad “what if’s”
 Institutionalized homophobia
 Systematic oppression forced to maintain
the status quo

16. Relationships are a BASIC NEED
 Living with rejection or threat of rejection, can
be detrimental to a person’s sense of well-
being and connection
 Maslow’s Basic Hierarchy of Human Needs
 Love and Belongingness
 We need to feel connected that we fit, that we are
valued.
 Because of perceived or real threat of rejection, a
person may hide his or her sexual identity
 What is the cost to their sense of self-esteem?

17. Stalking Statistics
 1 in 20 women report being stalked annually
 13% of female college students reported an
incidence of stalking during their first
semester
 3 in 10 women reported being emotionally or
physically hurt by a stalker
 93.4% of study participants confided in a
friend they were being stalked
 From The National College Women’s Sexual
Victimization Study, 1997 of 4,446 female college
students on 223 campuses

18. National Stalking Statistics
 1 out of every 12 women will be stalked in
their lifetime
 1 out of every 45 men will be stalked in their
lifetime
 94% of stalkers defined by female victims
were men
 60% of stalkers defined by male victims were
men
 77% of female victims were stalked by
someone they knew
 31% of stalking victims have expressed
suicidal thoughts

19. Domestic Violence Statistics
 25% of women and 7% of men will be victims
of domestic violence or partner rape.
 Six months following an experience of
domestic violence, 32% of battered women
are victimized again
 Yearly, 3.3 million children are exposed to
interfamily violence against their mothers or
female caretakers

20. Sexual Assault Statistics
 Only about 42% of rapes sexual assaults were reported to
law enforcement in 2007
 1 out of 6 American women have been the victims of an
attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.
 About 3% of American men- a total of 2.78 million men –
have experienced an attempted or completed rape in
their lifetime.
 98% of males who raped boys were heterosexual
 70% of female rape victims and 74% of male victims knew
their assailant.
 90% of college women of rape and sexual assault knew
their attacker prior to the assault.
 since 1993 rape/sexual assault has decreased by over 60%

21. LGBT & Violence Statistics
 Substantial lack of current research in this area
 Domestic violence occurs in LGBTQ relationships
with the same severity and frequency as in
heterosexual relationships
 Consistent abuse occurs in as many as 1 in 3
relationships
 At least one episode of abuse occurs in 1 in 2
relationships
 Lesbians are more likely to report sexual violence
than gay men
 1 in 2 transgender individuals have experienced
sexual violence (FORGE)

22. Rethinking Domestic Violence
 MYTHS  FACTS
1. Battering occurs 1. Violence occurs in all
more frequently in racial and ethnic
groups and in all
certain ethnic or
class levels of society
socioeconomic
2. Substances can
groups
trigger violence but
2. Violence is caused batterers are violent
by substance abuse even when sober
3. Women who stay in 3. Many mothers
violent situations are choose to stay
not good mothers because there’s no
where else to go and
often, to protect
children

23. Rethinking Domestic Violence
 MYTHS  FACTS
4. Violence only 4. 25-50% of all
affects a small part women are
of the population abused. Battering
deaths are more
common than
cancer and car
5. Fights in accidents
relationships are combined
normal and natural
5. Disagreements
occur but
“heated”
arguments must be
analyzed for signs
of violence

24. Same Sex (LGBTQ) Abuse
 Abuse in relationships is any pattern of
behavior that is used to coerce, dominate or
isolate the other partner to gain control
 Abuse knows no boundary concerning
race, class, gender, sexual orientation etc.
 Remember, violence may take a different
form in different communities but that does
not make one form more important than
another

25. LGBT & Domestic Violence
 Remember, DV is about power and control.
 May be especially difficult for lesbian victim
 Size does not matter
 Verbal and emotional abuse can be
compounded for the lesbian/gay/trans
victim/survivor
 Threats to “out” the person
 Threats to disclose HIV/AIDS status
 Not “easier to leave”
 Individuals may be more intertwined with
each other’s lives
 What happens in DV shelters?

26. LGBT & Sexual Violence
 Sexual Violence
 By stranger
 By known individual
 By significant other
 More judgment on the person’s sexual
orientation than on the attacker
 Heterosexism is at work because it is typically a
heterosexual model upon which findings are
based.

