By: Cali Robins

The LGBTQ+ community is a large demographic of individuals who identify outside of heterosexuality or identify outside of the gender that they were assigned at birth. The different types of sexual orientation include homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, queer, and more. Those who identify as transgender have either transitioned between male and female or do not fit within the means of a binary gender expression and take on the definition of nonbinary.

There are quite a few different ways in which members of the LGBTQ+ face abuse, but before explaining what abuses they face, it is imperative to understand the larger reason that the community faces these mistreatments. In an area such as the United States, homophobia and transphobia stem from misplaced fear when someone sees an individual who differs from their background and culture. Religion also plays a prominent role in people’s rationalization for the abuse of LGBTQ+ members, but often it stems from their place of power.

Because of this stance of power and dominance over the LGBTQ+, the community must deal with isolation and hatred from members of their family, fear of their own identity, poverty, being turned away from businesses, and discrimination within the job and housing markets. In more extreme cases, they must keep their identity secret to stay away from violence, torture, incarceration, sexual assault, medical abuse, and denial of family rights or adoption applications. The LGBTQ+ community has a long history of these abuses, and our current status and laws still allow much of this discrimination and abuse around the world.

So, how do we begin working on ending this abuse? Taking the time to understand and research what laws are passing that discriminate against the LGBTQ+ is an amazing start. By fortifying the rights for sexual orientation and gender expression, we can see that the law holds abusers accountable for actions of bias and violence. We can advocate for these laws and also allow for the protection of identity. Another method to help end abuse in this community would be education. Discrimination is a learned behavior, which means it can be unlearned. Misunderstanding of LGBTQ+ has led to so much abuse. For example, the AIDS epidemic of the ‘80s focused on blaming the LGBTQ+ for spreading the deadly disease rather than the lack of action by the US government for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, causing a lasting impact on the medical industry and fostering a bias towards gay people.

Events like these cannot happen again. With education on why this discrimination is misplaced, we can help change our culture for the better. Some great places to begin educating yourself in these areas include Facing History and Ourselves, The Center, and the Global Alliance for LGBT Education (GALE).

To learn more about sexual violence and other forms of abuse, visit GoARO.org, and please consider donating to help us provide resources for the abused.