Opinion: Please listen to our rainbow voices

Content Warning: Sexual Violence, Sexual Violence in the Rainbow Community 

Too many times is the conversation of sexual violence centred around stereotypes and assumptions based upon heteronormativity and gender conformity. Sexual violence is, unfortunately, something that is affecting all genders, of all sexualities; therefore, the prevention work that is being done needs to be influenced by all of these perspectives. Despite this, we are still struggling to hear rainbow voices within the advocacy and awareness channels across the world.

As a proud queer woman, and a survivor of sexual violence, I find that both of these parts of myself are crucial to continuing the work that I do with Thursdays in Black. I’ve spent years trying to come to terms with both of these parts of myself, with neither fight within myself being easier than the other. Having adequate and diverse support for coming to terms with my queerness and my survival of sexual violence in one place could have saved me valuable time in the healing process and allowed me to come to accept my queerness earlier.

Being a queer survivor is an important strength within the advocacy that we are all working towards. Before starting university and hearing of Thursdays in Black, I didn’t believe that there was a way that I could channel my experiences to do better for people who had experiences similar to, or the same as me. Even knowing that there were others like me would have been a huge help - and I am sure that I am not alone in this thought. 

Advocating for survivors of all identities has not only helped me to truly understand the importance of doing good for all but also to help me work through my own experiences. 

It is vital that more people with the same, or similar perspectives are also able to have their voices heard to create a better society for all of us. Even though there is a rise of rainbow people doing their best to advocate for each other in this space, there are still not enough rainbow perspectives to fairly represent the community, and create enough quality change. 

Rainbow and takatāpui individuals have statistics showing that despite suffering in many areas, they are offered less support for their struggles. Statistics show that rainbow and takatāpui individuals suffer in many areas socially and mentally, and lack inclusive support. Unfortunately, sexual violence is one of these areas in which assistance is still lacking globally. 

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports that queer people experience sexual violence at similar or higher proportions than heterosexual individuals, and yet, they are more likely to be denied support, or to report in the first place. (1) More specifically, in New Zealand, around 32.3% of people who are of diverse sexualities have experienced sexual violence. (2)

However, there is not much research done in this area that measures different genders and sexualities’ susceptibility to sexual violence - which already proves a disparity in the way that heterosexual individuals and rainbow individuals are treated in this space. In order to begin prevention, we must know how commonly these instances are occurring in order to start change. 

Thursdays in Black did conduct a report in 2017, which has some specific statistics and research surrounding diverse sexualities and genders. The exploration of harassment due to sexual/gender identity (46% of participants had been made to feel ashamed about their sexuality), frequency of unwanted behaviours (42% of participants had experienced unwanted behaviours 2-5 times), what year of study in which the unwanted experience occurred (231/338 participants experienced these behaviours in their first year of university), where the discrimination and incidents occurred (146/334 participants had this happen within their own homes), as well as plenty of other explorative questions that are significant to understanding the experience of rainbow and takatāpui individuals. (3) They also help to show how much more has to be improved. 

It is crucial that we include rainbow perspectives in sexual violence prevention work, as, without them, we will never achieve a full, comprehensive understanding of the issue, or be able to fully reduce sexual violence across all demographics.  

Since the 1990s, there has been consistent research and recommendations made to show that there is a need for further funding and support for rainbow survivors of sexual violence, and yet, these are recommendations that have been largely ignored for the last 30 years. (4) As rainbow representation and visibility increases, there needs to be proportionate access to inclusive support.

Our voices need to be heard to accelerate change and inclusivity in all spaces of our community. Advocacy is for all individuals affected by injustice. Excluding rainbow and takatāpui individuals from sexual violence support will only continue the cycle of sexual violence within the rainbow community. Creating inclusive support for all people, regardless of gender identity or sexuality means that no one who experiences sexual violence has to do it alone. Only then can the healing process begin.

Please listen to our rainbow voices, we deserve to be heard. 

Definitions of words and phrases that are used in this piece:

Sexual Violence 

Sexual Violence is defined as “...any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” (5)

Rainbow Community 

‘Rainbow Community’ is defined as “a broad umbrella term that covers a diversity of sexual orientations, as well as gender and sex identities.”. (6) This term is used to ensure that there is no prioritisation of any certain identities, as there is in the commonly known “LGBTQ+” acronym, and it avoids the politics that come with terms such as “queer”. Queer is used once in this piece to define the writer’s identity, but this is only because this is the term that the author aligns with. 

Gender 

A person’s gender identity is from their own internal discovery and self-belief. The concept of gender is socially constructed, and how an individual determines and describes their gender is affected by many different contexts and ideas, such as social and cultural contexts. Gender is not expressed in just one way, and can be conveyed in a multitude of ways. Even then, the way that an individual shows their gender, does not equal their gender identity.

Takatāpui 

“Takatāpui is a Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) word, historically meaning 'intimate companion of the same sex'. The term was reclaimed in the 1980s and used by individuals who were gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex or part of the rainbow community. The use of 'takatāpui' as an identity is a response to colonial ideas of sex, sexuality and gender, and emphasises ones identity as Māori as inextricably linked to their gender identity or sexuality.” (7)

References

(1) https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community Accessed 18 September, 2021

(2) http://www.kahukura.co.nz/statistics/ Accessed 19 September 2021

(3) Thursdays in Black Aotearoa New Zealand. "In Our Own Words: Student Experiences of Sexual Violence Prior to and During Tertiary Education." Tertiary Women New Zealand and New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations, 2017. Accessed via https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fXVS_e-mMerUVkV5246nrta5aI3SWZgS/view

(4) http://www.kahukura.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2001RankineLesbianBiWomensSurveyNZ-00000003.pdf Accessed 19 September 2021

(5) https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap6.pdf Accessed 19 September 2021

(6) https://knowledgeauckland.org.nz/media/1142/tr2017-012-aucklands-rainbow-communities-challenges-and-opportunites.pdf Accessed 19 September 2021

(7) https://takatapui.nz/definition-of-takatapui#takatapui-meaning Accessed 19 September 2021