On December 11th-13th, 2015 two representatives of the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL, namely – the Executive Director Vladimir Simonko and the Policy Coordinator (Human Rights) Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius – participated in an international conference on domestic and dating violence against LBT* women in Brescia (Italy). The conference “Investigating Domestic and Dating Violence against Women”, attracting more than 150 participants, concluded the 12-month-long project “Bleeding Love: Raising Awareness on Domestic and Dating Violence against Lesbians and Transwomen in the European Union”, funded by the European Commission. The project sought to collect relevant data on the prevalence of domestic and dating violence against LBT* women in eight (8) European jurisdictions and to generate corresponding recommendations to legislators, policy and decision makers.
In the course of the conference the results of the research on domestic violence against LBT* women, conducted within the framework of the project, were presented. By conducting seventeen (17) semi-structured interviews with the members of the Lithuanian LBT* community, law enforcement officials and national experts, it was concluded that public policy, aiming at addressing the issue of domestic violence, does not comprehensively respond to the needs of the members of the local LBT* community. Lithuanian women, suffering from domestic violence in same-sex relationships, do not report these abuses to the law enforcement, while the national stakeholders report not having enough knowledge in responding to the specific needs on grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity in relation to the instances of domestic violence or abuse. “It has to be understood that sometimes the members of the local LGBT* community are facing similar issues as the rest of the society. It is important to ensure that sexual orientation and/or gender identity does not become a barrier in seeking assistance from the Lithuanian authorities,” – says the LGL’s Executive Director Vladimir Simonko.
The research book, summarizing the results of the project research, will be launched in March, 2016. In the meanwhile more information about the “Bleeding Love” project can be found on the project’s website and on its FaceBook profile. Please also consult an informational brochure on domestic violence for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women (in Lithuanian language).
The programme of the conference “Investigating Domestic and Dating Violence against Women” can be found here:
Partners:
The project is supported by the DAPHNE programme of the European Commission:
