Domestic abuse and sexual violence against transgender and non-binary people surges

[IwantToRetire]

Reports of domestic abuse and sexual violence against transgender and non-binary people has surged by 18 per cent, according to new data.

Figures, provided by Victim Support, show reports of domestic and sexual violence against trans and non-binary people jumped from 266 in 2020/21 to 315 in 2021/2022.

The data, which the national charity shared exclusively with The Independent, includes victims who seek help from Victim Support, as well as those who are referred to the organisation by the police.

The charity warned they are hearing reports of abusers using their victim’s transgender identity as an excuse to be violent and abusive to them.

uk.news.yahoo.com/domestic-abuse-sexual-violence-against-171011069.html

I think it is right that we have up to date statistics on all forms of abuse. But the cynic in me wonders if this isn't just a PR move by Victims Support who are concerned about the damage to their reputation once Sarah's case goes to court. :(

Trans activists cried wolf too often, I'm afraid.

If you're out proactively drumming up reports of 'hate incidents' and complaints on Twitter and claiming that stickers and 'misgendering' is abuse then you are going to undermine people's confidence in data and integrity.

Which is shit, because of course nobody should suffer any form of abuse.

Agree that Victim Support have no credibility after the way they've behaved over the past year or two.

I don't have time to look at stats but I'd imagine the number of trans and NB population has also increased in the timeframe? Maybe not by 18% but will be significant.

So those are Survivor's Network's figures only. a charity that has come to prominence because of its placing trans people ahead of women.

I expect that might have something to do with an increase in trans people contacting them. I suppose we would only know were we to look at other data from other similar agencies.

Great that trans/non binary people have support - if only it didn't come at the expense of women's services.

Is this a rebranding of VAWG, though?

For example in the linked piece, the victim is female. How many of the NB are female rather than male and how many of the transgender people abused are female?

I don't see how reporting the raw total like that helps, as a PP has said, if the number of people who state they are trans or have a trans/non-binary identity has also risen (changed at all) then the rate of DV/SA may actually have fallen, or stayed the same.

I note that the example in the report is of a biological female being abused by a man. So, male violence against adult human females... seems like a familiar situation to me.

That was my first thought too.

I’m assuming there’s also no clear way to distinguish girls and women experiencing DV before transitioning but seeking support after?

I would be interested to see the male/female split (does the likelihood of experiencing DV change much between women and trans identified females?).

I think 'domestic abuse against trans and non binary people ' hides some important information. The fact is this will still be perpetrated by a person with a sex against another person with a sex. This headline will be assumed to refer equally to transwomen and transmen and all non binary people, but the example given in the article is a male partner abusing a transman. I know males can be abused by both male and female partners but I have the horrible feeling that those vulnerable girls who transitioned in their teens will be the ones who in some cases end up in abusive relationships in their twenties and the statistics of any abuse will be hidden by this 'sexless/ mixed sex/ misrepresented sex' category.

This. Violence by which biological sex, towards which biological sex?
It's well known men are both more violent and (being bigger and stronger) capable of inflicting more serious damage when they attack. It's also pretty well known that sex hormones have an effect on emotions and behaviour.
Find out exactly what is up and then you're best placed to address it.

I’d imagine that many of the female people who identify as trans/NB are vulnerable to IPV via a number of ‘intersections’ including neurodiversity, low self esteem and estrangement from their family support networks?

DV is never acceptable and I’m glad all these victims accessed support, but this data isn’t very useful at understanding what’s going on and how to provide adequate services in future.

I would like to see who is perpetrating the crimes ( if they are infact real). It could be trans on trans abuse.

The relationship board frequently documents women gaslit by their husbands to believe they are the problem, as well as scorned / bitter exes abusing their structural power to claim the woman is harassing them.

I'd need reassurance these figures didn't include, for example, recently transitioned transwomen in hetero relationships experiencing boundary setting from their partners.

Is this an early response to deflect from the trans crime figures revealed by the census? And how many of the victims, trans and non binary, were female? Ignoring sex sows confusion and probably underplays VAWG but that's the intention isn't it.

