Are Australian public discourses on intimate partner violence LGBTIQ inclusive?

Abstract

In Australia, intimate partner violence (IPV) is poorly understood, especially when it comes to the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) identifying people. Often contemporary discourse around IPV identifies the primary victims as heterosexual women and heterosexual men as the primary perpetrators. This narrative undermines opportunities for recognising all victims, including those from marginalised populations - LGBTIQ identifying people being one such group. Notably, freedom from violence is a human right that should apply to all people no matter their sociodemographic, or other, identifiers. Therefore, this study, sought to investigate the extent to which LGBTIQ inclusivity occurs within contemporary advocacy, print-media, policy and legislation about IPV in Australia. To do so non-grey and grey literature was explored within the aforementioned areas. Qualitative content analysis was used to organise and analyse information within advocacy, print-media, policy and legislative documents. Document content was then reviewed against a Human Rights framework. Finally, the study results were interpreted through the lens of Intersectionality theory. Recognising LGBTIQ-identifying victims of IPV in discourses present within advocacy, print-media, policy and legislative documents is not commonplace in Australia. Further, LGBTIQ people suffer misrepresentations across all facets of society which reduces police reporting and help-seeking. The findings implore policy-makers, criminal justice officials, police agencies and education officials to be more inclusive in the way they construct, communicate and engage with LGBTIQ people within an IPV context. LGBTIQ people should therefore be included in IPV discourses in ways that promote their visibility, safety and opportunities for help-seeking. To that end, education is key. Such education across all areas of Australian society should focus on inclusivity and dispelling myths and misunderstandings about who can be an IPV victim and who can be an IPV perpetrator. Further, education should acknowledge more readily to realities of intersectional identities and the additional disadvantages experienced by people with multiple minority identities. As this study has shown, anyone can be a victim or perpetrator of violence regardless of their race, ethnicity, social class, biological sex, gender or sexuality.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English