Keywords
LGBT, lesbian, transgender, domestic abuse, violence, AIDS, HIV
Abstract
Panelist Valerie B, a survivor of domestic abuse, discussed her experience in a abusive relationship with another woman. She discussed the trauma and how she slowly got out of the relationship. Panelist Lisi Lord, associate director of programs at My Sisters' Place, then gave an overview of the things she has learned working with victims of violence on the LGBT community. She discussed some of the barriers they face as a marginalized group and how their expression of sexuality and societal response to it makes their problems unique. Panelist Lt. Grace A. Telesco, chair of the Behavioral Science Department of the New York Police Academy, then discussed her research on violence in lesbian relationships and what she teaches Police Academy recruits in terms of same sex domestic violence. Panelist Theresa Jefferson, community and police relations program coordinator from New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, then explained that the Anti-Violence Project is a crime service agency formed in 1980 to address lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and HIV-affected victims of violence and discrimination. She talked about the legal obstacles faced by LGBT persons in terms of intimate partner violence. She also talked about police responses and the criminal justice system. Panelist David Pumo, director of Lesbian & Gay Youth Project at the Urban Justice Center, spoke about the legal issues related to working with LGBT teens or young adults, and the ways you need to avoid liabilities when working with people under the age of eighteen. Panelist Victoria Cruz, a domestic violence advocate and counselor then discussed her experience as a male-female transgender. She discussed that they are a group that feels invisible and that they do not really have anywhere to go outside of the Anti-Violence project, where she works. Cynthia Knox, director of Legal Advocacy Program at Bronx Aid Services, then discussed the HIV case reporting and partner notification law and its links to domestic violence.
Recommended Citation
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities and Intimate Partner Violenec,
29 Fordham Urb. L.J. 121
(2001).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol29/iss1/3