I attended training on coercive and controlling behaviour and the trainer said that misgendering and dead-naming your transitioning partner was abuse. I mentioned trans-widows in the group chat and then contacted the trainer afterwards to say that she seemed ill-informed on the topic and directed her to the trans-widows resources. Wish I could have done more but the online format is really difficult to navigate.

@TheClogLady there was that transman a few months ago 'positively' displaying bruising from being beaten.

Yes but we know from the ex wives of some of these claimants that 'domestic abuse' can be using the wrong pronouns or 'dead naming'. And that strategic reporting for PR purposes is a thing.

So I'm afraid at this point I don't really believe much.

I do however remember at one of the Scots government meetings where women and refuge leaders talked to very deaf ears their reporting that female service users were often in actual life threatening danger, while male service users with TQ+ identifies were very rarely in this position.

Also just considering that down the road at the women's prison, the women are being asked to suck up sexual harassment, violence and rape from male TQ+ people as just one of life's little downsides. And without the option of being allowed to escape it.

Sincere apologies, I got muddled - the figures are from Victim Support, not Survivor's Network.

Can't find them reported at all on the website, but there is this:

www.victimsupport.org.uk/new-research-shows-police-failing-to-act-on-domestic-abuse-reports-ethnic-minority-victims-hit-hardest/

'Domestic abuse victims are reporting abuse to the police upwards of three times before appropriate action is taken, with Black and ethnic minority victims being disproportionately dismissed and side-lined, according to new research by Victim Support.

The research, released to mark 16 days of action on violence against women and girls, reveals that almost half (48%) of Black and ethnic minority respondents felt the police treated them differently because of their ethnic background or heritage.'

2 years data is meaningless. 2 data points do not a good trend line make.

Didn't the census say something like a total of 250,000 odd people are trans and non-binary ? 316/250,000 is 0.01%

By way of comparison, the ONS believes nearly 7% of women are a year: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2022

I guess being Trans or non-binary is actually really safe... phew !

The ONS in that page also says 5% of men suffer domestic abuse -- Trans and non-binary folk really enjoy safe lives in the UK. A thing to be proud of I think.

@ArabellaScott Sorry the mix up between groups is my fault. I skim read the article before posting link, and nowhere does it mention Survivor's Network. Obviously letting my anger with them influence my response.

Linked though not the same is the issue of "sex by deception" which has been used as a defense in court cases. There were (still are?) campaigns to make this an unacceptable claim.

female service users were often in actual life threatening danger, while male service users with TQ+ identities were very rarely in this position

This is very important. Hurt feelings because of being called the wrong pronoun, or even someone shouting a name in the street, might be upsetting; but it isn’t remotely the same as being battered or strangled by a physically violent husband to the point of death. And we need to stop conflating them, for the sake of accuracy and women’s safety.

The question is, is it literal (actual beaty fists) violence) or literal (written hurty words) violence?

When people are so out of touch with reality they imagine themselves to be the opposite sex, or something else altogether, their literal (read-y and writey) comprehension skills tend to suffer too.

The 'at the expense' part cannot be repeated enough.

We know that some women have lost access to support services for DA and SV altogether because of this prioritisation of male people with TQ+ identities over remaining accessible to and inclusive of women.

What funding shifts have been made to reflect that the demand on and cost of the men's services have decreased as male people use both the men's and women's services? And how has the women's budget, capacity and services been increased to reflect this?

Or have women simply lost more as the women's service pivoted and tried to do more for more people at the expense of what they could previously offer to women in a women only service?

Or was this the plan, that mixed sex provision would bump some women out of any provision at all, and so open up capacity that way? What are we going to do about this group of women with no services at all, much more likely to be in life threatening situations? Because being asked to be concerned about an increase in statistics suggesting that DV and SV is a serious problem is a bit - odd - when it's in the frame of it not mattering for the women who have lost all access and support altogether, and not mattering for the women in prison.

Sex based discrimination front and centre as usual. Brought to you by the politics who claim sex changes and/or doesn't exist.