Out of the Shadows

2,144

reports of intimate partner violence against LGBTQ+ people were filed in 2017. The Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services found that between 960,000 and 3 million reports of intimate partner violence are reported annually in the general population. 40%

of gay men have reported sexual assault at some point in their lifetime, compared to 21% of heterosexual men.

54% of transgender individuals have experienced some form of intimate partner violence, compared to 20% of cisgender individuals.

44%

of lesbians have reported experiencing rape, physical violence and/ or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, compared to 35% of heterosexual women.

1 in3

bisexual women have reported stalking in their lifetime, compared to 1 in 6 heterosexual women.

Resources for LGBTQ survivors of intimate partner violence:

National Domestic Violence Hotline - thehotline.org/help 800-799-7233

American Bar Association - americanbar.org Know your legal rights as an LGBTQ+ survivor of domestic violence.

The LGBT National Help Center - glbthotline.org

FORGE - forge-forward.org Access services for transgender, gender nonconforming and nonbinary survivors of sexual violence.

The Network La Red - tnlr.org Work with a “survivor-led, social justice organization” that works to end intimate partner violence in LGBTQ+ communities.

22 Communication is critical to the success of any relationship. For someone who is not cisgender, being open about their gender identity can put them in danger. Unlike other members of the community, transgender and gender nonconforming people may have to worry about backlash or violence from their romantic partners due to their gender identity. This is a concern, as 54% of transgender and gender nonconforming Americans have experienced violence from their partner, according to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. In 41 states, someone not disclosing they are transgender or gender nonconforming can be an acceptable defense for assault or murder. This is known as the trans panic defense. The trans panic defense stems from the gay panic defense, which is when a person commits an act of violence because they discovered a person was gay. It is not clear when attorneys started using this as a defense, but before 1973, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders considered gay panic disorder to be real. Even after the American Psychological Association removed the diagnosis, the defense is still used. In 1954, the gay panic defense was used to try to defend Charles W. Lawrence when he murdered William T. Simpson in order to protect himself from an unwanted advancement, the American Bar Association reports. Although the defendant’s charges were lessened from murder to manslaughter, he was still convicted. Similar court cases have happened involving transgender people, such as the murder of Gwen Araujo. According to the National LGBT Bar Association, she had consensual sex with Michael Magidson and José Merel, and after they found out that she was transgender, they violently murdered her. An investigator coached the men to use the trans panic defense. During the first trial, the jury deadlocked. By the end of the second trial, the men’s charges were lessened, but they were still convicted. Even though this was a victory for Araujo, it was too close to a miscarriage of justice. Currently, there is nothing in the works to ban the trans panic defense in Ohio. Therefore, it is vital to start these conversations within the legislative branch, so in the future, LGBTQ+ Ohioans will not have to worry about their identities being used against them. During the last General Assembly, House Bill 1 passed, which is designed to provide victims of intimate partner violence with more protections, according to the Ohio House of Representatives website. However, according to State Rep. Brigid Kelly of Ohio’s 31st district, representatives are trying to see how gender identity will fit into the law during the next General Assembly. While the skeleton of protection is already there, they need to add legislation that will include different gender identities. Of the other five representatives who responded, they either have not heard of the trans panic defense or believed that the Ohio Fairness Act should be prioritized over it. The Ohio Fairness Act, if passed, will explicitly prohibit employment, housing and public accomodations discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. Rep. Randi Clites of the 75th district says that once that step is done, they can improve other areas by introducing more bills related to LGBTQ+ safety. Further, House Bill 369, if passed, will expand civil rights laws to sexual orientation and gender identity. Kelly feels strongly about getting these bills passed. “If we want people to come here, go to school here, stay here, work here, build a family here, we need to make sure folks are protected from discrimination,” Kelly says. Ohio lawmakers Rep. Jena Powell and Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus introduced the Save Women’s Sports Act Feb. 25, USA Today reports. This bill would prevent anyone who was assigned male at birth, but identifies as female, to participate in women’s high school sports. This bill does not cover transmasculine athletes. The act shows that right now in Ohio, there is a divide, but in other states, there has been progress on the issue of the trans panic defense. It often takes time for important bills to pass, and it may be a while until anything specific to the trans panic defense is introduced. Therefore, it is essential to remember that in order to see real change in Ohio for the LGBTQ+ community, representatives cannot work alone. There are many organizations, such as Equality Ohio and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, that are providing resources and information to the public to help get these bills passed. Even individual citizens who are not connected to a group can help by calling, emailing and writing their representatives. At the end of the day, despite their personal beliefs, it is their job to make sure their constituents are properly represented. Until actual legislative change happens in Ohio, transgender and gender nonconforming people will continue to face injustice in the courtroom. Words by Natalia Cruz Illustration by Amanda Stayer I T 'S S T I L L M E