a 101 training for advocates - washington coalition of ... · wcsap –trans 101 for sa advocates...

WCSAP – Trans 101 for SA AdvocatesJanuary 27, 2016

www.forge‐forward.orgpo box 1272 | milwaukee, wi 53201 1

Serving Transgender Survivors:

A 101 Training for Advocates

michael munson01.27.16WCSAP

www.forge-forward.org2

Welcome & Housekeeping

Take care of yourself

PowerPoints

Recording


Trans Basics and 101 Resources

Data: Trans Violence

Trans-Specific Barriers

What You Can Do!

Questions

Agenda


Who is FORGE?

75%

25%

Direct service / TTA


Two Foundational Principles

1.Trauma -Informed

2.Empowerment

- based


Small staff, large vision

michael munsonExecutive Director

Loree Cook-DanielsPolicy & Programming

Katie TaylorProject Coordinator




What we can offer you

Training and technical assistance1-on-1 support

Webinars

Training

Publications

Support for transgender survivors Listservs

Referrals

Espavo Project

Publications


This project was supported by Grant No. 2011-TA-AX-K121 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

Thank you OVW

www.forge-forward.orgwww.forge-forward.org10

10

Core concepts

Slippery definitions

Getting on the same page

Trans Basics

www.forge-forward.org

Question

What % of population is transgender?

A. 0.5%

B. 1.7%

C. 3.0%

1 www.forge-forward.org12

How many people are trans?

0.3%

>

1%

Williams Institute

Lynn Conway (and others)




How many people are trans?

x

~ 1%

3 million

US population = 318,857,056


Master Status Thinking

Master status and the labels of primary potency refer to the tendency of observers to believe that one label or demographic category is “more significant than any other aspect of [the observed person’s] background, behavior, or performance.”

When beliefs about gender get in the way…

1940s - Everett Hughes

1954 - G. Allport


When a provider makes gender the primary issue vs. sexual assault or the issues a client prioritizes Curiosity (trans history and experiences)

Types of questions (focus on transness)

Invasive questions (inappropriate)

Redirecting conversation (back to transness)

Causality / correlations (possibly false or true)

Master Status in ActionWhen providers can’t see past the T


Terms Paradox: Definition

Terms are CRUCIAL Finding out what

terms the person uses and then using their language is a primary way of conveying respect and openness.

Terms are MEANINGLESS Terms tell you none

of what you need to know to provide appropriate services.

AND…


The terms paradox can be applied to Identity labels

Experiences

Personal history

Body part names

Pronouns

Nearly any component of who a person is.

Terms Paradox: Applies to who?


Who are we talking about?

Transgender




Goal: More expansive view

Defining terms just gives us more labels to assign to people, rather than truly understanding who each person is.


Gender non-conforming

People who transition

People who are questioning

People who do not fit into the binary

Who are we talking about?


Gender-conforming people of trans history

Multiply gendered people

SOFFAs (Significant Others, Friends, Family and Allies)

+++ and many others

Who else?


Clarity: Trans-feminine


x

Clarity: Trans-masculine


Clarity: Non-binary or agender




3 common areas of choice

Medical

SocialLegal


Gender Identity vs. Expression

Identity(Inside)

Expression(Outside)


An individual’s internal sense of being male, female, something in between, or any other gender (not necessarily visible to others). Everyone has a gender identity!

There are hundreds of gender identities

Gender identity


Gender expression is how a person expresses their gender through clothing, grooming, speech, hair style, body language, social interactions and other behaviors.

We ALL make choices about how much effort we put forth to follow these societal norms.

Gender expression


“Just tell me what language to use”

Reality: There isn’t a list of “right” or “wrong” language or behaviors

Language: “I don’t get it!”


“How do I get it right?”




101 – Where to learn more !

1. Webinars

2.FAQ Sheets

3.Publications

4. Toolkit


1. Trans 101 Webinars +

www.forge-forward.org/trainings-events/recorded-webinars/


2. FAQ Sheets

www.forge-forward.org/publications-resources/av-faq-sheets/


.

3. Publications

www.forge-forward.org/publications-resources/anti-violence-publications/


4a. Online Toolkit

www.ovc.gov/pubs/forge/


4b. Toolkit sections

www.ovc.gov/pubs/forge/

1 2 3




4c. Toolkit

graphics



Data and implications



Trans Sexual Assault Rates

Multiple studies

50-66%

50-66%Transgender

33%women

girls

18%menboys


# Trans SV Survivors

1% Americans are trans (3 million people)

½ are SV survivors

.

