DISRUPTIVE BODIES
Interrogating the Gender Binary in Family Violence Policy and Practice
Background
The evidence base on LGBTQIA+ people’s experiences of domestic and family violence (DFV) has grown substantially over the past decade, but research has disproportionately focused on prevalence, abuse characteristics and help-seeking behaviours, with comparatively little focus on formal service provision. What little research exists often groups all LGBTQIA+ people together, without exploring how differences in gender and sexuality might impact service experiences and support needs.
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Australia’s National Plan to End Violence Against Women & Children, and its associated Action Plan, now recognises that LGBTQIA+ people are impacted by “gendered drivers of violence” and face specific barriers to service access, yet doesn’t include specific commitments to address these barriers. Outside of LGBTQIA+ specialist services, Australian DFV services are almost exclusively segregated by binary gender, making them particularly inaccessible to trans and gender diverse people. This means that the evidence gaps in academic research are compounded by service providers having had little opportunity to develop practice-based evidence in responding to trans and gender diverse people impacted by DFV.  ​
Research Aims
My PhD research builds on a previous study I did with colleagues for the Welsh government (Harvey et al, 2014), which found that non-binary people were either outright excluded from family violence services, or were required to present in a binary gender in order to access support. As a professional in the family violence sector, I know that nearly a decade on, these problems persist today.
My study aims to explore the boundaries of “gender-based violence” as a conceptual frame by describing the diversity of non-binary people’s experiences of gender and how they perceive gender in relation to their own experiences of family violence. Through critical participatory action research, I seek to create a unique opportunity for people of non-binary genders impacted by family violence and professionals working in the sector to collaboratively interrogate the role of gender in family violence responses, and understand what changes are needed to facilitate greater inclusion.
Research Questions
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How do people of non-binary genders describe the role of gender in their experiences of family violence?
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How do understandings of gender and personal gender identity inform the professional practice of people who provide family violence services?
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What needs to change for family violence responses in Australia to be inclusive of people of non-binary genders?
Research team
Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
Advisory Group
The Advisory Group meets three times per year and includes people of non-binary genders with lived experience of family violence, as well as professionals from the family violence and LGBTQIA+ service sectors. The Group provides expert advice to Shannon and the research team, ensuring that the project is conducted in a way that achieves its research aims.​
To support cultural safety, there are always at least two Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander members on the Group. Lived experience members and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members are paid for their attendance at meetings.​