BRAVO Alert for the Safety LGBTQ Community of Central Ohio

BRAVO is Issuing the Following Alert for the Safety of the
LGBT Community of Central Ohio

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com,

BRAVO has recently received multiple reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.  The incidents have occurred in the vicinity of LGBT establishments both in the Short North area and on the South side.  Several of the incidents have involved both physical assault and robbery.  BRAVO has good reason to believe that these attacks are anti-LGBTQ motivated.

According to Gloria McCauley, BRAVO Executive Director, "BRAVO believes that these incidents underscore the importance of a renewed discussion and action on hate crimes against LGBTQ people. Sadly, we know that hate violence is intended to send a message of hate and to instill fear throughout the entire community. Hate crimes are largely under-reported or not reported at all, and people are left feeling alone and vulnerable.  BRAVO is a great resource – we are asking people to call and report – we can help."

It is Gay Pride season and BRAVO wants everyone to have a fun and safe Pride!  Be alert, walk in groups, walk each other to your cars and be aware of your surroundings.   Additional safety tips are available on our website.   WWW.BRAVO-ohio.org.  Or scan the QR Code

For further information BRAVO can be reached at
614-294-7867 or 866-86-BRAVO.

All reports to BRAVO are confidential and may be made anonymously. All BRAVO services are free.

STAY ALERT
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
BE AWARE

Don’t take it. Report it.

BRAVO Contributes to Report on Hate Violence against LGBTIQ Community

BRAVO CONTRIBUTED TO NATIONAL REPORT ON HATE VIOLENCE AGAINST LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER AND HIV-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES RELEASED TODAY:
Report shows second highest murder rate ever recorded. Transgender people and people of color are most targeted communities for severe hate violence. Ohio among top states reporting.
To download the full Report please visit NCAVP online.

Columbus, Ohio — The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), in a national audio press conference today, released its report Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010. Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), a member program of NCAVP, saw the impact of severe violence against local LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities.
• Ohio is once again ranked among the top states in the nation in the number of hate violence incidents committed against LGBT people, with 340 such incidents reported in 2010.
• The 2010 data indicates a continuation in the trend of an increase in the severity of violence over the past few years, throughout BRAVO’s service area. That trend continued in 2010, reflecting a steady upward swing in the use of weapons, particularly thrown objects like bottles, rocks and bricks.
Additional key findings and recommendations from the national report include the following:
• In 2010, NCAVP documented 27 anti-LGBTQ murders, the second highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. This is a 23% increase from the 22 people murdered in 2009.
• 70% of the 27 reported hate murder victims in 2010 were LGBTQ and HIV-affected people of color, which represented 44% of total survivors and victims. This reflects a disproportionate targeting of people of color for severe and deadly violence. As well, people of color were less likely to receive medical attention when they needed it and less likely to receive appropriate responses from the police.
• Transgender women made up 44% of the 27 reported hate murders in 2010, while representing only 11% of total survivors and victims. As well, transgender people were more likely to have injuries as a result of attacks and less likely to receive medical care.
NCAVP documented a 13% increase in hate violence incidents from 2009 to 2010, as well as a much greater increase in the severity of violence. “The findings of this report are troubling and reveal a need for the serious commitment of organizations, institutions, funders and policymakers towards research and the prevention of violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals,” said Gloria McCauley from the Buckeye region Anti-Violence Organization. “Our recommendations represent crucial steps for ending violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people in this country.”

The report’s specific recommendations include calling for the following changes:
• Fund critically needed research and data collection on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, their access to services, and violence prevention initiatives.
• Gather data about sexual orientation and gender identitiy in all federal, state and local government forms.
• Create new public and private funding streams and target the use of existing funds to increase access to anti-violence services for LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals, particularly for those disproportionately affected by hate violence-i.e. transgender people and people of color.
• Create programs and campaigns to reduce anti-LGBTQ hate violence. Prioritize the leadership of those most impacted by severe hate violence within these programs.
• Stop the culture of hate through policymakers and public figures denouncing anti-LGBTQ violence.
This year’s report also includes real-life stories from LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors of hate violence to call immediate and necessary attention to the need to end the culture of violence in which these incidents of hate violence occur.