27. ‘Unique Victimization’
 Hate Crimes
 Difficult at times to ascertain whether the crime
was, in fact, motivated by the person’s sexual
orientation.
 14th Amendment: Every citizen has equal
protection under the law

28. ‘Unique considerations’
 Threat of being “outed” when an LGBTQ person
is abused
 Concerned about betraying the LGBTQ
community when reporting
 Homophobia intersects with possible sexism and
racism for LGBTQ victims/survivors
 Institutionalized homophobia affects the support
services victims/survivors receive
 Shelters are often not available to men, while
women may not feel safe if their abuser has
access
 Victims of same-sex sexual violence are not
necessarily LGBTQ
 Lack of knowledge about LGBTQ sexual violence
affects victims/survivors, educators, and support
services

29. LGBTQ Abuse
 Similarities
1. Abuse is always the responsibility of the
abuser. It is their choice.
2. Victims are often blamed for the abuse by
their partner.
3. It is difficult for victims to leave their
relationship.
4. Victims often feel responsible for their abuse.
5. Abuse escalates over time.
6. The abuser is often apologetic after
abusing, giving false hope that the abuse
will stop.

30. LGBTQ Abuse
 Differences
1. There are limited resources available for
abused and abusive LGBTQ people.
2. Homophobia in society denies the reality of
some same sex relationships, including their
very existence, let alone abuse.
3. Shelters for women may not be sensitive to a
victim of same sex assault.
4. Gay/Bi/Trans men have even fewer options
for help.
5. Reporting may result in a feeling or
experience of being excluded from the
LGBTQ community.

31. Everyday Occurrences
 Invisibility/Isolation
 Qualifiers
 Subject to gay jokes/degrading comments
 Presumption of heterosexuality
 Threats to “disown” by family
 Partner Exclusion
 Perceived danger to children
 Name calling
 Forced sexual acts (rape) to “make” them
straight

32. LGBTQ Myths and Facts
 MYTH: Women can not be abusive, only men can
 Fact: Anyone can choose to be abusive or not
 MYTH: LGBTQ people are always equal in
relationships. It’s not abuse, it’s a relationship
struggle
 Fact: Same sex or gender in a relationship does not
guarantee equality
 MYTH: Abuse in LGBTQ relationships is sexual
behavior. It’s a version of S&M and they usually
like it.
 If consent is NOT there, the sexual act is not
consensual, no matter what the nature of the act is.

33.  Sexual assault & domestic
Myth 1 violence do occur in LGBTQ
relationships
 Sexual assault & domestic  Domestic violence occurs in
violence don't occur in LGBTQ relationships as
LGBTQ relationships frequently and as severely as
(denial) it does in heterosexual
relationships
 Level of trauma of sexual
violence is not defined by
whether or not the weapon
was a penis
 LGBTQ survivors also need
support in healing
 Some key dynamics of
domestic violence are the
same in all relationships
(violence is about power &
control, violence occurs in a
cycle, violence escalates
over time, etc.

34. Myth 2
 Sexual & domestic  There is nothing inherently
violence occurs in LGBTQ unhealthy about these
relationships because relationships
there is something  People do not abuse
inherently unhealthy with because they are LGBTQ (or
heterosexual). People abuse
these relationships to have power & control over
another person.
 LGBTQ people can have
healthy relationships

35. Myth 3
 The bigger, more  Size, masculinity/femi
masculine or ninity and gender
masculine identified identity are not
person is always the causes of abuse and
abusive partner in a do not determine
domestic violence who is the abusive
relationship partner
 Sexual and domestic
violence does not
occur in
butch/femme
relationships more
frequently

36. Myths 4 & 5
 Sexual and domestic  In all relationships, both
violence in LGBTQ partners can have unhealthy
relationships is "mutual" (both behavior. But in domestic
partners are abusive to each violence relationships, mutual
other) abuse rarely happens.
 The reasons why it is difficult
 It's easier for an LGBTQ to leave an abusive
person to leave an abusive relationship are similar for all
relationship abusive relationships.
Homo/bi/transphobic &
heterosexism also contribute
to difficulties leaving an
abusive relationship

37. Myth 6
 Sexual & domestic violence
occurs in LGBTQ relationships  Sexual & domestic violence
that engage in SM play more does not occur in LGBTQ
frequently relationships that engage in
SM play more frequently
 SM play is sexual and
domestic violence  SM play is consensual so it is
not abuse
 Children are never an issue in
LGBTQ relationships  LGBTQ people have
children in their lives

38. Relevance to sexual violence
prevention
 We cannot afford, nor would want, to alienate
LGBTQI victims/survivors.
 Within the field of sexual violence
prevention, heterosexism can serve to reinforce
homophobia (be it societal or internalized).

