Support for Black LGBTQ+ Survivors


Statistics on Black LGBTQ+ Survivors


  • Sexual violence and intimate partner violence is particularly alarmingly high amongst Black bisexual women. According to a 2017 report done by the CDC, 69.4% of Black bisexual women experienced intimate partner violence and 68.5% of Black bisexual women experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. 
  • 56% of Black transgender people experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey 
  • 42% of Black transgender respondents have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. 
  • Of transgender and gender expansive people who were murdered in 2023, 50% were Black transgender women, and 36% were killed by a romantic/sexual partner, friend, or family member. 
  • More than 40% of Black women experience intimate partner violence during their lifetimes, compared to 31.5% of all women according to a report done by the Status of Black Women. 
  • 13% of Black LGBTQ+ youth who dated someone in the past year reported dating violence according to the Trevor Project. They also found that Black LGBTQ+ young people who experienced dating violence reported more than twice the rate of suicide attempts in the past year (35%) compared to those who did not (17%). 


Barriers Faced by Black LGBTQ+ Survivors


  • It can be difficult for Black LGBTQ+ people to find spaces that understand both their ethnicity and their sexual orientation or gender identity 
  • Systematic racism has made it difficult for Black LGBTQ+ people to safely access the medical system or affordable housing, and they are more likely to be impacted by the injustice system. 
  • Often Black LGBTQ+ survivors feel unsafe or uncomfortable reaching out to law enforcement when dealing with intimate partner violence. Additionally, if their partner is Black, they can feel shame for wanting to incriminate their partner knowing the system is unjust to their community or fear that their partner will be harmed if they involve the police. 
  • The long-term impact of slavery has led to generations of stress and survival adaptations for the Black community.  
  • The Black community is complex and full of beautiful identities, however, can often be treated as a monolith.  
  • Black LGBTQ+ survivors can be impacted by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, antisemitism, colorism, fatphobia, etc. based on their identities. These discriminations can compound off of each other and make it difficult for the community to thrive.  


Reminders and Affirmations for Black LGBTQ+ Survivors


  • Your experiences are valid, no matter who or whatever system tries to deny your experiences.  
  • You deserve safety, comfort, and peace.  
  • You deserve to take up space and exist fully in your own bodies.  
  • Your Blackness is beautiful, brilliant, and powerful.  
  • Whatever decisions are made to protect your comfort and uphold safe boundaries are valid.  
  • Nobody has a right to your body, narrative, or feelings. You can own what is yours unapologetically.  
  • You do not need to prove anything to those who have caused you harm.  
  • Your connection to your family, chosen family, ancestors, and the universe is powerful.  


Resources


The Anti-Violence Project has a 24-hour hotline for LGBTQ+ survivors to call for confidential support: 212-714-1141  

In Our Own Voices, a project partner of the Institute, is a leading national organization giving voice to the needs and challenges of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming communities, as well as LGBT Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. IOOV seeks to: develop the leadership of LGBTQ POC, strengthen the voices of LGBTQ POC, and increase our capacity for combating oppression and marginalization. 

Ujima, The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, addresses the pervasive issues of sexual assault and domestic and community violence within the Black Community. 

The Audre Lorde Project, an LGBTQ+, Two-Spirit, and Gender-Nonconforming People of Color community organizing center focusing on the New York City area. 

The Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence Resource Center is dedicated to increasing awareness about the impact of intergenerational violence in the Black community, removing barriers for Black women and their families (girls, boys, men, and LGBTQIA+ community members) who have experienced domestic abuse to receive access to culturally sensitive resources. They also provide a designated space with resources specifically for Black women and their families in San Francisco to help educate and heal as they recover from abuse. 

National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization led by black trans people to collectively address the inequities faced in the black transgender human experience. Through our national advocacy center and affiliate state chapters they work to advocate for the end poverty, discrimination in all forms and its human inequities faced in health, employment, housing and education that are rooted in systemic racism, and to improve the lived experience of transgender people. 

Black Trans Travel Fund is a Black trans led collective is to provide Black trans women with financial and material resources towards education, community, safety and removing travel barriers. 

INCITE! is a network of radical feminists of color organizing to end state violence and violence in our homes and communities.