Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or First Nations LGBTIQ people, sistergirls, and brotherboys may experience exclusion or discrimination in their community, friendship or family networks when they disclose their gender diversity, sexuality or intersex status. Conversely, others find their families and communities are a strong source of support.
Statistically, queer people are more likely to use alcohol and other drugs in recreational settings than the general population. We’re also more likely to find ourselves in periods of problematic usage of these substances. Fortunately, over many decades the LGBTIQ community has also built complex systems of community care into our social networks, to make the partying we do as safe as possible.
It can be difficult to see your friend, family member, or colleague being treated abusively in a relationship. It is important to remember that the person may not be ready to take immediate action or it may not be safe for them to do so. They may have care of children or pets to consider or may not be emotionally ready to identify their experience as family violence. Whatever the reason, it is important to start a conversation, listen to them, and remember that they are the expert in their own story.
People with disabilities experience higher rates of violence, abuse and neglect then non-disabled people. In addition to issues relating to their LGBTIQ status, additional barriers exist for people with disabilities accessing family violence services. These circumstances sit alongside unique requirements to meet their needs.
As we prepare ourselves for physical distancing and self-isolation, we need to remember home is not always the safest place.
For some in our community – job losses and insecure housing can mean that we are forced back to other homes with family or friends which can be highly conflictual and for others unsafe.
Within our LGBTIQ+ communities, some of us are intersex. Intersex is not a reflection of a person’s sexuality. You might be intersex and queer, intersex and trans, intersex and multigender attracted, just as a person may be cisgender (identify with the sex assigned to them at birth) or not.