Breaking the Silence - LGBTIQA+ Communities, Visibility and Change
In the final episode of season one of the Pride in Respect Podcast, host Dr Jack Farrugia is joined by Deb and Alicia Gibbs for a powerful conversation about breaking the silence around family, domestic, intimate partner and sexual violence in LGBTIQA+ communities. Deb is an FDV lived experience advocate and a proud queer person of colour. She shares reflections on intimate partner violence, the difficulty of speaking out, and how shame, racism, cultural expectations, religion, internalised homophobia and fear of coming out can create layers of silence and isolation. Alicia Gibbs is a queer woman and Manager of Preventing Violence Together at the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing. She brings insight into primary prevention, gender-based violence & stereotypes, heteronormativity and cisnormativity, and how services, systems and communities can better recognise and respond to violence in LGBTIQA+ relationships. Together, they explore why violence in queer relationships can be hard to name, disclose or believe, especially when communities feel pressure to protect themselves from further stigma. They discuss the importance of showing both healthy queer relationships and the realities of abuse, while recognising that silence can protect people who use violence and leave victim survivors feeling alone. This episode is a hopeful and honest conversation about visibility, intersectionality, prevention, service change and the responsibility we all share to listen, believe, challenge harmful assumptions and keep the conversation going. In this episode, we discuss: Why silence around violence in LGBTIQA+ communities can delay recognition and how shared friendship groups and respected community roles can make disclosure harder How racism, culture, religion, internalised homophobia & stereotypes can shape disclosure and obscure abuse in queer relationships The pressure to present queer relationships as perfect or “model” relationships Tech-facilitated abuse, tracking and control disguised as care or safety What primary prevention can look like through inclusive forms, language, education, systems, inclusive policies and structural change The importance of believing victim survivors and helping people feel less alone If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For 24/7 family, domestic and sexual violence counselling and support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. LGBTIQA+ specialist FDV support is available through the Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline on 1800 497 212. In Western Australia, you can contact the Pride in Respect Specialist FDV Support Service on 0481 080 201. For more information, resources and support links, visit prideandrespect.org.au. About Pride in Respect Pride in Respect is a community partnership between Living Proud, GRAI, Transfolk WA and WAAC, generously funded by the Department of Communities. This podcast was proudly produced by Pineapple Fingers. Visit pineapplefingers.com.au for more information. If this conversation was meaningful to you, please subscribe, share the episode, or pass it on to someone who may need support. The Pride in Respect podcast is recorded on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation and their Elders past and present as the traditional custodians of this land. We also honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ people, including Brotherboys, Sistergirls and trans mob, and recognise their resilience, strength and deep connection to Country.