Lesbian, bisexual and trans women face even more adversity

The many-coloured flags of Pride Month signal joy and love, and as a society we’ve come a long way in recognizing and honouring relationships that don’t fit a traditional heterosexual pattern. But the cheerful colours and legal gains can’t hide the reality that lesbians, and bisexual and trans women experience even more violence than cis straight women do.

When we think of violence against women, we immediately think of men harming their female intimate partners or family members, and indeed, this situation represents the majority of clients we serve at Women’s Resources. (We are, of course, here to help anyone who identifies as a woman.) Those are very real situations in our community, ones that leave women isolated, battered and terrified because of the actions of a man in their life.

Even though we like to think of ourselves as progressive and tolerant, women who are lesbian, trans or bisexual face proportionately more violence, and in different ways. They are often discriminated against and harassed in every facet of life, from school to work to recreation to a simple walk down the street. A United Nations study highlighted the grim reality that they are also much more likely to be murdered, a finding that is also true for gay and trans men. All of these risks are even more severe for women of colour or women who have a disability.

We’re also becoming painfully aware of a more generalized kind violence that cis, heterosexual women don’t have to face. That’s the reality that the stress and loneliness experienced by many women, especially younger women, who are trans, bisexual or lesbian leads to much higher rates of self-harm and suicide. While it may seem this pain is something these women inflict on themselves, in fact it’s the result of the anguish they feel if they are not loved and supported.

Which makes our role as a community clear—we need to respect, care for and support all women, of all ages, colours, sexualities, abilities and gender expressions, period. Compassion and equality, justice and inclusion are what we should strive for this Pride Month and all year round, in order to create a community where no one needs to be afraid just because they’re a woman.

By Nancy Payne