1.5 Million




Intimate Partner Violence

Similar to general US population

25-33%

Multiple studieswww.forge-forward.org44

# of Trans IPV Survivors


25-33% are IPV/DV survivors

.

750k to 1Million


General US = 5-17%

Stalking Resource Center

Stalking

15-20%

FORGE, 2011 (n=1005)www.forge-forward.org46


15-20% are stalking survivors

# of Trans Stalking Survivors

450,000-600,000


76%

69%

64%

41%

1.60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Physically assaulted by teachers

Sexually assaulted by teachers

Sexually assaulted

All respondents

General US population

Suicide Attempts

NTDS, 2011 (n=6450) www.forge-forward.org

64%

72%

88%

76%

84%

74%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

CSA

Adult SA

Dating violence

IPV

Stalking

Hate-motivated

Polyvictimization

FORGE, 2011 (n=1005)




48%

28%

6%

29%

17%

30%

50%

31%

23%

36%

18%

29%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Child SA Adult SA Dating DV Stalking HateViolence

Rates of Violence by Gender Vector

MTF FTM

FORGE, 2011 (n=1005) www.forge-forward.org


Barriers to service


Reasons why not accessing services

1. Fear

2. Not trans-welcoming/friendly

3. Not culturally competent

4. Didn’t know what the service was

5. Reputation

6. Woman-focused

7. Shame / embarrassment / stigma

8. Concern it would make things worse

9. Systemic problems

10.Cost

FORGE, 2011 (n=1005)


… of abuse, hostility, rejection, derision, judgment, discrimination

… of being outed

… of other clients

… of denial of services

… of police misconduct

… of being the only trans person in the group

1. Fear


“Incongruent” identificationUsed to deny services

Trans person may fear being outed

Cost may be a barrier to change not always possible

(e.g. birth certificate)

1. Fear Documentation

41%

ID does not match gender

NTDS, 2011 (n=6450)




Rural

Fear of being outed

Confidentiality and dual relationships are huge issues for trans survivors and agencies

Fear of splitting the community

1. Fear


Trans-welcoming = Does a trans person sense that the environment and attitude are friendly and respectful?

Will people be “comfortable” with me?

Will I be “accepted”?

Will people be hostile?

2. Trans-welcoming/friendly


Rural

Challenge

Rural areas are sometimes more conservative and traditional…and homophobic/transphobic

Positive! Rural communities also do a great job looking

after their own

2. Trans-welcoming/friendly


Cultural competency = Is an agency informed on how to respectfully treat trans people when they walk in the door?

Will I be asked invasive questions?

Will they use my name and pronouns correctly?

Will I have to educate my provider?

Can they deal with my body?

3. Cultural competency


Rural

Smaller and more conservative areas may have less trained staff and volunteers.

3. Cultural competency




Lack of positive experiences

Spread by word of mouth

Tightly knit trans+ community

One negative experience (or story) can quickly reverse a positive reputation

5. Reputation


Rural

Broad range of services in single agencies

Safety concerns

5. Reputation

Joe LeBlanc (photo by Horace Long at Just Out)


Name of agency

Unclear policies of who is served

Agency language = only female references

Feelings of erasure

Hopelessness of where else to seek services

6. Woman-focused


Rural

“Traditional” beliefs and models of service

6. Woman-focused


Everyone deserves to have access to healing services and a life not ruled by trauma


What you can do!




Terms Paradox

Terms are CRUCIAL

Terms are MEANINGLESSAND…


Master Status

YES to….


Call logs

Intake Forms

Computer systems

Inclusive forms & systems


Ask

Listen

Use

Name and pronouns


Bathrooms


T/LGBT materials




VAWA non-discrimination

www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/faqs-ngc-vawa.pdf


Know the resources available


Address SURVIVOR’s needs


Keep learning


Remember: All survivors need to be heard and believedPatience

Persistence

Compassion

Client-Centered Care


QUOTE

Maybe I’ve been doing this too long, but in preparing to do a presentation for a local organization this week, all I keep thinking is that I want to walk in and say “trans women are women, trans men are men, and some people are neither or both. Don’t worry about their genitals, their socialization, or anything except whatever services you’re providing for them. Ask everyone what name & pronoun they prefer for themselves, and then use them.”

</end Trans 101>

& Obviously, I know it’s not that simple, but it really kind of is, isn’t it?




x


Connecting with FORGE




Social Media

FORGE.trans @FORGEforward @FORGE_forward


84

michael [email protected]

Thank you!

Loree [email protected]

a 101 training for advocates - washington coalition of ... · wcsap –trans 101 for sa advocates...

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