During the month of June, LGBTQ+ persons and their allies celebrate Pride with visible demonstrations of self-worth. Samaritan House is committed to supporting the well-being of Hampton Road’s LGBTQ+ community by openly addressing the problem of intimate partner violence (IPV) and promoting healthy personal relationships.
One in four LGBTQ+ persons are abused by an intimate partner at some point during their life and approximately 43.8% of lesbian women and 61.1% of bisexual women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime, as opposed to 35% of heterosexual women. Additionally, LGBTQ+ persons typically endure abusive behavior and trauma, such as hate crimes and bullying which may make victims of IPV less likely to seek help.
“Domestic, intimate partner, and family violence affects marginalized communities like LGBTQ+ individuals at a much higher rate. But often resources go unnoticed. Samaritan House proudly collaborates with other agencies to provide information, supportive services, and compassion to the LGBTQ+ community in Hampton Roads,” said Kate Celius, Community Engagement Manager at Samaritan House. Samaritan House will host its next SAMTalk, hosted by Kate Celius, live on Facebook on June 17 at 7 p.m.
Ms. Celius will bring together representatives from area organizations that serve the LGBTQ+ community to discuss intimate partner violence. Guests include De Sube, Director of the Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia (TAP VA); Kathryn Cooke, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at the YWCA of Hampton Roads; Rebecca Rose, Crisis Counselor at the LGBT Life Center; JonMichael Leszczynski, Events Director of Stonewall Sports Norfolk; Sgt. Jennifer Johannesen, LGBT Liaison, Virginia Beach Police Dept.; and Dani Miller-Holmes, Outreach Education Specialist at Samaritan House.
For more information about this event and the services Samaritan House provides for the LGBTQ+ community, visit: www.samaritanhouseva.org/lgbtq-services
SAMTalk: The Intersection of Domestic Violence Resources for the HR LGBTQ+ Community