BRAVO works to eliminate violence perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identification, domestic violence and sexual assault through prevention, education, advocacy, violence documentation and survivor services, both within and on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.

NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations and individuals who create systemic and social change. We strive to increase power, safety and resources through data analysis, policy advocacy, education, and technical assistance.

Reposted at keystothecloset.blogger.com

Take Back The Night: Back To Our Roots

April 28, 2011, 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m., March begins at 7:30 p.m.
Wexner Plaza, 15th Avenue and High Street, Columbus, Ohio

Take Back The Night is an annual rally and march to protest violence against women and to provide an empowering forum to speak out and fight back. This Year's theme is Back To Our Roots, focusing on our HerStory as a community of women, allies, survivors and advocates for change.

There will be tabling, music, and speakers followed by a march down High Street and a survivor speak-out. Throughout the night there will be welcoming and violence-free areas for women, children and men.
If you would like to participate, or if you have questions, please email warrosu@gmail.com.

Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

New Intimate Partner Violence Report

Make Intimate partner violence a priority for LGBTIQ Health Week. Posted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

"Why it Matters: Rethinking Victim Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queerhttp://www.bravo-ohio.org/Why%20It%20Matters.pdf

Victims of Hate Violence & Intimate Partner Violence"  A Joint Policy Report by the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs is available at

This report makes recommendations and ultimately proposes collaboration between mainstream victim

assistance agencies and LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs to increase the efficacy and equity of

services provided to LGBTQ victims of crime, particularly hate violence and intimate partner violence.

The recommended strategies will be effective only when supported by the necessary changes in laws and

policies to provide LGBTQ victims of crime with equal access to victims’ rights and services.

The National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs make the

following recommendations:

1. Build collaboration among LGBTQ anti-violence programs and mainstream victim assistance

providers to increase the availability of culturally competent services for LGBTQ victims of crime

by providing LGBTQ-specific training for criminal and civil justice system personnel and victim

assistance providers.

2. Assess and evaluate the implementation of state and federal protections for victims of crime and

implement policy and legislative changes to assure that LGBTQ victims have equal access to protections.

3. Increase public awareness of the extent and impact of victimization against LGBTQ individuals

and communities and on crime victims’ rights and services through national and local public

awareness, education, and outreach campaigns.

4. Increase state and federal funding for collaboration, training, outreach, services, research, and

data collection on the victimization of LGBTQ people.

About This Report

The National Center and NCAVP began this collaborative survey and report to gain a better understanding

of the victim services provided to LGBTQ victims of crime throughout the United States. The focus

of this joint policy report is on the crimes of hate violence and intimate partner violence against LGBTQ

people, because these are the crimes that are most reported to NCVAP programs. This report confirms

that gaps in services for LGBTQ victims of violence exist and shows the need for culturally competent

service provision through LGBTQ and mainstream service providers’ collaboration. These gaps in services

compromise the safety of LGBTQ individuals, families, and communities.

The Face of Domestic Violence in LGBTQ Communities

Intimate partner violence is a silent issue in the LGBTIQ community. Let's talk about it in honor of LGBTIQ Health Awareness Week.

This was originally published by the good people of Buckeye Regional Violence http://www.bravo-ohio.org/ and reposted here at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

by Gary Heath, BRAVO’s Domestic Violence Program Coordinator

For most of us, images of Matthew Shepard, Brandon Teena, and Gwen Araujo, come to mind when we think about violence and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) communities. We often think of hate and bias crimes that are perpetrated upon us from outside our communities. There is however, another type of violence that goes unrecognized and undisclosed. This violence commonly referred to as domestic violence or intimate partner violence occurs every hour of every day within LGBTQ communities.Many are surprised to learn that domestic violence in LGBTQ relationships occurs at the same rate as in heterosexual couples — 25% to 33%. Thus you can imagine the scope of the problem in a community, such as Columbus, with large LGBTQ communities.

Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO) and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), of which BRAVO is a founding member, have recognized that our mission must include ending all forms of violence, both within and against LGBTQ communities. As a consequence, when it comes to domestic violence, our goal has been to educate both LGBTQ communities and “mainstream” communities as to the scope of the problem and the consequences of LGBTQ intimate partner violence. To begin, we have to understand what intimate partner violence looks like in LGBTQ communities. How does it differ from heterosexual battery and in what way is it similar?