39. Cyberstalking
 Growing in the anonymity of the Internet
 Social networking sites like Myspace and
Facebook make it easier to “keep tabs” on
others
 Technology creates a barrier between the
stalker and victim
 Many people may not know they are being
stalked

40. What to do…
 Save all communication evidence
 You can contact the harasser’s Internet
Service Provider (ISP) and many ISP’s respond
with suspension or closing of account
belonging to abusers
 Call the police or local domestic violence
hotlines, get help from local violence centers

41. UNLV Police Services
Reports of Forcible Sex Offenses on
Campus
2005 – 4
2006 – 0
2007 – 3
*Often times these crimes occur and
are reported outside of the
jurisdiction of UNLV.

42. The Rape Crisis Center of Southern
Nevada
 Gender:
 Female – 97%
 Male – 3%
 Race/Ethnicity:
 White – 58%
 Latino/Hispanic – 18%
 Black – 16%
 Asian – 3%
 Bi-racial – 2%
 Native – <1%
 Unknown/Other – <1%
43% of the total 833 reported victims in 2007 were between
the ages of 19-29.

43. Protocol for Victims on Campus
 Go to a safe place
 Seek medical attention immediately. University Medical
Center (UMC) is the only hospital that will do a rape kit.
You may be injured more seriously than you realize.
Medical evidence will be needed, if you decide to press
charges.
 Call University Police (895-3668) or CALL 911. Reporting is
not the same as pressing charges.
 Call the Counseling and Psychological Services (895-3627).
 Do not blame yourself-you are the victim of a crime.
 Do NOT bathe, shower, douche, or change clothes until you
have talked with the police or nurse. However, if you have
already done these things, please do not let his stop you
from seeking medical care. If you’ve changed clothes
, place the clothes you were wearing in a paper bag and
them to the hospital with you.
 Remember you may have an advocate to help every step
of the way

44. Cultural Competency
 The Rape Crisis Center – “Problemas dos
Todos”
 PAAVE – All trainings included an entire
session on cultural competency
 Jean Nidetch Women’s Center –
programming on sexual assault and domestic
violence infused into racial identity months
(and LGBT pride and Women’s history
months, as well!)

45. The Jean Nidetch Women’s
Center
 The only on campus resource for referrals to
community organizations
 One on-staff, certified advocate (Christina
Hernandez, Outreach & Awareness
Coordinator)
 Member of ASSERTAV task force
 Oversees all violence prevention
programming on campus
 Provides twice a year peer education
training (PAAVE) on domestic violence and
sexual assault

46. ASERTAV
 Advocacy. Support. Educate. & Response
Team Against Violence (ASERTAV)
 ASERTAV strives to coordinate a
collaborative response to
student, staff, and faculty members of our
community who may have been affected
by violence. Our goal is to communicate
to survivors that they are not alone during
their recovery by providing
resources, advocacy and education.
 Members of the task force include
campus and community organizations
and local law enforcement

47. Nevada Network Against
Domestic Violence
 Resource hub to advocacy, prevention
programs and legislative lobbying
 Provides referrals to shelter services, including
SafeNest and SAFE House
 Part of the ASERTAV task force
 A member of the National Coalition Against
Domestic Violence

48. The Rape Crisis Center of Southern
Nevada
 Las Vegas’ main resource for sexual assault
victim advocacy
 Implements community programming (Nina’s
Night Out) to raise awareness
 Trains victim advocates in conjunction with
UMC
 Provides referrals to UMC for sexual assault
examinations (aka: rape kits)
 Represented on ASSERTAV task force

49. Stalking Resources
 CyberAngels: Support group/resource center
 www.cyberangels.org
 Working to Half Online Abuse (WHOA)
 www.haltabuse.org
 International Association of Computer
Investigative Specialists:
 www.iacis.com

50. LGBTQQI Resources
 Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
 24 hr crisis line: 415-333-HELP (4357)
www.cuav.org
 Matthew’s Place
 www.matthewshepard.org
 Trevor Helpline: 1-866-4-U-TREVOR
 GLBT National Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-PRIDE
(7743)
 National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
 212-714-1184 www.ncavp.org
 FORGE: For Ourselves: Reworking Gender
Expression
 www.forge-forward.org

51. More Local Resources
 Safe House (Domestic Violence Support)
 702.451.4203
 Abuse Crisis Center / DV Hotline
 702.646.4981
 Nevada Division of Child and Family
Services
 702.486.7800
 More information available at:
 The Jean Nidetch Women’s Center, UNLV
SSC A, 255 – 702.895.4475

52. Even more Local Resources
 Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence:
 http://www.nnadv.org/
 The Rape Crisis Center of Southern Nevada:
 http://www.therapecrisiscenter.org/
 The Jean Nidetch Women’s Center at UNLV:
 http://womenscenter.unlv.edu/