The domestic violence service delivery and/or response system is completely

inadequate in its ability to respond to the needs of women especially trans women. The “In her
shoes” exercise reinforced this for me as I drew mental health provider and was accessed by no
one much less a trans women. The first priority should be giving survivors the mental health
support they need to break the cycle of abuse. First we must combat issues around transgender
folks self worth as a stigmatized population by creating a safe space for them to come for help.
But moreover I know this is an education problem with lack of educational facts about
interpersonal violence against trans women to implore. So even if we know its happening, it is
hard to find evidence to support why and what we can do to change it.
I was handed a packet. It said Mental Health on front. I got the exercise in about 60
seconds. I am a queer trans person from a lower class family wrought with mental health issues
who had moved out and first attempted to access the system at age 16; who is currently an
activist working with the trans population and currently employed as the Trans Resource
Coordinator at Portland State; so one shouldn’t be surprised. In fact rare have I met a trans
individual who has not had access issues around mental health. Of course the massive
constraints around mental health surgery and legal documentation for trans folks greatly
compound our ability to access the services we need in order to achieve base needs much less
to achieve self-actualization.
On page 67 of our class text it states ”Abuse often occurs in a cyclical fashion... A
pattern of violence or behaviors exists where one seeks to control the thoughts, beliefs, or
conduct of their intimate partners, or to punish their partner for resisting their control. This may
been (sic) seen as physical or sexual violence, or emotional and verbal abuse.” In my words this
is stating that in order to maintain control the abuser takes away the person-hood of the abused.
The abuser learned this behavior somewhere so it is logical they can unlearn it. Just as the
abused can learn to reclaim themselves. Cycles can be broken.
In order to help break the cycles, collectively we must understand the stigmatization that
is happening against trans women. On page 35, our text states, “Domestic Violence and sexual
abuse can occur in same sex relationships just as frequently as in opposite sex relationships. In
addition, all disenfranchised peoples... (including) transgendered (sic) people are more likely to
be targeted for abuse, violence, and exploitation -- by strangers and sometimes by friends,
acquaintances, even intimate others.' So if trans folks are targeted more that should mean that
the domestic violence response system should be extra confident to deal with situations right?
The Transgender Law Center would disagree.“One challenge that has proven
particularly difficult is hiring and training staff members who are able to provide culturally
competent services to transgender clients. One in five survey respondents reported
experiencing discrimination at a social service agency... Basic examples include: the failure to
use a client’s correct name and/or the appropriate pronoun; denial of services; harassment and
disrespect; invasive and inappropriate inquiries; and denial of access to appropriate facilities.”1
What we do know? Our society in general has turned a blind eye to violence against
transgender people but their are some reports out there. “In total, since January 2008 the
murders of 487 Trans People have been reported.”2
“In December 2004, a Chicago police officer responding to a domestic violence call
threw an African American transgender woman against a wall and to the floor, breaking her
wrist. Although the officer was aware that the woman’s wrist was injured, he twisted her hands
in order to place them in handcuffs. She was denied medical treatment for her injury while she
was in police custody.” the Incite Guide3 goes on to say: “Law enforcement agencies not only
enforce systemic power relations based on race and class...they also police gender lines,
enforcing dominant racialized gender norms. Yet, the gendered aspects and manifestations of
law enforcement violence are often invisible in organizing and advocacy around both police
brutality and gender-based violence... for instance, the New York City Police Department's
current arrest paperwork still has a box to check for ‘impersonating a female’”4
Research, carried out by the LGBT Domestic Abuse Project and the Scottish
Transgender Alliance, found that: “80% of the trans people surveyed have experienced some
form of abusive behavior from a partner or ex-partner, although only 60% identified these
behaviors as domestic abuse; 45% of respondents had experienced physical abuse from a
partner or ex-partner and 47% of respondents had experienced sexual abuse from a partner or
ex-partner. Despite these high figures, 24% of people had told no one about the abuse they had
experienced. The research also highlights the reluctance that many transgender people feel
about disclosing or reporting abuse to services or the police.” 5
The study6 goes on to state; “76% identified having experienced psychological or
emotional problems as a consequence of the abuse. 15% said that they had attempted suicide
as a consequence of the abuse. 51% thought that the most recent domestic abuse they had
experienced was ‘wrong but not a crime’”...This study goes on to explain; “ It is important to note
that gender identity and sexual orientation are two separate aspects of identity. Although many
transgender people identify as part of a wider LGBT community, some transgender people who
strongly identify as Straight/Heterosexual may react negatively to services assuming that they
see themselves as part of a larger LGBT community... to paraphrase it goes on to state that
emotionally transphobic behavior such as shame, guilt, and blame towards a partners
transgender identity and perceived mental health dysfunction associated with trans identity is
used to control the abused actions and behaviors. 62% of trans people experience transphobic
harassment in their day to day lives7, which negatively impacts on their sense of self and
emotional well-being. To experience transphobic emotional abuse from a partner compounds
this feeling of worthlessness. Mental health practitioners experienced in working with
transgender people have found that transphobic reactions from partners and pressure on
transgender people not to express their gender identity or transition have very negative impacts
on their mental health8 34% of 872 transgender people surveyed in the UK had attempted
suicide at least once due to other people’s reactions to their trans identity9, which is 7.7 times
the 4.4 % suicide attempt rate of the general population10 It is therefore a highly abusive and
dangerous from of .control for a partner or ex-partner to target a person’s transgender identity in
a negative way and to prevent them being able to express themselves as who they are.”
In class, Cammie Hering, M.A. said,” All violence is us loosing our power”. On
page 48 our text states: “overall strategy must be victim-safety centered.” It is the service
providers duty to make sure that this base need is being provide in some form. Most often the
victims feel as they have no where else to go. Their choice is often homelessness or abuse. As
an individual I am working to stop interpersonal violence with the trans community. I recognize
that the service delivery system I work within is inadequate. I can prioritize Mental Health
access in developing system of support for the students. I can prioritize humanization
campaigns which establish self -worth for transgender individuals. I can prioritize creating a safe
space for them to come for help. I can research and educated policy and decision makers about
interpersonal violence against trans women. I can find evidence to support why and what we
can do to change the systems of violence.

1-http://transgenderlawcenter.org/trans/pdfs/Trans%20Realities%20Final%20Final.pdf
2-http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en_US/tvt-project/tmm-results/tdor2010.htm
3-Incite, an national non-profit dedicated to end violence against women of color shares some
stories about police violence in a tool kit it puts out:
4-http://www.incite-national.org/media/docs/3696_TOOLKIT-FINAL.pdf
5-http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2010/08/new_research_in
6-http://www.scottishtrans.org/Uploads/Resources/trans_domestic_abuse.pdf
7. Morton 2008: 11. Morton, J. 2008 “Transgender Experiences in Scotland.” Scottish
Transgender Alliance.
8. Lev 2004. Lev, A.I. 2004 Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic guidelines for working with
gender-variant people and their families. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press
9. Whittle et al. 2007: 78. Whittle, S., Turner, L. and Al-Alami, M. 2007 “Engendered Penalties:
Transgender and Transsexual People’s Experiences of Inequality and Discrimination.” The
Equalities review.
10. Office for National Statistics 2002: 2. Office for National Statistics 2002 “Non-fatal Suicidal
Behaviour Among
Adults 16 to 74 in Great Britain.” The Stationery Office.
11-http://wweek.com/editorial/3411/10283/
(See also, Amnesty International Action, USA-New York Police Department – Serious
allegations of abuse of transgender women (update),
http://www.amnestyusa.org/outfront/Chris_and_Mariah_update_July_2007.pdf, July 2007)