We have all been acculturated to view domestic violence in the framework of a heterosexual male battering a heterosexual female. While this certainly depicts the vast majority of domestic violence (for reasons that clearly stem from the longstanding subjugation of women in male-dominated societies), it does nothing to explain the experience of same-sex abuse and makes it difficult for an LGBTQ individual to see oneself as the victim of abuse. As a result domestic violence programs have had to rethink these paradigms and get away from a gender based model that only looks at domestic violence in the context of a straight man abusing a straight woman.

For a start, a definition of domestic violence which makes no mention of gender may be very helpful. “Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors utilized by one partner (the abuser or batterer) to exert and maintain control over another person (the survivor or victim) where there exists an intimate, loving, and dependent relationship.”

Another good definition is, “One individual systematically abusing another to gain power and control in a domestic or intimate relationship.” It is important to point out that one need not be physically harmed in order to experience domestic violence. It can present as a sustained and systematic pattern of abuse where one partner demeans, criticizes, insults, ridicules, and intimidates the other partner. It may take the form of one partner manipulating, coercing, and isolating the other. This abuse can of course escalate into physical violence including sexual abuse and murder.

LGBTQ people’s experience of domestic violence is compounded by social and internalized homophobia, where coming out or being “outed” by an abuser can further isolate a survivor from existing support networks and services, including family and friends, shelters, healthcare providers, and crisis agencies. The problem with homophobia and transphobia is that it is so pervasive and permeates our society at all levels. Such a barrier makes it extremely difficult for LGBTQ people to find programs and services that are appropriate and don’t re-victimize them. One of the components of BRAVO and NCAVP’s service delivery is to provide information and technical assistance to domestic violence programs, shelters, law enforcement, the courts, and other service providers. It plays an important part in dispelling myths people have surrounding LGBTQ people and LGBTQ intimate partner violence.

Other barriers to service include poor or inconsistent law enforcement responses, lack of non-criminal justice based safety options, limited access to civil court orders of protection, victims’ fears of being “outed” as LGBTQ and as a DV survivor, and victims’ hopelessness and/or fear of reprisals.

Another problem in service delivery for LGBTQ persons is that most domestic violence shelters predominately serve heterosexual women and as a result may not be particularly welcoming or appropriate when providing services to lesbians. Nationally and locally most shelters will not take in men, although some are beginning to provide private rooms or safe space off site. Nationally there is only one domestic violence shelter set up exclusively for men and some innovative programs across the nation provide a network of “safe homes.” Gay and bisexual men have few options and of great concern is finding caring and appropriate shelter options for those of trans experience.

For those programs that do provide domestic violence services to LGBTQ individuals it is extremely important that some type of screening tool be used during the intake process. Because we view domestic violence in terms that are gender neutral we have to do everything we can to assure we are working with the survivor and not the abusive partner. It is not uncommon for the abusive partner to contact a domestic violence program in order to access services or to try and find out if their partner has contacted the provider.

There are many issues facing LGBTQ communities and certainly domestic violence is one that is not commonly talked about in our communities. Obviously we want society to see our community in the most positive light. Some feel that talking about this issue is “airing our dirty laundry.” It is important to remember, however that intimate partner violence occurs at the same rate in LGBTQ communities as in the general population. It is important that we all confront the issue head on.

If you feel you are in an abusive relationship or would like more information about LGBTQ domestic violence feel free to contact BRAVO or NCAVP.

Happy Birthday Joan Crawford! Fundraiser

Not, perhaps, coincidentally, it's also the 107th anniversary of the invention of the wire coathanger. No joke. Speakers include BRAVO's Executive Director, Gloria McCauley and Equality Ohio's new Executive Director, Ed Mullen.
Noka Davers will perform two numbers as Joan Crawford and serving cake!

Stay after for a special screening of Mildred Pierce.

Admission is free. No RSVP necessary — just come enjoy the fellowship, networking and free appetizers!

Sponsored by KDB Easton, outlook media, Rainbow Cleaners, and the Angry Baker ... benefitting BRAVO.
Location: KDB at Easton (in the old Gameworks location in the Towne Center Building).

Time: Wednesday, March 9, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.